TOPOLOGY

Physical topology
Physical layout of a network
SIMPLE PHYSICAL TOPOLOGIES
A Bus topology consists of a single cable—
called a bus— connecting all nodes on a
network without intervening connectivity
devices

Bus topology network

A terminated bus network
Ring topology
Each node is connected to the two nearest nodes so the
entire network forms a circle
One method for passing data on ring networks is token
passing

A typical ring network

Star topology
Every node on the network is connected through a
central device

A typical star topology network

 Hybrid Physical Topologies
Hybrid topology
Complex combination of the simple
physical topologies

Star-wired ring
Star-wired bus

Daisy-Chained

Hierarchical hybrid topology

 Hybrid Physical Topologies
Star-wired ring
Star-wired topologies use physical layout of a
star in conjunction with token ring-passing data
transmission method

A star-wired ring
topology network
 Hybrid Physical Topologies
Star-wired bus
In a star-wired bus topology, groups of workstations are star-
connected to hubs and then networked via a single bus

A star-wired bus network topology

 Hybrid Physical Topologies
Daisy-Chained
A Daisy chain is linked series of devices

A daisy-chained star-wired bus topology

 Hybrid Physical Topologies
Hierarchical hybrid topology
Uses layers to separate devices by priority or function

A hierarchical ring topology

 Enterprise-Wide Topologies
Enterprise
 An entire organization
Backbone networks
 Serial backbone
 Distributed backbone
 Collapsed backbone
 Parallel backbone
 Enterprise-Wide Topologies
Serial backbone
Two or more hubs connected to each other by a single cable
Distributed backbone
Hubs connected to a series of central hubs or routers in a hierarchy

A simple distributed backbone network

Enterprise-Wide Topologies

VA GA NC

A distributed backbone connecting multiple LANs

 Enterprise-Wide Topologies
Collapsed backbone
Uses a router or switch as the single central connection
point for multiple subnetworks

A collapsed backbone network

 Enterprise-Wide Topologies
Parallel Backbone
Collapsed backbone arrangement that consists of more than one
connection from central router or switch to each network segment

A parallel backbone network

 Enterprise-Wide Topologies
Mesh networks
Routers are interconnected with other routers, with at least two
pathways connecting each router

An example of a mesh network

 Wide Area Network (WAN)
Topologies
Peer-to-peer topology
WAN with single interconnection points for each location
Dedicated circuits
Continuous physical or logical connections between two access
points that are leased from a communication provider

A peer-to-peer WAN
 Wide Area Network (WAN)
Topologies
Ring WAN topology
Each site is connected to two other sites so that entire WAN
forms a ring pattern

A ring-configured WAN
 Wide Area Network (WAN)
Topologies
Star WAN topology
Single site acts as the central connection point for several
other points

A star-configured WAN
 Wide Area Network (WAN)
Topologies
Mesh WAN topology
Many directly interconnected locations forming a complex mesh

Full-mesh and partial-mesh WANs

 Wide Area Network (WAN)
Topologies
Tiered WAN topology
Sites connected in star or ring formations are interconnected at
different levels, with interconnection points organized into layers

A tiered WAN topology

 Logical Topologies
Refers to the way in which data are
transmitted between nodes
Describes the way:
 Data are packaged in frames
 Electrical pulses are sent over network’s physical
media
Logical topology may also be called network
transport system
 Switching
Component of network’s logical topology that
determines how connections are created
between nodes
 Circuit switching
Connection is established between two network nodes
before they begin transmitting data
 Message switching
Establishes connection between two devices, transfers
information to second device, and then breaks connection
 Packet switching
Breaks data into packets before they are transmitted
 Ethernet
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision
Detection (CSMA/CD)

The access method used in Ethernet
 Collision
In Ethernet networks, the interference of one network node’s
data transmission with another network node’s data
transmission
 Jamming
Part of CSMA/CD in which, upon detection of collision, station
issues special 32-bit sequence to indicate to all nodes on
Ethernet segment that its previously transmitted frame has
suffered a collision and should be considered faulty
 Ethernet

CSMA/CD process
 Ethernet
Collision domain
 Segment on a network in which collisions will
occur if two nodes transmit data at same time

Data propagation delay

 Length of time data take to travel from one point
on the segment to another point
 Ethernet
Demand priority
 Method for data transmission used by 100BaseVG Ethernet networks

Demand priority requires an intelligent hub

CSMA/CD versus
demand priority
 Ethernet
Traditional Ethernet LANs, called shared
Ethernet, supply fixed amount of bandwidth that
must be shared by all devices on a segment
Switch
 Device that can separate network segments into
smaller segments, with each segment being
independent of the others and supporting its own traffic
Switched Ethernet
 Newer Ethernet model that enables multiple nodes to
simultaneously transmit and receive data over logical
network segments
 Ethernet

Figure 5-21: A switched Ethernet network

 Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet
 1 Gigabit Ethernet
Ethernet standard for networks that achieve 1-
Gbps maximum throughput
 10 Gigabit Ethernet
Standard currently being defined by IEEE 802.3ae
committee
Will allow 10-Gbps throughput
Will include full-duplexing and multimode fiber
requirements
Understanding Frame Types
Learning about networks is analogous to
learning a foreign language, with the frame type
being the language’s syntax
 Just as you may know the Japanese word for go but
how to use it in a sentence, you may know all about
the IPX/SPX protocol but not how devices handle it
Autosense
 Feature of modern NICs that enables a NIC to
automatically sense what types of frames are running
on a network and set itself to that specification