Most of the physical and data center networks a similar structures and components, such as the following:
- Core/spine layer switches: To interconnect different parts of the network, including aggregation/leaf switches, as well as, edge of the network and/or even Data Center Interconnect links
- Access/leaf switches: To connect physical servers to the revenue-generating network
- Edge firewalls: To filter the external traffic to the inside of the network
- Border routers: To connect to the internet or any other external network
- Load balancers: To load balance the incoming traffic between groups of application servers
This is depicted on the following diagram:
Some of these components can be collapsed, such as firewalls and ...