Backbone network

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.[1] 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.[2]

A diagram of a typical nationwide network backbone.

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.[3][4]

One example of a backbone network is the Internet

backbone.[5]

History
The theory, design principles, and first instantiation of the
backbone network came from the telephone core
network, when traffic was purely voice. The core network
was the central part of a telecommunications network
that provided various services to customers who were
connected by the access network. One of the main
functions was to route telephone calls across the PSTN.

Typically the term referred to the high capacity

communication facilities that connect primary nodes. A
core network provided paths for the exchange of
information between different sub-networks.

In the United States, local exchange core networks were

linked by several competing interexchange networks; in
the rest of the world, the core network has been extended
to national boundaries.
Core networks usually had a mesh topology that provided
any-to-any connections among devices on the network.
Many main service providers would have their own
core/backbone networks that are interconnected. Some
large enterprises have their own core/backbone network,
which are typically connected to the public networks.

Primary functions

Core networks typically provided the following

functionality:

1. Aggregation: The highest level of aggregation in a

service provider network. The next level in the hierarchy
under the core nodes is the distribution networks and
then the edge networks. Customer-premises equipment
(CPE) do not normally connect to the core networks of a
large service provider.
2. Authentication: The function to decide whether the user
requesting a service from the telecom network is
authorized to do so within this network or not.
3. Call Control/Switching: call control or switching
functionality decides the future course of call based on
the call signalling processing. E.g. switching functionality
may decide based on the "called number" that the call be
routed towards a subscriber within this operator's
network or with number portability more prevalent to
another operator's network.
4. Charging: This functionality of the collation and
processing of charging data generated by various
network nodes. Two common types of charging
mechanisms found in present-day networks are prepaid
charging and postpaid charging. See Automatic Message
Accounting
5. Service Invocation: Core network performs the task of
service invocation for its subscribers. Service invocation
may happen based on some explicit action (e.g. call
transfer) by user or implicitly (call waiting). It's important
to note however that service "execution" may or may not
be a core network functionality as third party
network/nodes may take part in actual service execution.
6. Gateways: Gateways shall be present in the core
network to access other networks. Gateway functionality
is dependent on the type of network it interfaces with.

Physically, one or more of these logical functionalities

may simultaneously exist in a given core network node.

Other functions

Besides above mentioned functionalities, the following

also formed part of a telecommunications core network:
 O&M: Operations & Maintenance centre or Operations
Support Systems to configure and provision the core
network nodes. Number of subscribers, peak hour call
rate, nature of services, geographical preferences are
some of the factors which impact the configuration.
Network statistics collection (Performance
Management), alarm monitoring (Fault Management)
and logging of various network nodes actions (Event
Management) also happens in the O&M centre. These
stats, alarms and traces form important tools for a
network operator to monitor the network health and
performance and improvise on the same.
Subscriber Database: Core network also hosts the
subscribers database (e.g. HLR in GSM systems).
Subscriber database is accessed by core network
nodes for functions like authentication, profiling,
service invocation etc.

Distributed backbone
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.[6] This kind of topology
allows for simple expansion and limited capital outlay for
growth, because more layers of devices can be added to
existing layers.[6] In a distributed backbone network, all of
the devices that access the backbone share the
transmission media, as every device connected to this
network is sent all transmissions placed on that
network.[7]

Distributed backbones, in all practicality, are in use by all

large-scale networks.[8] Applications in enterprise-wide
scenarios confined to a single building are also practical,
as certain connectivity devices can be assigned to certain
floors or departments.[6] Each floor or department
possesses a LAN and a wiring closet with that
workgroup's main hub or router connected to a bus-style
network using backbone cabling .[9] Another advantage of
using a distributed backbone is the ability for network
administrator to segregate workgroups for ease of
management.[6]

There is the possibility of single points of failure, referring

to connectivity devices high in the series hierarchy.[6] The
distributed backbone must be designed to separate
network traffic circulating on each individual LAN from
the backbone network traffic by using access devices
such as routers and bridges.[10]

Collapsed backbone
A collapsed backbone (inverted backbone, backbone-in-a-
box) is a type of backbone network architecture. The
traditional backbone network goes over the globe to
provide interconnectivity to the remote hubs. In most
cases, the backbones are the links while the switching or
routing functions are done by the equipment at each hub.
It is a distributed 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.

The main advantages of the collapsed backbone

approach are

1. ease of management since the backbone is in a single

location and in a single box, and
2. since the backbone is essentially the back plane or
internal switching matrix of the box, proprietary, high
performance technology can be used.

However, the drawback of the collapsed backbone is that

if the box housing the backbone is down or there are
reachability problem to the central location, the entire
network will crash. These problems can be minimized by
having redundant backbone boxes as well as having
secondary/backup backbone locations.

Parallel backbone
There are a few different types of backbones that are
used for an enterprise-wide network. When organizations
are looking for a very strong and trustworthy backbone
they should choose a parallel backbone. This backbone is
a variation of a collapsed backbone in that it uses a
central node (connection point). Although, with a parallel
backbone, it allows for duplicate connections when there
is more than one router or switch. Each switch and router
are connected by two cables. By having more than one
cable connecting each device, it ensures network
connectivity to any area of the enterprise-wide
network.[11]

Parallel backbones are more expensive than other

backbone networks because they require more cabling
than the other network topologies. Although this can be a
major factor when deciding which enterprise-wide
topology to use, the expense of it makes up for the
efficiency it creates by adding increased performance and
fault tolerance. Most organizations use parallel
backbones when there are critical devices on the network.
For example, if there is important data, such as payroll,
that should be accessed at all times by multiple
departments, then your organization should choose to
implement a Parallel Backbone to make sure that the
connectivity is never lost.[11]

Serial backbone
A serial backbone is the simplest kind of backbone
network.[12] Serial backbones consist of two or more
internet working devices connected to each other by a
single cable in a daisy-chain fashion. A daisy chain is a
group of connectivity devices linked together in a serial
fashion. Hubs are often connected in this way to extend a
network. However, hubs are not the only device that can
be connected in a serial backbone. Gateways, routers,
switches and bridges more commonly form part of the
backbone.[13] The serial backbone topology could be used
for enterprise-wide networks, though it is rarely
implemented for that purpose.[14]

See also
Backhaul
Internet backbone

References
1. What is a Backbone? , Whatis.com, Accessed: June 25,
2007
2. "Backbone Networks" . Chapter 8. Angelfire. Retrieved
2 October 2013.
3. Turner, Brough (12 September 2007). "Congestion in the
Backbone: Telecom and Internet Solutions" . CircleID.
Retrieved 2 October 2013.
4. Kashyap, Abhishek; Sun, Fangting; Shayman, Mark.
"Relay Placement for Minimizing Congestion in Wireless
Backbone Networks" (PDF). Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering, University of Maryland. Retrieved
2 October 2013.
5. Howdie, Ben (28 January 2013). "The Backbone's
connected to the…" . KashFlow. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
6. Tamara Dean. Network+ Guide to Networks. Course
Technology, Cengage Learning, 2010, p. 202.
7. BICSI Lan Design Manual - CD-ROM, Issue 1, Distributed
backbone network, p.20 [1] , 1996, accessed May 7, 2011.
8. Dooley, Kevin. Designing Large-Scale Networks, p.23 [2] ,
O'Reilly Online Catalog, January, 2002, accessed May 7,
2011.
9. Distributed Backbone [3] , accessed May 7, 2011.
10. Boon & Kepekci (1996). BICSI Lan Design Manual.
Tampa, FL. pp. 20–21.
11. Dean, Tamara (2010). Network+ Guide to Networks 5th
Edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Course Technology.
pp. 203–204. ISBN 1-4239-0245-9.
12. CompTIA Network+ In depth, Chapter 5 p. 169
13. Dean, T. (2010) Network+ Guide to Networks, Fifth
Edition
14. [4] , Backbone Networks

External links
IPv6 Backbone Network Topology

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