Network Architecture and How to Design a Secure Network!

First and foremost let’s get started with what is this Network Architecture? It’s basically referred to physical and logical design that how computers are organized in a system and how tasks are allocated in these computers.

Networks can be classified into 4 different types by using the following criteria.

1) Geographical spread

2) Network topology

3) Network architecture

4) Transmission Technology

Under Network Architecture There are two types of architecture which we are going to talk today.

1. Client-server architecture

A client-server network is a centralized and really powerful computer server that can connect to the workstation. When it talks about advantages this architecture is not restricted to a small number of computers and data security is control by the server. The server can be accessed anywhere across multiple platforms

Client-server requires dedicated network administrators to manage all the resources. And the cost of setting up is very high in this architecture. If the server fails none of the requests of clients can be fulfilled and leads to failure of the total network connection.

Figure 1 Client-Server Architecture

2. Peer to peer architecture

In peer to peer architecture network, tasks are allocated to each and every device on the network. There’s no real hierarchy. All the computers have the same abilities to use the resources. Instead of having a central server network is acts as a shared drive.

There are several advantages of peer-to-peer architecture. It is less costly because does not require a dedicated server. If one computer stops there’s no impact on other computers. And installation and setup are very easy because of built-in support in modern operating systems.

As a disadvantage in peer-to-peer architecture, security and data backups should be done to each and every individual computer. When the number of computers increases performance, security and access become complex in the P2P networks.

Figure 2 Peer to Peer Architecture

Difference between Client-Server Architecture and Peer to Peer Architecture

Differences between client-server architecture and peer to peer architecture are as follows:

• Client-Server architecture is believed to be a subcategory of the peer to peer computing
• In a client-server architecture, a server is a central node that services many client nodes. On the other hand, in a peer-to-peer system, the nodes collectively use their resources and communicate with each other.
• In a client-server architecture, the server is the one who communicates with the other nodes. In peer-to-peer architecture, all the nodes are equal and share data with each other directly.

How to design a secure Network??

Network security design and network architecture have typically been pushed to a secondary role as organizations invest in technology to unravel their security considerations and migration to the cloud and the addition of countless IoT gadgets complicate matters. Network security architecture leverages the organization's resources while network security design implements the concepts. Well-planned and constructed network security design is vital to minimizing the gaps within the infrastructure that are often targeted by attackers and essential to controlling access to vital data within the organization.

Figure 3 How to Design Secure Network

Limit Access: it’s very easy to grant total access and it’s not secure at all. If a third party needs access you should grant them only essential features. If a risk occurs the vulnerability will mess up the overall system

Encryption: this should include in any network security model. Encryption occurs over the network layer of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model but on an IP-based network, the network encryption process will involve IP protocols and keys versus the OSI algorithm process.

Test before total implementation: vulnerability test after the network is set up is important.

Don’t overlook the supposedly insignificant: even simple information or policy pages can be weak links in a network’s architecture. Areas of a network that consumers overlook may be a prime target for hackers.

For large-scale companies below points will help to build up a secure Network.

Deploying Workstations, Vulnerability Scans, Redundancy, Remote Access, Network Equipment, Wireless networking such as guest networks. Encrypted, Email, Internet Access, File Sharing, and Server Monitoring.

In conclusion, Hope this article helps you to get an idea about basic network architectures with the pros and cons of each and difference between those architectures. Ultimately you will get to know the importance of a well-planned and secure network.