Chapter 5: Network Architecture

Network architecture is the process of developing a high-level, end-to-end structure for the network. This includes the relationships within and between major architectural components of the network, such as addressing and routing, network management, performance, and security. Network architecture is the next part of the process of developing our network, and as we will see, it is key in integrating requirements and flows into the structure of a network.

5.1 Objectives

In this chapter, you will learn about network architecture—what is contained within the architecture of a network and how to develop this architecture. We will discuss the concept of relationships within and between components of the architecture. You will learn the factors that make up these relationships and how they apply to each architectural component. We will also present several architectural models for you to use as a starting point in developing your network architecture.

This chapter introduces several concepts around network architecture, some of which may be new to you. In addition, many terms for addressing and routing, performance, network management, and security are presented in this chapter but will be detailed in Chapters 6 through 9.