Network infrastructure is the set of physical and logical components that support network services.

What is Network Infrastructure?

Network infrastructure is the set of physical and logical components that provide the foundation for network services and connectivity.

Physical Components

Hardware

  • Switches: Network switches
  • Routers: Routers
  • Firewalls: Firewalls
  • Access Points: Access points

Cables

  • UTP: Twisted pair cable
  • STP: Shielded twisted pair cable
  • Fiber: Fiber optic cable
  • Coaxial: Coaxial cable

Racks

  • Racks: Network cabinets
  • PDUs: Power distribution units
  • UPS: Uninterruptible power supply systems
  • Cooling: Cooling systems

Logical Components

Protocols

  • TCP/IP: Internet protocol
  • Ethernet: Ethernet protocol
  • WiFi: WiFi protocol
  • DNS: Name system

Services

  • DHCP: IP assignment
  • DNS: Name resolution
  • NTP: Time synchronization
  • SNMP: Network management

Virtualization

  • VLANs: Virtual networks
  • VPNs: Virtual private networks
  • SDN: Software-defined networks
  • NFV: Network function virtualization

Architecture

Layers

  • Core: Core layer
  • Distribution: Distribution layer
  • Access: Access layer
  • Edge: Edge layer

Design

  • Hierarchy: Hierarchical design
  • Redundancy: Redundancy
  • Scalability: Scalability
  • Security: Security

Configuration

Basic

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# Configure network interface
sudo ip addr add 192.168.1.100/24 dev eth0
sudo ip link set eth0 up

# Configure default route
sudo ip route add default via 192.168.1.1

# Verify configuration
ip addr show
ip route show

Advanced

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# Configure VLAN
sudo vconfig add eth0 100
sudo ip addr add 192.168.100.1/24 dev eth0.100

# Configure bonding
sudo modprobe bonding
echo "bond0" > /sys/class/net/bonding_masters

Monitoring

Tools

  • SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol
  • NetFlow: Flow analysis
  • Packet Capture: Packet capture
  • Logs: Log analysis

Metrics

  • Throughput: Transmission capacity
  • Latency: Network latency
  • Packet Loss: Packet loss
  • Availability: Availability

Security

Controls

  • Firewalls: Network firewalls
  • IDS/IPS: Detection systems
  • VPN: Virtual private networks
  • Segmentation: Network segmentation

Monitoring

  • Traffic Analysis: Traffic analysis
  • Threat Detection: Threat detection
  • Incident Response: Incident response
  • Forensics: Forensic analysis

Use Cases

Companies

  • Connectivity: Internal connectivity
  • Internet: Internet access
  • Services: Network services
  • Communication: Internal communication

Data Centers

  • Servers: Server connectivity
  • Storage: Storage networks
  • Backup: Backup networks
  • Monitoring: Monitoring networks

Cloud

  • Virtualization: Virtual networks
  • Containers: Container networks
  • Microservices: Microservice networks
  • API: API networks

Best Practices

Design

  • Scalability: Scalable design
  • Redundancy: Network redundancy
  • Security: Security by design
  • Monitoring: Network monitoring

Operation

  • Maintenance: Regular maintenance
  • Updates: Firmware updates
  • Backup: Configuration backups
  • Documentation: Network documentation

Security

  • Segmentation: Segment networks
  • Monitoring: Monitor traffic
  • Access: Access control
  • Audit: Network audits

References