What is the backbone or backbone and what is it for

What is a backbone or backbone network

Backbone means spine in English. We can say that a backbone network is the one that connects many interconnected routers between them. It can be used to connect the headquarters of an organization, government buildings, universities… But it can also go much further and be able to connect countries or even continents.

To make it all possible , we use fiber optic cables, which can even be submarines. Its infrastructure makes it possible to interconnect networks that can communicate with each other by a road. They connect local area networks (LANs) to wide area networks (WANs). In this way, they allow optimum performance to be obtained in large-scale data communications and even at great distances.

It must be taken into account that a backbone network can be a small set of lines, but also a much larger set. This is so since we could speak of a local backbone, in which a line or a set of lines are connected to have access to a large network area, while we can also be dealing with a set of local or regional networks. to which they interconnect reach a very great distance.

Types of backbone or backbone networks

Backbone networks are mainly used in medium to large size networks. These can be, for example, those that are installed in a building or a group of buildings to connect faculties, areas of a company, etc. There are several types that we can name. They are more oriented in companies and organizations, mainly because of their architecture and cost. This may be necessary at any time for those who need to connect a lot of equipment in a certain location. We already know that more and more devices connected to the Internet are part of our daily lives. This means that we have to adapt our networks at all times.

Backbone series

The first type is called dorsal series . In this case, a serial backbone is made up of two or more devices connected in a chain. It is the most basic type of spine. This can be achieved through switches, gateways or routers.

Serial networks are not very scalable. This is one of the reasons they are not widely used if we compare them with other options. There aren't many computers that can be connected and so we might have limitations that prevent us from achieving our goal. In this case, you will have to opt for another alternative among those we have available.

Distributed backbone

On the other hand, we can find a distributed backbone or a backbone network . In this case, use a more hierarchical design to build the network. There are intermediate devices, such as routers or switches, which are used to connect other equipment. All these intermediate devices are in turn connected to single or multiple connectivity devices.

This time we are faced with a more evolving type of networks. New device layers can be added to meet the needs. It is administered in a simple way, since it has hierarchical levels. This is an option most used by organizations that need to have several computers connected in a network.

Collapsed spine

Another type that we want to show is the collapsed backbone . A strong router is one that serves as a central connection point for the various subnets. This equipment must have sufficient power to be able to cover all the demand.

One of the disadvantages of this type of network is that if the central device has an error and goes down, the whole network will automatically go down. It's sort of a risky option.

Parallel backbone

Another alternative is the parallel backbone . In this case, the devices have more than one connection between them. There are many connections between high level routers and different segments of the network. This is an option to consider if we are looking for something more comprehensive than the previous alternative we mentioned.

By achieving a duplicate connection, we can achieve higher availability at all times and thus reduce potential problems. In addition, the speed is also higher. However, as we can imagine, this also increases the price. However, it may be the option of choice for those who want to make the most of the possibilities and have a good internet connection without skimping on speed and stability. We can have several computers connected at the same time.

In short, a backbone or backbone network is used to connect many networks within a larger one. In this way, we can interconnect buildings, cities or countries. We have seen that there are different types, in addition. Each of these types can be useful in certain circumstances to tailor our connections to the actual needs that we are going to have.

Today we have a large number of network connected devices . We are not only talking about organizations and companies, but also at the user level. The so-called Internet of Things offers a wide range of possibilities for users. However, for all of this to work properly, sometimes it is necessary to have the right equipment or to perform certain configurations. We have looked at the backbones and the different types that exist. This will allow us at any time to expand the network and adapt it to our needs. The goal is to achieve good connectivity at all times, without reducing the available capacity.