Network Traffic Characteristics

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One of the first steps in designing network architectures for the data center is understanding network traffic patterns. FIGURE 1-4 shows how the application layer fits within the overall networking infrastructure. The network architecture must be designed to meet the bandwidth and latency requirements of the enterprise network applications, both at steady state and during episodes of congestion. We will provide an overview of some of the tiers that are typically deployed in all multi-tier solutions. There are several reasons for partitioning the solution into tiers, including the ability to control network traffic access between tiers. Switches are designed to look at traffic from source to destination by dividing the application layer into tiers. This allows each tier one-to-one mapping to a corresponding virtual local area network (VLAN), which is also directly mapped to a specific network or subnet.

Figure 1-4. Influence of Multi-Tier Software Architectures on Network Architecture


Chapter 2 offers insight into the applications that generate the traffic flows across the tiers. Inter-tier traffic starts with a client request, which can originate from remote dial-up, intranet corporate employee, Internet partner, and so on. This HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) or HyperText Transport Protocol over SSL (HTTPS) packet is usually about a hundred bytes. The server response is usually a 1000-byte to 200-kilobyte file, often consisting of Web page images. Chapter 2 describes the key components and technologies used at the application layer and provides some deeper insights into achieving availability.

The processing of client Web requests and generation of an HTTP response may require significant processing across various Web and application or legacy servers. Examples of typical applications include business applications implemented using Enterprise JavaBeans™ (EJBs) on an application server, mail messaging, and dynamic Web page generation using JavaServer Pages™ (JSP) and servlets. The nature of the traffic requirements should be clearly identified and quantified. Most important are the identification and specification of handling peaks or bursts. We provide detailed Web, application, and database tier traffic flows and availability strategies, which directly impact inter-tier traffic flows.

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    Networking Concepts and Technology. A Designer's Resource
    Networking Concepts and Technology: A Designers Resource
    ISBN: 0131482076
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2003
    Pages: 116

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