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Network architecture is the design of a
computer network A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...
. It is a framework for the specification of a network's physical components and their functional organization and configuration, its operational principles and procedures, as well as
communication protocol A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any kind of variation of a physical quantity. The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics and synchroniza ...
s used. In
telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that ...
, the specification of a network architecture may also include a detailed description of products and services delivered via a communications network, as well as detailed rate and billing structures under which services are compensated. The network architecture of the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
is predominantly expressed by its use of the
Internet protocol suite The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the set of communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the sui ...
, rather than a specific model for interconnecting networks or nodes in the network, or the usage of specific types of hardware links.


OSI model

The
Open Systems Interconnection model The Open Systems Interconnection model (OSI model) is a conceptual model that 'provides a common basis for the coordination of SOstandards development for the purpose of systems interconnection'. In the OSI reference model, the communications ...
(OSI model) defines and codifies the concept of layered network architecture.
Abstraction layer In computing, an abstraction layer or abstraction level is a way of hiding the working details of a subsystem. Examples of software models that use layers of abstraction include the OSI model for network protocols, OpenGL, and other graphics libr ...
s are used to subdivide a communications system further into smaller manageable parts. A layer is a collection of similar functions that provide services to the layer above it and receives services from the layer below it. On each layer, an instance provides services to the instances at the layer above and requests services from the layer below.


Distributed computing

In
distributed computing A distributed system is a system whose components are located on different networked computers, which communicate and coordinate their actions by passing messages to one another from any system. Distributed computing is a field of computer sci ...
, the ''network architecture'' often describes the structure and classification of a distributed application architecture, as the participating nodes in a distributed application are often referred to as a ''network''. For example, the
applications architecture In information systems, applications architecture or application architecture is one of several architecture domains that form the pillars of an enterprise architecture (EA). An applications architecture describes the behavior of applications us ...
of the
public switched telephone network The public switched telephone network (PSTN) provides infrastructure and services for public telecommunication. The PSTN is the aggregate of the world's circuit-switched telephone networks that are operated by national, regional, or local telep ...
(PSTN) has been termed the
Intelligent Network The Intelligent Network (IN) is the standard network architecture specified in the ITU-T Q.1200 series recommendations. It is intended for fixed as well as mobile telecom networks. It allows operators to differentiate themselves by providing v ...
. There are a number of specific classifications but all lie on a continuum between the dumb network (e.g. the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
) and the intelligent network (e.g. the PSTN). A popular example of such usage of the term in distributed applications, as well as permanent virtual circuits, is the organization of nodes in peer-to-peer (P2P) services and networks. P2P networks usually implement
overlay network An overlay network is a computer network that is layered on top of another network. Structure Nodes in the overlay network can be thought of as being connected by virtual or logical links, each of which corresponds to a path, perhaps through ...
s running over an underlying physical or logical network. These overlay networks may implement certain organizational structures of the nodes according to several distinct models, the network architecture of the system.


See also

* Network topology * Spawning networks


References

*


External links


Computer Network Architects
at the US Department of Labor {{Computer science Telecommunications engineering