Telecommunications Networks

Network Taxonomy and Topologies

 Network Taxonomy
• Networks can be classified into:
– Local Area Networks (LANs)
– Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)
– Wide Area Networks (WANs)
• Classified based on their: size, ownership, typical
speeds, typical costs, number of nodes, etc.
• Two or more networks can be interconnected to
form an internetwork or internet (cf. The Internet)
 Local Area Networks (LANs)
• Serves a local area—e.g., a single building, industrial
plant, college or university campus, etc.
– Up to several kilometres in size
• Typically privately owned (by a single organisation)
• Typical speeds: 10 Mb/s—1 Gb/s (usually with very low
delays, losses and errors)
• Shared among all users
• Example: Ethernet
 Metropolitan Area Networks
(MANs)
• In between LANs and WANs
• May cover a group of nearby office buildings or an entire
city
• May be private or public
– But typically not used by a single organisation; rather
shared. Could be owned by a consortium or
organisations or a single MAN operator/provider
• Frequently used to provide shared access to a WAN
 Wide Area Networks (WANs)
• Spans a large geographical area such as an entire
country or continent
• Connects a number of Hosts or End Nodes or End
Systems (ESs) via a communication subnet
• Subnet comprises: Communication Links and
Switching Nodes or Intermediate Systems (ISs)
[Synonyms: switches, exchanges, routers]
• Typical link rates: 2,34,45,155,625 Mb/s (or
higher)
 Internetworks
• An internetwork or internet is defined as a collection of
interconnected networks
• Example: a collection of LANs connected by a WAN
• The Internet (capital “I”) is the global public internetwork
that runs on the TCP/IP protocols
• Networks, subnets and internetworks are distinct
– Network = hosts plus shared medium
– Subnet = collection of communication links and ISs
– Internetwork = interconnection of two or more distinct
networks
 Network Topologies
• Network topology refers to the physical or geometrical arrangement of the
nodes in a network
• Different types of network topologies:
– Point-to-point
– Bus
– Star
– Ring
– Tree
– Mesh
– Intersecting Rings
– Irregular