Network Technologies
- Network Technologies
This article provides a comprehensive overview of the network technologies employed by our MediaWiki infrastructure. This is intended as a foundational guide for new server engineers and administrators responsible for maintaining the platform. Understanding these technologies is critical for troubleshooting, performance optimization, and future scalability.
Overview
Our MediaWiki deployment relies on a robust and layered network architecture. The core components include physical network infrastructure, logical network segmentation, and specific network services crucial for MediaWiki operation. We utilize a combination of Gigabit Ethernet, fiber optic connections, and virtual networking technologies. Proper configuration of DNS, firewalls, and load balancing is essential for high availability and security. This document will detail these aspects.
Physical Network Infrastructure
The physical network forms the bedrock of our system. It consists of high-performance switches, routers, and cabling. Redundancy is built into this layer to minimize downtime.
| Component | Specification | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Core Switches | Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series | 2 |
| Distribution Switches | Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series | 8 |
| Server Network Interface Cards (NICs) | Intel X710-DA4 10 Gigabit Ethernet | 64 (across all servers) |
| Fiber Optic Cable | OM4 Multimode Fiber | 500 meters |
| Copper Cabling | Cat6a Ethernet Cable | 1000 meters |
All servers are connected to the network via redundant NICs, configured in a link aggregation group (LAG) for increased bandwidth and fault tolerance. The LAGs are connected to the distribution switches, which in turn connect to the core switches. Network Redundancy is a key design principle.
Logical Network Segmentation
To enhance security and performance, our network is logically segmented into several virtual LANs (VLANs). This isolates traffic and improves overall network efficiency. VLAN tagging is implemented using the 802.1Q standard. Traffic between VLANs is controlled by firewall rules. Understanding VLAN Configuration is vital.
| VLAN ID | VLAN Name | Description | Subnet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Management | Used for server management interfaces (SSH, IPMI) | 192.168.10.0/24 |
| 20 | Web Servers | Hosts the front-end web servers serving wiki pages. | 10.0.20.0/24 |
| 30 | Database Servers | Hosts the MariaDB database servers. | 10.0.30.0/24 |
| 40 | Cache Servers | Hosts the Memcached and Redis cache servers. | 10.0.40.0/24 |
| 50 | Job Queue | Hosts the job queue processing servers. | 10.0.50.0/24 |
Each VLAN has its own dedicated subnet and is protected by firewall rules. This segmentation minimizes the impact of security breaches and improves network performance. See Firewall Ruleset for details.
Network Services
Several network services are critical for the operation of MediaWiki. These include DNS, load balancing, and firewalls.
- DNS: We utilize BIND for internal DNS resolution and a managed DNS service for external resolution. Proper DNS configuration is crucial for resolving hostnames to IP addresses. See the DNS Configuration Guide.
- Load Balancing: HAProxy is used to distribute traffic across multiple web servers. This ensures high availability and scalability. The load balancer is configured with health checks to automatically remove unhealthy servers from the pool. Refer to the HAProxy Configuration documentation.
- Firewalls: iptables and nftables are used to control network traffic and protect our servers from unauthorized access. Firewall rules are carefully crafted to allow only necessary traffic. See Firewall Management.
- Network Time Protocol (NTP): NTP is used to synchronize the clocks on all servers. Accurate time synchronization is essential for logging and security. Consult the NTP Synchronization document.
- SSH Access: Secure Shell (SSH) access is strictly controlled using key-based authentication and limited to authorized personnel. SSH Security Best Practices should be followed.
- Monitoring: Nagios and Prometheus are used for network monitoring. They provide real-time visibility into network performance and alert us to potential problems. See Network Monitoring Setup.
Technical Specifications: Server Network Interfaces
This table details the specific configuration of the network interfaces on our MediaWiki servers.
| Interface | IP Address | Netmask | Gateway | VLAN ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eth0 | 10.0.20.10 | 255.255.255.0 | 10.0.20.1 | 20 |
| eth1 | 10.0.30.10 | 255.255.255.0 | 10.0.30.1 | 30 |
| eth2 | 192.168.10.10 | 255.255.255.0 | 192.168.10.1 | 10 |
| eth3 | 10.0.40.10 | 255.255.255.0 | 10.0.40.1 | 40 |
These configurations are automated through our configuration management system. Configuration Management Overview provides more details.
Future Considerations
We are actively evaluating Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technologies to further improve network agility and scalability. This includes exploring options for automating network provisioning and management. We are also investigating the use of more advanced network monitoring tools to gain deeper insights into network performance. SDN Evaluation and NFV Implementation are ongoing projects.
DNS
Firewall
Load Balancing
Network Configuration
Network Security
VLAN
Subnetting
Routing
Switching
Network Troubleshooting
SSH
NTP
Network Monitoring
HAProxy
BIND
iptables
nftables
Intel-Based Server Configurations
| Configuration | Specifications | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Core i7-6700K/7700 Server | 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 512 GB | CPU Benchmark: 8046 |
| Core i7-8700 Server | 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2x1 TB | CPU Benchmark: 13124 |
| Core i9-9900K Server | 128 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 1 TB | CPU Benchmark: 49969 |
| Core i9-13900 Server (64GB) | 64 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i9-13900 Server (128GB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Server (64GB) | 64 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Server (128GB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Workstation | 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2 NVMe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 4000 |
AMD-Based Server Configurations
| Configuration | Specifications | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 5 3600 Server | 64 GB RAM, 2x480 GB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 17849 |
| Ryzen 7 7700 Server | 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2x1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 35224 |
| Ryzen 9 5950X Server | 128 GB RAM, 2x4 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 46045 |
| Ryzen 9 7950X Server | 128 GB DDR5 ECC, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 63561 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/1TB) | 128 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/2TB) | 128 GB RAM, 2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/4TB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/1TB) | 256 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/4TB) | 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 9454P Server | 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe |
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⚠️ *Note: All benchmark scores are approximate and may vary based on configuration. Server availability subject to stock.* ⚠️