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Top1. Introduction
Computer networks and the Internet have immeasurably influenced the ways we live and work. The modern, linked world has become a mesh of complex, interacting systems that require new methods of conceptualization to represent it using systematic patterns. Here, we limit our interest to technological networks that form infrastructure networks, such as Internet, telephone, distribution, and sensor networks.
A computer network generally denotes devices, often referred to as nodes, connected by links (Ahlawat, 2018; Oh & Monge, 2016). It typically consists of switches, routers, load-balancing devices, firewalls, and private network devices.
Connections between nodes are established via cabling (e.g., an Ethernet cable) or wirelessly through radio waves.
A network diagram is a visual representation of a network’s layout that makes it easier for users to understand how items are connected (SmartDrow, 2018). It is also useful for compiling network documentation. Additionally, some types of network diagrams are used to identify difficulties that can be traced more easily by examining how the components in the system are connected (SmartDrow, 2018).
The network diagram is also important to ensure security because it provides a picture of all territories that have security significance. Security in the context of computer networks refers to the protection of usability and the integrity of the network and data from any unauthorized user or access while flowing through the network. It also includes protection from risks that occur at the network’s access layer, such as viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. Network security includes hardware and software technologies (Nuangjamnong, Veal, & Maj, 2017). To provide security, many products are added to the network; these products include firewalls, switches, and network analysis and management devices. In threat modeling, the network diagram is used to document the application’s architecture, including subsystems, trust boundaries, and data flow (Meier, Mackman, Dunner, Vasireddy, Escamilla, & Murukan, 2003). Thus, a network diagram encompasses organizational topology in addition to the internal processing of its components.
In this paper, we focus on the type of notions used in drawing computer diagrams.
1.1. Problem
Network diagrams reflect the layout of how networks are constructed and interconnected and define the communication paths between different devices. Various types of these diagrams are nonsystemic in the sense that they are neither uniform in notion nor holistic in application and a variety of notations are used (e.g., photographs, technical manual pictures, network towers, human figures, and computer screens).
Network representations provide valuable insights for designers to help them understand various systems’ underlying structures and mechanisms. Designers create representations focused on a variety of design issues such as hierarchical design-layered descriptions (Cisco, 2018). These are supplemented with the designation of different functions that occur within the networks (Stewart, Adams, Reid, & Lorenz, 2008). When designs are presented diagrammatically, we see network diagrams with hundreds of icons or symbols representing devices, processes, and concepts such as a computer, a server rack, and a cloud-based storage system, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Some of the many icons and symbols in Chapter 1 (48 pages) of Cisco’s Introducing Network Design Concepts (Hoover, 2018)