Network Topologies

Network Topology
Network topologyis the arrangement of the various elements
(links,nodes, etc.) of acomputer network.
Essentially, it is thetopologicalstructure of a network and may be
depicted physically or logically.
Physical topologyis the placement of the various components of a
network, including device location and cable installation,
whilelogical topologyillustrates how data flows within a network,
regardless of its physical design. Distances between nodes, physical
interconnections, transmission rates, or signal types may differ
between two networks, yet their topologies may be identical.

Network Topology
An example is alocal area network(LAN).
Any given node in the LAN has one or more
physical links to other devices in the network;
graphically mapping these links results in a
geometric shape that can be used to describe
the physical topology of the network.
Conversely, mapping the data flow between the
components determines the logical topology of
the network.

Classification
The study of network topology recognizes
eight basic topologies: point-to-point, bus,
star, ring or circular, mesh, tree, hybrid,
or daisy chain

Point-to-point
The simplest topology with a
dedicated link between two
endpoints.
Easiest to understand, of
the variations of point-topoint topology, is a point-topointcommunications
channelthat appears, to the
user, to be permanently
associated with the two
endpoints.
A child'stin can telephoneis
one example of aphysical
dedicatedchannel.

Bus
In local area networks where bus topology
is used, each node is connected to a single
cable, by the help of interface connectors.
This central cable is the backbone of the
network and is known as the bus (thus the
name). A signal from the source travels in
both directions to all machines connected
on the bus cable until it finds the intended
recipient.
If the machine address does not match the
intended address for the data, the
machine ignores the data. Alternatively, if

Bus
Because the bus topology consists of only
one wire, it is rather inexpensive to
implement when compared to other
topologies.
However, the low cost of implementing the
technology is offset by the high cost of
managing the network.
Additionally, because only one cable is
utilized, it can be thesingle point of
failure.

Bus Network
Abus networkis
anetwork
topologyin
whichnodesare
directly connected
to a common linear
(or branched)halfduplexlink called
abus.

Function
Ahoston
a
bus
network
is
called
aStationorworkstation. In a bus network, every
station receives all network traffic, and the traffic
generated by each station has equal transmission priority.
A bus network forms a singlenetwork segment. In order
for nodes to transmit on the same bus simultaneously,
they use amedia access controltechnology such
ascarrier sense multiple access(CSMA) or abus master.
If any link or segment of the bus is severed, all network
transmission ceases due to signal bounce caused by the
lack of a terminatingresistor.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages
Very Easy to connect a
computer
or
peripheral to a linear
bus
Requires less cable
length than a star
topology resulting in
lower costs
It works well for small
networks.

Disadvantages
Entire network shuts
down if there is a
break in the main
cable or one of the T
connectors break.
Large
amount
of
packet collisions on
the network, which
results
in
high
amounts of packet
loss.

Linear Bus
The type of network topology in which all of the
nodes of the network are connected to a
common transmission medium which has
exactly two endpoints.
This is the 'bus', which is also commonly
referred to as thebackbone, ortrunk
Alldatathat istransmittedbetween nodes in
the network is transmitted over this common
transmission
medium
and
is
able
to
bereceivedby all nodes in the network
simultaneously

Linear Bus

Distributed Bus
The type of network topology in which all of
the nodes of the network are connected to
a common transmission medium
Which has more than two endpoints that
are created by adding branches to the main
section of the transmission medium
The physical distributed bus topology
functions in exactly the same fashion as the
physical linear bus topology (i.e., all nodes
share a common transmission medium).

Distributed Bus

Star Topology
In local area networks with a star topology, each
network host is connected to a central hub with a
point-to-point connection.
So it can be said that every computer is indirectly
connected to every other node with the help of
the hub.
In Star topology, every node (computer
workstation or any other peripheral) is connected
to a central node called hub, router or switch.
The switch is the server and the peripherals are
the clients.

Network Devices (Hub, Repeater,

Bridge, Switch, Router and Gateways)

Star Topology
The network does not necessarily
have to resemble a star to be
classified as a star network, but all of
the nodes on the network must be
connected to one central device.
All traffic that travel across the
network passes through the central
hub. The hub acts as asignal
repeater.
The star topology is considered the
easiest topology to design and
implement. An advantage of the star
topology is the simplicity of adding
additional nodes.
The primary disadvantage of the star
topology is that the hub represents a
single point of failure.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages
If one computer or its
connection breaks it
doesnt affect the
other computers and
their connections.

Disadvantages
An expensive network
layout to install
because of the
amount of cables
needed

Devices can be added

or removed without
disturbing the network

The central hub is

asingle point of
failurefor the network

Extended Star
A type of network topology in which a network that
is based upon the physical star topology has one or
more repeaters between the central node and the
peripheral or 'spoke' nodes,
The repeaters being used to extend the maximum
transmission distance of the point-to-point links
between the central node and the peripheral nodes
Beyond that which is supported by the transmitter
power of the central node or
beyond that which is supported by the standard
upon which the physical layer of the physical star
network is based.

Extended Star
If the repeaters in a
network that is based upon
the physical extended star
topology are replaced with
hubs or switches, then a
hybrid network topology is
created that is referred to
as a physical hierarchical
star topology,
although some texts make
no distinction between the
two topologies.

Distributed Star
A type of network topology
that is composed of individual
networks that are based upon
the physical star topology
connected in a linear fashion
i.e., 'daisy-chained' with
no central or top level
connection point (e.g., two or
more 'stacked' hubs, along
with their associated star
connected nodes or 'spokes').

Ring
A ring topology is a bus topology in a closed loop.
Data travels around the ring in one direction.
When one node sends data to another, the data
passes through each intermediate node on the ring
until it reaches its destination.
The intermediate nodes repeat (retransmit) the data
to keep the signal strong.
Every node is a peer; there is no hierarchical
relationship of clients and servers.
If one node is unable to retransmit data, it severs
communication between the nodes before and after
it in the bus.

Advantages
Very orderly network where every device has access to the
token and the opportunity to transmit
Performs better than abus topologyunder heavy network load
Does not require a central node to manage the connectivity
between the computers
Due to the point to point line configuration of devices with a
device on either side (each device is connected to its immediate
neighbor), it is quite easy to install and reconfigure since adding
or removing a device requires moving just two connections.
Point to point line configuration makes it easy to identify and
isolate faults.
Reconfiguration for line faults of bidirectional rings can be very
fast, as switching happens at a high level, and thus the traffic
does not require individual rerouting.

Disadvantages
One malfunctioning workstation can create
problems for the entire network. This can be
solved by using a dual ring or a switch that
closes off the break.
Moving, adding and changing the devices can
affect the network
Communication delay is directly proportional to
number of nodes in the network
Bandwidth is shared on all links between devices
More difficult to configure than a Star

Types of Topology
Vertical Topology

Horizontal Topology

Hierarchical
Mesh

Star
Bus
Tree
Ring

Vertical Topology
Hierarchical (tree)
topology:
Existence of a central node
(root) and of various sets of
level
organized
nodes
(intermediary nodes);
the leaves of the tree are the
workstations. The data flow
between any two nodes goes
up-down using the upper
levels nodes.

Mesh topology:

Amesh
networkis
anetwork
topologyin
which
eachnoderelays
data for the network. All
mesh nodes cooperate in
the distribution of data in
the network.

fully connected network

A mesh network whose
nodes are all connected to
each
other
is
afully
connected network. Fully
connected wired networks
have the advantages of
security
and
reliability:
problems in a cable affect
only
the
two
nodes
attached to it. However, in
such networks, the number
of cables, and therefore the
cost, goes up rapidly as the
number of nodes increases.