Two-Tier Networks In a two-tier network, a client communicates directly with a server. This is also known as a client-server architecture. A client-server network is an architecture that involves client processes that request services from server processes. The client and server communicate over a network using a given protocol, which must be installed on both the client and the server. A common error in client-server network development is to prototype an application in a small, two-tier environment and then scale up by adding more users to the server. This approach can result in an ineffective system, as the server becomes overburdened. To.