A Network Architecture

Architecture

"...structure or design of something."
 

Network Architecture

a framework for understanding the way in which the various parts of the entire network system work together. Two aspects:
 

Physical (or physical hardware)

the wires, fibre optic cables, hubs, routers, etc. We cover some of this stuff later.
 

Logical (or abstract)

the protocols (or rules) which govern how data is exchanged in the network. As we shall see, the fundamental idea here is the use of layering various protocols on top of one another to form a stack.