Network Topologies

Types of connections:

• Point-to-Point
dedicated link between two devices
• Multipoint
more than two specific devices share a single link
• Spatially
• Timeshared

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LAN Topologies

1) Bus
2) Star
3) Ring
4) Mesh

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Bus topology

• All networked nodes are interconnected, peer to peer, using a single,

open-ended cable
• One long cable acts as a backbone to link all the devices in a network.
• Both ends of the bus must be terminated with a terminating resistor
to prevent signal bounce.

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Bus topology

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Advantages of Bus topology
1) Easy to implement and extend
2) Well suited for temporary networks that must be set up in a
hurry
3) Typically the least cheapest topology to implement
4) Failure of one station does not affect others

Disadvantages of Bus topology

1) Difficult to administer/troubleshoot
2) Limited cable length and number of stations
3) A backbone cable break can disable the entire network; no
redundancy
4) Maintenance costs may be higher in the long run
5) Performance degrades as additional computers are added

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Ring topology

• started out as a simple peer-to-peer LAN topology

• Each networked workstation had two connections: one to each
of its nearest neighbors
• Data was transmitted unidirectionally around the ring
• Sending and receiving of data takes place by the help of TOKEN
• Token is passed along the ring until it reaches the destination.
• Each device in the ring incorporate a repeater.

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Token Passing

• Token contains a piece of information which along with data

is sent by the source computer
• This token then passes to next node, which checks if the
signal is intended to it
If yes, it receives it and passes the empty to into the
network
otherwise passes token along with the data to next node

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Ring topology

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Advantages of Ring topology
1) This type of network topology is very organized
2) Performance is better than that of Bus topology
3) No need for network server to control the connectivity between
workstations
4) Additional components do not affect the performance of network
5) Each computer has equal access to resources

Disadvantages of Ring topology

1) Each packet of data must pass through all the computers between
source and destination, slower than star topology
2) If one workstation or port goes down, the entire network gets affected
3) Network is highly dependent on the wire which connects different
components

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Star topology

• Have connections to networked devices that “radiate” out form a

common point
• Each networked device in star topology can access the media
independently
• Have become the dominant topology type in contemporary LANs
• Stars have made buses and rings obsolete in LAN topologies

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Star topology

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Advantages of star topology
1) Compared to Bus topology it gives far much better performance
2) Easy to connect new nodes or devices
3) Centralized management. It helps in monitoring the network
4) Failure of one node or link doesn’t affect the rest of network

Disadvantages of star topology

1) If central device fails whole network goes down

2) The use of hub, a router or a switch as central device increases the
overall cost of the network
3) Performance and as well number of nodes which can be added in such
topology is depended on capacity of central device

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Mesh topology
• A mesh topology is a network topology in which all the network
nodes are individually connected to most of the other nodes.
Divided into two kinds:
• Fully connected mesh topology and,
• Partially connected mesh topology

A fully connected mesh topology has all the nodes

connected to every other node
partially connected mesh topology does not have all the
nodes connected to each other.

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Mesh topology

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Advantages/Disadvantages of mesh
Advantages of mesh topology:
•Each connection can carry its own data load
•It is robust
•A fault is diagnosed easily
•Provides security and privacy
Disadvantages of mesh topology:
•Installation and configuration are difficult if the connectivity gets more
•Cabling cost is more and the most in case of a fully connected mesh topology
•Bulk wiring is required

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For each of the following four networks, discuss the
consequences if a connection fails.
a.Five devices arranged in a mesh topology
b.Five devices arranged in a star topology (not counting the
hub)
c.Five devices arranged in a bus topology
d.Five devices arranged in a ring topology

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 Types of Networks

LAN (Local Area Network)

•Group of interconnected computers within a small area.
(room, building, campus)
•Two or more PC's can from a LAN to share files, folders,
printers, applications and other devices.
•Coaxial or CAT 5 cables are normally used for connections.
•Due to short distances, errors and noise are minimum.
•Data transfer rate is 10 to 100 mbps.
•Distinguished on their transmission media and topology.
•Example: A computer lab in a college.

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MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)
•Design to extend over a large area.
•Connecting number of LAN's to form larger network, so that resources
can be shared.
•Networks can be up to 5 to 50 km.
•Owned by organization or individual.
•Data transfer rate is low compare to LAN.
•Example: Organization with different branches located in the city.
WAN (Wide Area Network)
•Are country and worldwide network.
•Contains multiple LAN's and MAN's.
•Distinguished in terms of geographical range.
•Uses satellites and microwave relays.
•Data transfer rate depends upon the ISP provider and varies over the
location.
•Best example is the internet.
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WLAN (Wireless LAN)
•A LAN that uses high frequency radio waves for communication.
•Provides short range connectivity with high speed data
transmission.
PAN (Personal Area Network)
•Network organized by the individual user for its personal use.
SAN (Storage Area Network)
•Connects servers to data storage devices via fiber-optic cables.
• E.g.: Used for daily backup of organization or a mirror copy

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Network Protocols
Definition
•Is a set of rules and formats for sending and receiving data
successfully over the network.
Description
• TCP/IP is standard protocol used to communicate over the
internet.
• Every protocol has advantages and some disadvantages.
• Protocols differs in their functioning at various levels.
• Some protocols are simpler, reliable and faster than others.
• Protocol are either implemented on software or hardware.

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 Layer levels protocols
Application layer protocols:
• DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)
• DNS (Domain Name System)
• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
• HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
• MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)
• POP and POP3 (Post Office Protocol(version 3))
• RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol)
• SHTTP (Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
• SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
• SSH (Secure Shell Protocol)
• Telnet (Telnet Remote Protocol)
• TFTP (Trivial File transfer Protocol)
• TLS (Transport Layer Security Protocol)
• URL (Universe Resource Locator)
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Transport layer protocols:
• TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
• UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
• Datagram Congestion Control Protocol (DCCP)
• Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP)
Internet layer protocols:
• IP (Internet Protocol(IPv4)
• IPv6 (Internet Protocol)
• ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol)
• IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol
• IPsec (IP Security)
Link layer protocols:
• ARP (Address Resolution Protocol)
• RARP (Reverse Address Resolution Protocol)
• SLIP (Serial Line IP)
• Ethernet
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Standards
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
It was formed in 1963 by the merger of the Institute of Radio
Engineers (IRE, founded 1912) and the American Institute of Electrical
Engineers (AIEE, founded 1884).
ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
ITU (International Telecommunications Union - formerly CCITT)
which is responsible for information and communication
technologies.
ISO (International Organization for Standards)
EIA (Electronic Industries Association)
ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)
W3C - World Wide Web Consortium

Roles and Responsibilities ?

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 Why standards and protocols are essential
in data communication?
• It guarantees
• Interoperability,
• continuous ability to send and receive data among the
interconnected networks
• Compatibility,
• capacity for two systems to work together without having to be
altered
• Interconnectivity.
• It ensures that hardware and software produced by different vendors
can work together.

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