Computer Network Architecture

It is a network communication design in which the physical components of computers are arranged in a sequence so that they can communicate with each other. Network is a combination of hosts, applications, routers, hardware, software and links of media. Network architecture is a guideline and technology for designing building   and managing a network.

Purpose of Network Architecture

The purpose of network architecture is to provide assistance and guidance to implement high quality network. The network architecture not only helps you to deploy the network but also assists you in troubleshoot and maintaining architecture. Network architecture also helps you security management and disaster recovery. Network architecture is composed of many layers. In the process of layering the communication tasks are divided into smaller parts, each part is further divided into sub tasks for accomplishing tasks. These subtasks interact with the other communication processes. The process of layering keeps the network design simple. There are many ways to design and set network architecture. There are many choices available to set up a network however every network must have three basic parts like network users, applications and devices. Network itself is operating at physical layer of the OSI model. The devices are operating mostly at data link layer or network layer. The application exists at the session layer of the OSI model. Lastly the user is at the last two layers of the model including presentation and application layer.

The Network Topologies

The network topologies play an important role in the formation of a network. Network architecture designs closely related to design of the network topology. There are many types of network topologies like star topology, bus topology, ring topology, mesh and tree topology. The choice of network topology is dependent upon the type and size of network architecture. Most commonly used network topology is mesh. However the application of topology depends upon the amount of space in which one has to establish network architecture. The network architecture which comprises of ten to twelve computers mostly is designed on using bus topology as a network. In a bus topology an array of computer terminals is connected to one after the other computer and a network is established. In order to establish larger networks Mesh topology is used. Mesh network architecture is a complex design and it involves the redundancy of interconnections attached to the routers and switches in a network.

Components of Network Architecture

There are six basic network architecture components such as servers, proxies, clients, command consoles, server modules and cores. The server is the backbone of any network. The role of servers in network architecture is to communicate with proxies and other peered servers. They are at the top layer of the network and they do not communicate directly with client. Moreover servers receive complete projects and tasks .proxies can be termed as the focal point of the network because it facilitates the communication of the devices. Proxies usually perform buffering and they also communicate with the others of its type to share the loads of the network. The client systems are the workers of the network. They receive tasks, they interact with the users and they perform user applications. Command consoles are the network guidelines which provide assistance to users about how to control the authorize network nodes. The core is the real work done in the system. The cores are verified within the network and with the clients to prevent bad cores. Server modules handle the particular tasks of the server. Server module is generally registered with the server libraries; this would help the server to perform the needed task.

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