backbone networks

backbone network connects multiple LANs

In backbone network station/endpoint/server/pc is not directly connected to backbone

categories:

bus backbone

star backbone

connecting remote LANs

backbone handles a total load higher than one of the LANs backbone connecting

A backbone is a part of computer network that interconnects various pieces of network, providing a path for the exchange of information between different LANs or subnetworks. A backbone can tie together diverse networks in the same building, in different buildings in a campus environment, or over wide areas. Normally, the backbone's capacity is greater than the networks connected to it.

A large corporation that has many locations may have a backbone network that ties all of the locations together, for example, if a server cluster needs to be accessed by different departments of a company that are located at different geographical locations. The pieces of the network connections (for example: ethernet, wireless) that bring these departments together is often mentioned as network backbone. Network congestion is often taken into consideration while designing backbones.

A distributed backbone is a backbone network that consists of a number of connectivity devices connected to a series of central connectivity devices, such as hubs, switches, or routers, in a hierarchy. 

A collapsed backbone (inverted backbone, backbone-in-a-box) is a type of backbone network architecture

In the case of a collapsed or inverted backbone, each hub provides a link back to a central location to be connected to a backbone-in-a-box. That box can be a switch or a router. The topology and architecture of a collapsed backbone is a star or a rooted tree.

concepts & protocols

OSPF

BGP,MBGP

IS-IS

QoS

VRRP

MPLS:LDP,RSVP

L3 VPN

VRF /context routing

Policy based routing

Aggregation

Switching

VLAN

Trunk

802.1q VLAN tagging

STP/RSTP, Span Tree Protocol/Rapid Span Tree Protocol

EAPS, ethernet automatic protocol switching

L2 QoS

Stacking, when you have more than one switch

VRRP

Dynamic routing protocols

Link aggregation

Security

stateful inspection concept

zone/VR 

VSYS

dynamic routing protocols; OSPF,BGP

IPSEC(VPN)

NSRP(netscreen redundancy protocol)

screening options