Networks must support a wide range of applications and services, as well as operate over many different types of physical infrastructures. The term network architecture, in this context, refers to both the technologies that support the infrastructure and the programmed services and protocols that move the messages across that infrastructure. As the Internet, and networks in general, evolve, we are discovering that there are four basic characteristics that the underlying architectures need to address in order to meet user expectations: fault tolerance, scalability, quality of service, and security.
Fault Tolerance
The expectation that the Internet is always available to the millions of users who rely on it requires a network architecture that is designed and built to be fault tolerant. A fault tolerant network is one that limits the impact of a hardware or software failure and can recover quickly when such a failure occurs. These networks depend on redundant links, or paths, between the source and destination of a message. If one link or path fails, processes ensure that messages can be instantly routed over a different link transparent to the users on either end. Both the physical infrastructures and the logical processes that direct the messages through the network are designed to accommodate this redundancy. This is a basic premise of the architecture of current networks.
Scalability
A scalable network can expand quickly to support new users and applications without impacting the performance of the service being delivered to existing users. Thousands of new users and service providers connect to the Internet each week. The ability of the network to support these new interconnections depends on a hierarchical layered design for the underlying physical infrastructure and logical architecture. The operation at each layer enables users or service providers to be inserted without causing disruption to the entire network. Technology developments are constantly increasing the message carrying capabilities and performance of the physical infrastructure components at every layer. These developments, along with new methods to identify and locate individual users within an internetwork, are enabling the Internet to keep pace with user demand.
Quality of Service (QoS)
The Internet is currently providing an acceptable level of fault tolerance and scalability for its users. But new applications available to users over internetworks create higher expectations for the quality of the delivered services. Voice and live video transmissions require a level of consistent quality and uninterrupted delivery that was not necessary for traditional computer applications. Quality of these services is measured against the quality of experiencing the same audio or video presentation in person. Traditional voice and video networks are designed to support a single type of transmission, and are therefore able to produce an acceptable level of quality. New requirements to support this quality of service over a converged network are changing the way network architectures are designed and implemented.
Security
The Internet has evolved from a tightly controlled internetwork of educational and government organizations to a widely accessible means for transmission of business and personal communications. As a result, the security requirements of the network have changed. The security and privacy expectations that result from the use of internetworks to exchange confidential and business critical information exceed what the current architecture can deliver. Rapid expansion in communication areas that were not served by traditional data networks is increasing the need to embed security into the network architecture. As a result, much effort is being devoted to this area of research and development. In the meantime, many tools and procedures are being implemented to combat inherent security flaws in the network architecture.
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