11.1 Key architectural decisions Here are the key decisions to be taken into consideration: Design decisions These decisions impact the network from an architectural design method perspective. After these decisions are made, they have implications on the other decisions as well. These decisions are more detailed because they refer to specific methods used to match a certain design. These decisions are focused on access to and the protection of the networking infrastructure, and they depend on the overall architecture design. Technology decisions Security decisions Management decisions These decisions refer to the way the entire networking infrastructure is managed, using the network both as the medium with which it is managed and as the target of the management process. 11.2 Data center network