What is Network Architecture?

Network Architecture is the design and structure of an organization's network, defining how devices, servers, applications, databases, and users communicate.

Components

Internet
    │
    ▼
Firewall/WAF
    │
    ▼
Load Balancer
    │
 ┌──┴──┐
 ▼     ▼
Web Server 1    Web Server 2
    │
    ▼
Application Server
    │
    ▼
Database Server
    │
    ▼
Backup Server

Types of Network Architecture

1. Client-Server Architecture

Users
   │
   ▼
Web Server
   │
   ▼
Database Server

Example:

• Facebook
• Gmail
• Amazon

2. Three-Tier Architecture

Presentation Layer
(Vue/Nuxt)

Business Layer
(Node.js/Laravel)

Data Layer
(PostgreSQL/MongoDB)

Benefits:

• Better Security
• Easy Scaling
• High Performance

3. Microservice Architecture

API Gateway
     │
 ┌───┼────┐
 ▼   ▼    ▼
User Service
Order Service
Payment Service

Benefits:

• Independent deployment
• Easy maintenance
• High availability

Network Devices

Router

Purpose:

• Connects networks together.

Example:

Office Network
      │
      ▼
Router
      │
      ▼
Internet

Switch

Purpose:

• Connects devices in LAN.

Switch
 ├── PC
 ├── Printer
 ├── Server
 └── CCTV

Firewall

Purpose:

• Protects network from unauthorized access.

Example Rules:

Allow:
80
443

Block:
23
21

VLAN Design

VLAN 10 → Developers
VLAN 20 → Accounts
VLAN 30 → HR
VLAN 40 → Management

Benefits:

• Security
• Traffic isolation