Editing Frontend and backend (section)

== Hardware definitions ==
In [[computer network|network computing]], ''frontend'' can refer to any [[Networking hardware|hardware]] that optimizes or protects [[network traffic]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2009/6/28494-network-front-end-processors-yet-again/fulltext|title=Network Front-End Processors, Yet Again {{!}} June 2009 {{!}} Communications of the ACM|last=O'Dell|first=Mike|website=cacm.acm.org|access-date=2016-12-30|archive-date=2016-12-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230162057/http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2009/6/28494-network-front-end-processors-yet-again/fulltext|url-status=live}}</ref> It is called '''application front-end hardware''' because it is placed on the network's [[DMZ (computing)|outward-facing frontend or boundary]]. Network traffic passes through the front-end hardware before entering the network.

In [[processor design]], ''frontend design'' would be the initial description of the behavior of a circuit in a [[hardware description language]] such as [[Verilog]], while ''backend design'' would be the process of mapping that behavior to physical transistors on a [[Die (integrated circuit)|die.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://techdocs.altium.com/display/ADOH/Front-End+Design|title=Front-End Design {{!}} Online Documentation for Altium Products|website=techdocs.altium.com|access-date=2016-12-30|archive-date=2016-12-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230160759/http://techdocs.altium.com/display/ADOH/Front-End+Design|url-status=live}}</ref>