Sidevõrkud

Sidevõrkud is a term used to describe secondary or auxiliary networks that operate alongside a primary network. They are designed to carry specific types of traffic, provide redundancy, or isolate particular functions from the main network. Side networks can be physical networks that are separate from the main infrastructure or logical networks created within the same physical fabric through segmentation methods such as VLANs, subnets, firewalls, and access control lists.

In practice, side networks are used in various domains. In enterprises, they may serve as DMZs for exposed services, management networks for administering devices, or separate networks for backups and disaster recovery. In data centers and cloud environments, side networks can isolate storage traffic, analytics workloads, or test and development environments from production traffic. Industrial and operational technology settings often deploy side networks to keep critical control systems isolated from office IT networks, reducing the risk of disruption or cyber threats.

The main advantages of side networks include improved security through isolation, greater reliability by containing faults, and the ability to tailor security policies and performance characteristics to specific workloads. They also support regulatory compliance by separating sensitive data flows. Challenges include increased management complexity, potential for misconfiguration, and the need for careful coordination of addressing, routing, and policy enforcement.

Related concepts include network segmentation, VLANs, DMZs, and dedicated management networks. Sidevõrkud are thus a design approach for achieving modularity, security, and resilience in modern networks.