Hierarchical Network

 

A HIERARCHICAL NETWORK IS A NETWORK THAT IS DIVIDED INTO TWO OR MORE LAYERS, WITH EACH LAYER HAVING A SPECIFIC FUNCTION. THIS TYPE OF NETWORK DESIGN IS OFTEN USED IN LARGE AND COMPLEX NETWORKS, SUCH AS ENTERPRISE NETWORKS AND THE INTERNET.

THE MOST COMMON HIERARCHICAL NETWORK DESIGN IS THE THREE-LAYER MODEL, WHICH CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING LAYERS:

CORE LAYER:

THE CORE LAYER IS THE BACKBONE OF THE NETWORK AND PROVIDES HIGH-SPEED CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE OTHER LAYERS. IT IS TYPICALLY MADE UP OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE SWITCHES AND ROUTERS.

DISTRIBUTION LAYER:

THE DISTRIBUTION LAYER CONNECTS THE CORE LAYER TO THE ACCESS LAYER. IT PROVIDES ROUTING AND SWITCHING SERVICES, AS WELL AS SECURITY AND OTHER NETWORK SERVICES.

ACCESS LAYER:

THE ACCESS LAYER PROVIDES CONNECTIVITY TO END DEVICES, SUCH AS COMPUTERS, PRINTERS, AND SERVERS. IT IS TYPICALLY MADE UP OF SWITCHES.

HIERARCHICAL NETWORKS OFFER A NUMBER OF ADVANTAGES OVER FLAT NETWORKS, INCLUDING:

SCALABILITY:

HIERARCHICAL NETWORKS ARE MORE SCALABLE THAN FLAT NETWORKS, MEANING THEY CAN BE EASILY EXPANDED TO ACCOMMODATE MORE DEVICES AND USERS.

PERFORMANCE:

HIERARCHICAL NETWORKS CAN PROVIDE BETTER PERFORMANCE THAN FLAT NETWORKS BY REDUCING CONGESTION AND IMPROVING TRAFFIC FLOW.

SECURITY:

HIERARCHICAL NETWORKS CAN BE MORE SECURE THAN FLAT NETWORKS BY ISOLATING DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE NETWORK AND IMPLEMENTING SECURITY POLICIES AT EACH LAYER.

MANAGEABILITY:

HIERARCHICAL NETWORKS ARE EASIER TO MANAGE THAN FLAT NETWORKS BECAUSE THEY ARE DIVIDED INTO SMALLER, MORE MANAGEABLE PARTS.

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF HIERARCHICAL NETWORKS:

A CORPORATE NETWORK WITH A CORE LAYER OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE SWITCHES, A DISTRIBUTION LAYER OF ROUTERS AND SWITCHES, AND AN ACCESS LAYER OF SWITCHES THAT CONNECT TO EMPLOYEE WORKSTATIONS AND PRINTERS.

A UNIVERSITY NETWORK WITH A CORE LAYER OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE SWITCHES, A DISTRIBUTION LAYER OF ROUTERS AND SWITCHES, AND AN ACCESS LAYER OF SWITCHES THAT CONNECT TO STUDENT AND FACULTY WORKSTATIONS, PRINTERS, AND OTHER DEVICES.

A HOSPITAL NETWORK WITH A CORE LAYER OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE SWITCHES, A DISTRIBUTION LAYER OF ROUTERS AND SWITCHES, AND AN ACCESS LAYER OF SWITCHES THAT CONNECT TO PATIENT MONITORING EQUIPMENT, MEDICAL DEVICES, AND OTHER DEVICES.

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