Network architecture

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Network architecture" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Network architecture is the design of a computer network. It is a framework for the specification of a network's physical components and their functional organization and configuration, its operational principles and procedures, as well as communication protocols used.

In telecommunications, the specification of a network architecture may also include a detailed description of products and services delivered via a communications network, as well as detailed rate and billing structures under which services are compensated.

The network architecture of the Internet is predominantly expressed by its use of the Internet protocol suite, rather than a specific model for interconnecting networks or nodes in the network, or the usage of specific types of hardware links.