TOPOLOGY

Topology defines the structure of the network of how all the components are interconnected to each
other. There are two types of topology: physical and logical topology.
Physical topology is the geometric representation of all the nodes in a network.

Bus Topology
• The bus topology is designed in such a way that all the stations are connected through a
single cable known as a backbone cable.
• Each node is either connected to the backbone cable by drop cable or directly connected to
the backbone cable.
• When a node wants to send a message over the network, it puts a message over the network.
All the stations available in the network will receive the message whether it has been
addressed or not.

Advantages
• Low-cost cable

• Moderate data speeds

• Familiar technology

• Limited failure

Disadvantages
• Extensive cabling

• Difficult troubleshooting

• Signal interference

• Attenuation

Ring Topology
Ring topology is like a bus topology, but with connected ends.
• The node that receives the message from the previous computer will retransmit to the next
node.
• The data flows in one direction, i.e., it is unidirectional.
• The data flows in a single loop continuously known as an endless loop.
Advantages
• Network Management

• Cost
 • Reliable

Disadvantages
• Difficult troubleshooting

• Failure

• Delay

Star Topology
Star topology is an arrangement of the network in which every node is connected to the central hub,
switch or a central computer.
• The central computer is known as a server, and the peripheral devices attached to the server
are known as clients.
• Coaxial cable or RJ-45 cables are used to connect the computers.
• Hubs or Switches are mainly used as connection devices in a physical star topology.

Advantages
• Efficient troubleshooting

• Limited failure

• Easily expandable

• Cost effective

Disadvantages
• A Central point of failure

• Cable

Tree topology
• A tree topology is a type of structure in which all the computers are connected with each
other in hierarchical fashion.
• The top-most node in tree topology is known as a root node, and all other nodes are the
descendants of the root node.
• There is only one path exists between two nodes for the data transmission. Thus, it forms a
parent-child hierarchy.

Advantages
• Support for broadband transmission
 • Easily expandable

• Easily manageable

• Limited failure

Disadvantages
• Difficult troubleshooting

• High cost

Mesh topology
Mesh technology is an arrangement of the network in which computers are interconnected with
each other through various redundant connections.
• There are multiple paths from one computer to another computer.
• It does not contain the switch, hub or any central computer which acts as a central point of
communication.
• The Internet is an example of the mesh topology.

• Number of cables = (n*(n-1))/2

Mesh topology is divided into two categories:

• Fully connected mesh topology
• Partially connected mesh topology

Full Mesh Topology: In a full mesh topology, each computer is connected to all the
computers available in the network.
Partial Mesh Topology: In a partial mesh topology, not all but certain computers are
connected to those computers with which they communicate frequently.

Advantages
• Reliable

• Easier Reconfiguration

Disadvantages
• Cost

• Efficiency
Hybrid Topology
The combination of various different topologies is known as Hybrid topology.
• A Hybrid topology is a connection between different links and nodes to transfer the data.
• When two or more different topologies are combined together is termed as Hybrid topology
and if similar topologies are connected with each other will not result in Hybrid topology.
For example, if there exist a ring topology in one branch of ICICI bank and bus topology in
another branch of ICICI bank, connecting these two topologies will result in Hybrid
topology.

Advantages
• Reliable

• Scalable

• Flexible

Disadvantages
• Complex design

• Costly Hub

• Costly infrastructure

Connecting Devices
1. Repeater – A repeater operates at the physical layer. Its job is to regenerate the signal over the
same network before the signal becomes too weak or corrupted so as to extend the length to which
the signal can be transmitted over the same network. An important point to be noted about repeaters
is that they do not amplify the signal. When the signal becomes weak, they copy the signal bit by bit
and regenerate it at the original strength. It is a 2 port device.

2. Hub – A hub is basically a multiport repeater. A hub connects multiple wires coming from
different branches, for example, the connector in star topology which connects different stations.
Hubs cannot filter data, so data packets are sent to all connected devices.

3. Bridge – A bridge operates at data link layer. A bridge is a repeater, with add on the functionality
of filtering content by reading the MAC addresses of source and destination. It is also used for
interconnecting two LANs working on the same protocol. It has a single input and single output
port, thus making it a 2 port device.
Types of Bridges
 • Transparent Bridges:- These are the bridge in which the stations are completely unaware of
the
bridge’s existence i.e. whether or not a bridge is added or deleted from the network,
reconfiguration of
the stations is unnecessary. These bridges make use of two processes i.e. bridge forwarding
and bridge learning.
• Source Routing Bridges:- In these bridges, routing operation is performed by source station
and the frame specifies which route to follow. The hot can discover frame by sending a
special frame called discovery frame, which spreads through the entire network using all
possible paths to destination.

4. Switch – A switch is a multiport bridge with a buffer and a design that can boost its efficiency(a
large number of ports imply less traffic) and performance. A switch is a data link layer device. The
switch can perform error checking before forwarding data, that makes it very efficient.

5. Routers– A router is a device like a switch that routes data packets based on their IP addresses.
Router is mainly a Network Layer device. Routers normally connect LANs and WANs together and
have a dynamically updating routing table based on which they make decisions on routing the data
packets.

6. Gateway – A gateway, as the name suggests, is a passage to connect two networks together that
may work upon different networking models. They basically work as the messenger agents that take
data from one system, interpret it, and transfer it to another system. Gateways are also called
protocol converters and can operate at any network layer.

7. Brouter – It is also known as bridging router is a device which combines features of both bridge
and router. It can work either at data link layer or at network layer. Working as router, it is capable
of routing packets across networks and working as bridge, it is capable of filtering local area
network traffic.