What Is Network Engineering?

Network engineering is a field of computer science practice that encompasses network design, implementation, and maintenance. Networks connect devices by using hardware and software technologies and protocols. These work together to allow data communication across small to vast distances. Network engineers create optimized paths for communications, add security measures, and build in scalability, availability, and failover techniques within networks. Cloud network engineering introduces a software-based virtualization layer to traditional networks, enabling advanced management techniques.

The primary goals of the network engineering discipline are to design, build, and maintain communication systems that are reliable, scalable, secure, and support business operations effectively.

Reliable network performance

Optimized networks deliver data quickly and consistently at peak data rates to computer systems at multiple locations. To build these systems, engineers design a network architecture that minimizes latency, reduces packet loss, and maximizes data throughput. To improve network performance, engineers might use traffic shaping techniques to help prioritize the transmission of higher-priority workloads, such as voice, video, or real-time financial transactions.

High availability

Network engineers work to identify and reduce single points of failure and automate transport recovery processes. Strategies typically include redundancy and failover mechanisms in their design to help ensure high availability. Load balancing can also help to distribute traffic across resources based on specific algorithms.

Scalable architecture

Scalable network architecture can accommodate organizational growth and an increased workload volume over time. For example, a scalable network should allow you to add new users, applications, and data centers without requiring a redesign of the entire system. Engineers attempt to achieve scalability by using a modular design that is straightforward to adjust, as well as virtualization and automation tools that can help rapidly deploy or scale down resources.

Secure networking

Secure networking is the final, foundational goal of network engineering, to help protect data and systems. Some key strategies to designing a secure network include implementing the defense-in-depth strategy, using traffic encryption, deploying intrusion detection systems, using firewalls to help secure network systems, and employing identity-based access controls.

Network engineering encompasses several subdisciplines that focus on various aspects of design and maintenance.

Networking architecture design

Networking architecture specialists focus on planning and designing the overall structure of a network. Network architects define and plan how components, such as network services, devices, other information technology, and users, interact to best facilitate communication.

Network security engineering

Security engineers focus on helping to protect networks from internal and external threats. To perform this task, they use security systems to monitor networks for suspicious activities or potential anomalies and respond to potential breaches. They also deploy intrusion prevention systems such as firewalls and access controls.

Cloud network engineering

This network engineering specialty focuses on virtualized networking in environments such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and other cloud computing services. Cloud network engineers perform tasks such as designing and managing virtual private clouds (VPCs) and configuring hybrid connections between an organization's on-premises and cloud platforms. Cloud engineering typically combines traditional networking principles with new technologies in the cloud, such as software-defined networking (SDN) and Infrastructure as Code (IaC).

Regardless of subdiscipline, the practice of network engineering tends to revolve around several shared concepts.

Network design

Engineers design networks for a combination of performance, redundancy, and scalability tailored to their business case. For example, the needs of a small business running a local area network (LAN) differ from those of a multi-national enterprise with many global data centers and cloud assets, and their design should reflect that.

Network protocols

Network protocols are standardized rules governing the exchange of data between devices across a network, including across cloud technologies. Some of the fundamental protocols engineers use include:

• TCP/IP: A set of protocols to distribute data into packets on a source system, route those packets over a network, and reassemble them at their destination
• DNS: Translating human-readable web and system addresses (domain names) into computer-readable IP addresses
• DHCP: Automating IP address assignment on a network
• HTTP/HTTPS: Protocols for transferring web traffic and encrypting and transferring traffic

Routing and switching

Routing is the process of selecting an optimal path between networks. Switching is the process of directing traffic within a network. The devices used to manage these practices are routers and switches. Network administrators configure routers and switches to help meet the design needs for their network. For example, these devices can help to optimize the performance of a customer-facing system or to segment a network to help secure sensitive internal resources.

Monitoring and management

Modern computer networks benefit from continuous monitoring to make sure that they function effectively. Engineers use their software tools and monitor network logs for performance trends, anomalies, and potential network issues. Solutions such as AWS Cloud WAN can help automate the monitoring process and alert you to matters that need deeper investigation.

Network automation

Automation is an increasingly important concept in networking as networks scale larger and larger, especially cloud networks. Automating common operational processes can be more efficient and help reduce human error.

In cloud environments, engineers now often use Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools to automate network configurations programmatically. You can also perform other routine tasks, such as patching and scaling cloud resources, using automated tools, and incorporating artificial intelligence to make changes to complex networks more reliably. NetDevOps is a newer design approach to network engineering that helps automate network engineering tasks.

Designing and managing networks in the cloud often requires different approaches from those used in traditional on-premises network engineering. Networking fundamentals still apply, but to build high-performing cloud networks, engineers should follow proven, cloud-specific best practices.

Understand how networking impacts cloud computing performance

Network design choices can directly impact application performance and user experience. Analyze how routing, connectivity, security, and latency can impact your cloud-based applications.

For example, encrypting data in transit can add computational overhead that impacts throughput. Centralizing traffic routing through on-premises data centers or firewalls can introduce delays and bottlenecks. Consider whether such design choices are necessary, or at which points the tradeoffs in performance become problematic.

Evaluate available networking features

Because cloud networks have different features from LANs, best practices for local area networks might not apply to your cloud environments. Traditional models, such as filtering all traffic through a central firewall instead of using security groups, can create unnecessary bottlenecks in a distributed cloud environment. Instead, take advantage of native cloud capabilities. For example, services such as virtual private cloud (VPC) endpoints enable private connectivity from your on-site VPC to cloud services, eliminating the need for traffic to traverse the public internet.

Decide between dedicated connectivity or VPNs

Maintain a reliable and secure connection to your cloud resources either by establishing direct connectivity or using a virtual private network (VPN) connection. For example, AWS Direct Connect bypasses the public internet and provides a private, dedicated connection to your organization’s AWS resources. When a dedicated link is not necessary, consider using a secure VPN connection to make sure data remains protected in transit.

Use load balancing to improve availability

Load balancing is the practice of distributing traffic between different servers to optimize resource use and performance. For example, if you are using AWS, consider distributing incoming traffic across multiple targets, such as Amazon EC2 instances or containers, using Elastic Load Balancing (ELB).

Choose workload location based on network requirements

Place workloads in specific regions or availability zones that minimize latency for end users and align with any of your relevant compliance requirements. You can also deploy applications close to your customer base with edge locations for ultra-low-latency use cases like gaming or media streaming.

Optimize network infrastructure using metrics

Monitor network performance continuously using tools such as Amazon CloudWatch. You can use network monitoring tools to identify performance trends and potential issues, and use that data to fine-tune your network configurations. For example, if you observe a steep utilization increase on certain servers at a specific time of day, you can adjust your load balancing for that part of the day. Set up alarms in your monitoring tools to help automate response efforts.

Use centralized network monitoring and governance

Gain a clear, unified view of your network across all accounts and regions using specialized network monitoring and governance tools. Instead of manually tracking logs and alerts from different utilities, centralize monitoring to track performance. Unifying your monitoring for your whole environment makes it easier to spot issues early and respond faster. It also simplifies governance by letting you enforce consistent policies. For example, AWS Security Hub CSPM allows you to set up compliance policies for specific governance frameworks to help understand and remediate your security posture.

Use global networking services

Managing network connectivity can become complex, especially for distributed organizations that maintain offices, data centers, and other worksites globally. Choose services that allow you to manage network administration from a centralized hub, such as AWS Cloud WAN.

Instead of configuring individual connections and routing rules across regions and accounts, with a centralized hub, you can apply consistent security policies from a single application. This centralization reduces operational overhead and makes it easier to scale your network as your organization grows.

AWS allows you to configure your cloud network infrastructure and controls to support your organizational requirements.

• AWS Cloud WAN allows you to build, manage, and monitor global wide area networks, with a central dashboard for making connections between your branch offices, data centers, and Amazon Virtual Private Clouds (Amazon VPCs).
• AWS Direct Connect creates a dedicated network connection to AWS, so your network traffic to AWS resources never touches the internet.
• Deploy AWS Network Firewall across your VPCs for consistent protection through features like geographic IP filtering, deep packet inspection, and advanced intrusion prevention capabilities.
• AWS Transit Gateway allows you to connect Amazon VPCs, AWS accounts, and on-premises networks to a single gateway.
• Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC) gives you full control over your virtual networking environment, including resource placement, connectivity, and security.

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