Types Of Network Topologies

Types Of Network Topologies

Various network topologies are star topology, bus topology, ring topology, and mesh topology.

Mesh Topology: in a mesh topology, all the devices are connected with the help of point to point connection. That means if there are five devices in a network, all the five devices are connected to the rest four.

The main advantage of using a star topology is that it does not cost a lot and is easy to maintain and configure. But it has a disadvantage that if the switch goes down, the entire network goes down.

Bus Topology: Bus topology is usually used in LAN where you want to connect computers in one room such as in schools or colleges where computers are connected in a lab. Bus topology has a backbone or cable through which all devices are connected, and it contains taps and drop line which connects all the device to the network. Communication is done through the backbone.

The advantage is that it becomes easy to communicate, and the disadvantage is the same as star topology that if the backbone goes down the enter network goes down.

Ring Topology: in a ring topology, each node is connected to one other such that each device will have its successor and predecessor forming a ring. The packet is also forwarded in ring fashion and communication also takes place the same way.

The advantage is that each device acts as a repeater in a ring which will charge the signal before sending it to the other device.

The three main network topologies are the star, bus, and ring.