The Network as a Platform

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Describe

the

network

platform

characteristics

and

supporting network architecture.

Objective

Content:
- Introduction.
- The Converging Network.
- Planning for the Future.
- The Supporting Network Architecture.
- Conclusions.

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Introduction

The network has become a platform for
distributing a wide range of services to end
users in a reliable, efficient, and secure
manner.

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The Converging Network

Advances in technology are enabling us
to consolidate these different kinds of
networks onto one platform, referred to as
the converged network. Unlike dedicated
networks,

converged

networks

are

capable

of

delivering

voice,

video

streams, text, and graphics among many
different types of devices over the same
communication

channel

and

network

structure.

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Planning for the Future

The convergence of the different types of
communications

networks

onto

one

platform represents the first phase in
building

the

intelligent

information

network.

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Planning for the Future

Not

only

will

voice

and

video

be

transmitted over the same network, but
the devices that perform the telephone
switching and video broadcasting will also
be

the

same

devices

that

route

the

messages

through

the

network.

The

resulting

communications

platform

will

provide

high-quality

application

functionality at a reduced cost.

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Planning for the Future

The pace at which the development of
exciting

new

converged

network

applications is occurring can be attributed
to the rapid growth and expansion of the
Internet. With only about 10 billion of
potentially

1.5

trillion

things

currently

connected globally, there is vast potential
to connect the unconnected through the
IoE.

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Networks must support a wide range of applications and services, as well as
operate over many different types of cables and devices, which make up the
physical infrastructure. The term network architecture, in this context, refers to
the technologies that support the infrastructure and the programmed services
and rules, or protocols, that move messages across the network.
As networks evolve, we are discovering that there are four basic characteristics,
that the underlying architectures need to address in order to meet user
expectations.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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1.- Fault Tolerance :
The expectation is that the Internet is
always available to the millions of users
who rely on it. This requires a network
architecture

that

is

built

to

be

fault

tolerant. A fault-tolerant network is one
that limits the impact of a failure so that
the fewest number of devices are affected
by it. It is also built in a way that allows
quick

recovery

when

such

a

failure

occurs.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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These networks depend on multiple paths
between the source and destination of a
message. If one path fails, the messages
can be instantly sent over a different link.
Having multiple paths to a destination is
known as redundancy.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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2.- Scalability :
Thousands of new users and service
providers connect to the Internet each
week. For the Internet to support this
rapid

amount

of

growth,

it

must

be

scalable. A scalable network can expand
quickly

to

support

new

users

and

applications

without

impacting

the

performance

of

the

service

being

delivered to existing users.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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2.- Scalability :
The Internet has a hierarchical layered
structure for addressing, for naming, and
for connectivity services. As a result,
network traffic that is destined for local or
regional

services

does

not

need

to

traverse to a central point for distribution.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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2.- Scalability :
Common services can be duplicated in
different regions, thereby keeping traffic
off the higher-level backbone networks.
Scalability also refers to the ability to
accept new products and applications.
Although there is no single organization
that regulates the Internet, the many
individual networks that provide Internet
connectivity cooperate to follow accepted
standards and protocols.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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2.- Scalability :
The adherence to standards enables the
manufacturers of hardware and software
to concentrate on product development
and

improvements

in

the

areas

of

performance and capacity, knowing that
the new products can integrate with and
enhance the existing infrastructure.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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3.- Quality of Service (QoS) :
Is

an

ever-increasing

requirement

of

networks

today.

New

applications

available

to

users

over

internetworks,

such

as

voice

and

live

video

transmissions create higher expectations
for the quality of the delivered services.
Have you ever tried to watch a video with
constant breaks and pauses?

The Supporting Network Architecture

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3.- Quality of Service (QoS) :
Networks

must

provide

predictable,

measurable, and at times, guaranteed
services.
The packet-switched network architecture
does not guarantee that all packets that
comprise a particular message will arrive
on time and in their correct order, or even
that they will arrive at all.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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3.- Quality of Service (QoS) :
Networks

also

need

mechanisms

to

manage

congested

network

traffic.

Network bandwidth is the measure of the
data-carrying capacity of the network.
In other words, how much information can
be transmitted within a specific amount of
time?

The Supporting Network Architecture

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3.- Quality of Service (QoS) :
Network bandwidth is measured in the
number of bits that can be transmitted in
a single second, or bits per second (bps).
When simultaneous communications are
attempted

across

the

network,

the

demand

for

network

bandwidth

can

exceed its availability, creating network
congestion.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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3.- Quality of Service (QoS) :
Examples of priority decisions for an organization might include:

-Time-sensitive communication: Increase priority for services like telephony
or video distribution.

-Non-time-sensitive

communication:

Decrease

priority

for

web

page

retrieval or email.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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3.- Quality of Service (QoS) :
Examples of priority decisions for an organization might include:

-High importance to organization: Increase priority for production control or
business transaction data.

-Undesirable communication: Decrease priority or block unwanted activity,
like peer-to-peer file sharing or live entertainment.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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4.- 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 Supporting Network Architecture

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Compromising the integrity of these assets could have serious consequences:
-Network outages that prevent communications and transactions from occurring,
with consequent loss of business.
-Intellectual property (research ideas, patents, or designs) that is stolen and used
by a competitor.
-Personal or private information that is compromised or made public without the
users’ consent.
-Misdirection and loss of personal or business funds.
-Loss of important data that takes significant labor to replace or is irreplaceable.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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Information security refers to protecting the information contained within the
packets being transmitted over the network and the information stored on
network-attached devices. Security measures taken in a network should:

-Prevent unauthorized disclosure.
-Prevent theft of information.
-Prevent unauthorized modification of information.
-Prevent denial of service (DoS).

The Supporting Network Architecture

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To achieve the goals of network security, there are three primary requirements:

1.- Ensuring confidentiality:

Data confidentiality means that only the intended and authorized recipients—
individuals,

processes,

or

devices—can

access

and

read

data.

This

is

accomplished by having a strong system for user authentication, enforcing
passwords that are difficult to guess, and requiring users to change the
passwords frequently. Encrypting data, so that only the intended recipient can
read it, is also part of confidentiality.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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2.- Maintaining communication integrity:

Data integrity means having the assurance that the information has not been
altered in transmission, from origin to destination. Data integrity can be
compromised when information has been corrupted—willfully or accidentally.
Data integrity is made possible by requiring validation of the sender as well as by
using

mechanisms

to

validate

that

the

packet

has

not

changed

during

transmission.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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3.- Ensuring availability:

Availability means having the assurance of timely and reliable access to data
services for authorized users. Network firewall devices, along with desktop and
server antivirus software, can ensure system reliability and the robustness to
detect, repel, and cope with such attacks. Building fully redundant network
infrastructures, with few single points of failure, can reduce the impact of these
threats.

The Supporting Network Architecture

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Conclusions:

In a converged network, there are still
many

points

of

contact

and

many

specialized

devices,

such

as

personal

computers,

phones,

TVs,

and

tablet

computers,

but

there

is

one

common

network infrastructure.

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Conclusions:

This network infrastructure uses the same
set

of

rules,

agreements,

and

implementation standards.

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Conclusions:

As the supporting technology platform for
living, learning, working, and playing in the
human network, the network architecture of
the

Internet

must

adapt

to

constantly

changing requirements for a high quality of
service and security.