Network Architecture

 Network Architecture

Computers and other devices connected on a network can interact with each other in many ways depending on the architecture of the network. The architecture of a network is a logical design that determines how devices in the network communicate. The commonly used architectures for computer networks are:

• The Client-server architecture 
• The Peer-to-peer architecture 
• The Hybrid architecture

The Client-server Architecture

On a network built using the client-server architecture, the devices communicate to other devices through a central computer referred to as a server. A server is a computer with high processing power, which provides services to other computers on the network. A client is a computer that accesses resources available on the network and those offered by a server. A server is connected to multiple client nodes. The client nodes may have relatively low or no processing capabilities of their own. The client computers send requests to the server for processing information.

The Peer-to-peer Architecture

On a network built using the peer-to-peer architecture, no specific distinction exists between a client and a server computer. In other words, any node can provide a service as well as send a request for a service from another node on the network. The peer-to-peer network architecture allows sharing of resources, data, and users. Each node on the network can have full control over the network resources. However, each user can only access resources for which access privileges have been assigned to the user. Peer-to-peer networks are also referred to as workgroups or P2P networks. 

The Hybrid architecture

A hybrid, in general, is a composition of different types of elements. In computer networks, the hybrid network architecture is not a basic architecture. However, it is a combination of the two basic network architectures, peer- to-peer and client-server.