Cisco utilizes two primary frameworks to guide network design: the traditional hierarchical model for physical structure and the for service integration.

: Networks now use AIOps for predictive troubleshooting and autonomous self-healing.

Modern architectures must also account for specialized service environments:

: Acts as a communication point between access and core, providing routing, filtering, and WAN access.

: Contains business and collaborative applications that leverage the services below. 2. Key Design Principles

: Connects end-user devices (workstations, printers, IoT) to the network.

: A more advanced blueprint that enables IT to evolve into an Intelligent Information Network (IIN) .