Network architecture is the design of a
computer network. 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 protocols used.
In
telecommunication, 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 is predominantly expressed by its use of the
Internet protocol suite, 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 libra ...
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, 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 of the
public switched telephone network
The public switched telephone network (PSTN) provides Communications infrastructure, infrastructure and services for public Telecommunications, telecommunication. The PSTN is the aggregate of the world's circuit-switched telephone networks that ...
(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 Global System for Mobile Communications, mobile telecommunication, telecom networks. It al ...
. There are a number of specific classifications but all lie on a continuum between the
dumb network (e.g. the
Internet) 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 networks 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 Architectsat the US Department of Labor
{{Computer science
Telecommunications engineering