Catalog
concept#Architecture#Security#Reliability

Networking

Networking covers the concepts, protocols and infrastructures that connect systems. It includes addressing, routing, switching and security mechanisms.

Networking describes the principles, protocols, and infrastructures that enable interconnection of systems and data exchange.
Established
High

Classification

  • High
  • Technical
  • Architectural
  • Advanced

Technical context

IPAM and DNS systemsIdentity and access management (IAM)Observability stacks (Prometheus, ELK, etc.)

Principles & goals

Clearly defined abstraction layers (layering)Principle of least privilege for access and routingDesign for fault tolerance and redundancy
Build
Enterprise, Domain, Team

Use cases & scenarios

Compromises

  • Misconfigurations can cause wide-ranging outages
  • Unsecured networks increase attack surface and data risk
  • Scaling mistakes lead to latency spikes and performance issues
  • Automated configuration and change management
  • Continuous monitoring and capacity planning
  • Segmentation and minimal attack surface

I/O & resources

  • Network topology diagrams and inventory lists
  • Requirement profiles for latency, bandwidth and availability
  • Security and compliance requirements
  • Network design documentation and configuration templates
  • Monitoring and alerting rules
  • Operational runbooks and troubleshooting playbooks

Description

Networking describes the principles, protocols, and infrastructures that enable interconnection of systems and data exchange. It covers addressing, routing, switching, transport layers, and security mechanisms. Networking spans physical wiring to application-layer protocols and includes design decisions, monitoring, and resilience to ensure availability and performant distributed systems.

✔

  • Enables scalable, standardized communication between systems
  • Supports segmentation and security controls
  • Improves resilience and performance with correct design

✖

  • Physical infrastructure limits latency and bandwidth
  • Complexity in large-scale segmentation and policy management
  • Changes may require extensive testing and coordination

  • Round-Trip Time (RTT)

    Measurement of packet round trip time; indicator of latency.

  • Packet loss rate

    Share of lost packets; important for reliability and QoS.

  • Throughput

    Amount of data per time unit; measures capacity utilization.

Corp-wide VLAN segmentation

Segmentation of critical workloads into separate VLANs with ACLs and routing policies.

Cloud hybrid network with transit gateway

Connecting on-premises sites with multiple cloud regions via a transit gateway.

Zero-trust implementation for developer access

Fine-grained access rules based on identity, device and session context.

1

Perform inventory and establish metric baseline

2

Define goals and SLAs, create architecture design

3

Implement incrementally with tests and monitoring

4

Provide operation manual and incident plans

⚠️ Technical debt & bottlenecks

  • Outdated firmware and untracked configured devices
  • Legacy spaghetti configurations without refactoring
  • Lack of automated tests for network changes
Edge router capacityInter-switch backplanePolicy engine performance
  • Placing all workloads in one VLAN without ACLs
  • Excessive trust relationships between environments
  • Applying untested changes directly to production routers
  • Overestimating QoS effects without measurement
  • Insufficient documentation of IP addressing
  • Lack of coordination between network and application teams
Knowledge of TCP/IP, routing and switchingExperience in network design and security architecturesAbility to interpret monitoring and tracing data
Scalability under increasing trafficSecurity and segmentation capabilityAvailability and fault tolerance
  • • Physical bandwidth and cabling standards
  • • Budget and operational constraints
  • • Compatibility with existing protocols and devices