Network Topologies

Network Topologies The shape of a local-area network (LAN) or other communications system. Topologies are either physical or logical. There are three principal topologies used in LANs. bus topology: All devices are connected to a central cable, called the bus or backbone. Bus networks are relatively inexpensive and easy to install for small networks. Ethernet systems use a bus topology. ring topology : All devices are connected to one another in the shape of a closed loop, so that each device is connected directly to two other devices, one on either side of it. Ring topologies are relatively expensive and difficult to install, but they offer high bandwidth and can span large distances. star topology: All devices are connected to a central hub. Star networks are relatively easy to install and manage, but bottlenecks can occur because all data must pass through the hub. These topologies can also be mixed. For example, a bus-star network consists of a high-bandwidth bus, called the backbone, which connects a collections of slower-bandwidth star segments.
Mesh Topology Devices are connected with many redundant interconnections between network nodes. In a true mesh topology every node has a connection to every other node in the network. ¡@ |
Star Topology All devices are connected to a central hub. Nodes communicate across the network by passing data through the hub. ¡@ |
Bus Topology All devices are connected to a central cable, called the bus or backbone. ¡@ |
Ring Topology All devices are connected to one another in the shape of a closed loop, so that each device is connected directly to two other devices, one on either side of it. ¡@ |
Tree Topology A hybrid topology. Groups of star-configured networks are connected to a linear bus backbone. ¡@ |
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