Lecture_4

Computer Network Classification and

connectivity devices
 Computer Network Topology
PHYSICAL TOPOLOGY:
Physical Network Topology emphasizes the hardware
associated with the system including workstations,
remote terminals, servers, and the associated wiring
between assets.
Physical topology defines how the systems are
physically connected. It means the arrangement of
devices on a computer network through the actual
cables that transmit data.
The shape of the cabling layout used to link devices is
called the physical topology of the network. This refers
to the layout of cabling, the locations of nodes, and
the interconnections between the nodes and the
cabling.
 PHYSICAL TOPOLOGY
• There are five basic topologies. In below each
of these topologies are described:
• 1- BUS TOPOLOGY:
 BUS TOPOLOGY
• The bus topology carries the transmitted message along the
cable. As the message arrives at each device (node), the
nodes checks the destination address contained in the
message to see if it matches its own.
• In this topology, a single network cable runs in the building or
campus and all nodes are linked along with this
communication line with two endpoints called the bus or
backbone.
• By this type of topology, if one node goes faulty all nodes may
be affected as all nodes share the same cable for the sending
and receiving of information.
• The cabling cost of bus systems is the least of all the different
topologies. Each end of the cable is terminated using a special
terminator.
 BUS TOPOLOGY
A. Advantages
1. Simplicity: Bus topology is one of the simplest network
topologies to set up. You only need one central cable and
terminators.
2. Cost-Effective: Because it's simple and requires fewer cables,
bus topology is cost-effective, making it suitable for small to
medium-sized networks with a limited budget.
3. Easy to Extend: Adding new devices to the network is
straightforward; you can simply attach them to the central
bus. No complex hardware or reconfiguration is necessary.
4. Easy to Troubleshoot: Identifying faults or issues is relatively
easy since all devices are connected in a linear manner. You
can use basic tools to trace cables and locate problems.
 BUS TOPOLOGY
B. Disadvantages
1. Limited Scalability: Bus topology is not suitable for large
networks. As you add more devices, the performance
degrades because all devices share the same communication
medium. There can be issues with data collisions.
2. Single Point of Failure: If the central cable (the bus) fails or is
cut at any point, the entire network goes down. This makes
the network vulnerable and less reliable.
3. Data Collision: In bus topology, data collisions can occur
when two devices try to transmit data simultaneously. While
there are collision detection and resolution methods (like
CSMA/CD), collisions can still impact network performance.
4. Performance Degradation: As more devices are added to the
network, there's an increased likelihood of data collisions and
congestion. This can lead to slower data transfer rates and
overall degraded performance.
 BUS TOPOLOGY
5. Privacy and Security: All devices on the bus can see
all the data transmitted on the network. This lack of
privacy and security makes bus topology unsuitable
for sensitive or confidential information.
6. Difficult Cable Management: Cable management can
become challenging as the network grows. Proper
terminations and cable lengths are crucial to prevent
signal reflections and ensure network integrity.
7. Noisy Environment: Electrical interference can affect
the quality of data transmission, particularly in larger
bus networks.
 RING TOPOLOGY
In a ring topology, every device has exactly two neighbors for
communication purposes. All messages travel through a ring in
the same direction (either “clockwise” or “counter clock wise”).
There is a direct point-to-point link between two neighboring
nodes (the Next and the Previous). These links are unidirectional
which ensures that transmission by a node traverses the whole
ring and comes back to the node, which made the transmission as
shown in figure
 RING TOPOLOGY
• When the workstation is powered on, it
connects itself to the ring. When power is off,
it disconnects itself from the ring and allows
the information to bypass the node.
• The most common implementation of this
topology is token ring. A break in the ring
causes the entire network to fail. Individual
nodes can be isolated from the ring.
 RING TOPOLOGY
A. Advantages
1) Ring networks offer high performance for a small
number of workstations or for larger networks
where each station has a similar workload.
2) Ring networks can span longer distances than
other types of networks.
3) Ring networks are easily extendable.
4) Unlike Bus topology, there is no signal loss in Ring
topology because the tokens are data packets that
are re-generated at each node.
 RING TOPOLOGY
B. Disadvantages
1) Relatively expensive and difficult to install
2) Failure of one computer on the network can
affect the whole network.
3) It is difficult to find fault in a ring network.
4) Adding or removing computers can disrupt
the network.
 STAR TOPOLOGY
• Star topology uses a central hub through which, all
components are connected.
• In a Star topology, the central hub is the host computer,
and at the end of each connection is a node.
• Nodes communicate across the network by passing
data through the hub.

Server
 STAR TOPOLOGY
A. Advantages
1) It is more reliable (if one connection fails, it does not
affect others)
2) The center of a star network is a good place to
diagnose network faults and if one computer fails whole
network is not disturbed. Hub detects the fault and
isolates the faulty computer.
3) It is easy to replace, install or remove hosts or other of
the network by simply running a new line from the
computer to the central location and plugging it to the
hub.
4) It has good performance
 STAR TOPOLOGY
B. Disadvantages
1) It is expensive to install as it requires more cable,
it costs more to cable a star network because all
network cables must be pulled to one central point,
requiring more cable length than other networking
topologies.
2) Central node dependency, if central hub fails, the
whole network fails to operate.
3) Many star networks require a device at the
central point to rebroadcast or switch the network
traffic.
 MESH TOPOLOGY
• Mesh topologies involve the concept of routes. Devices are
connected with many redundant interconnections between
network nodes. In a well-connected topology, every node has a
connection to every other node in the network. The cable
requirements are high, but there are redundant paths built in.
• Failure in one of the computers does not cause the network to
break down, as they have alternative paths to other computers.

A fully connected mesh network has:

n * (n-1) /2 physical channels to link n
devices.
To accommodate these, every device on
the network must have (n-1) input/output
ports.
 MESH TOPOLOGY
A. Advantages
1) Yield the greatest amount of redundancy in
the event that one of the nodes fails where
network traffic can be redirected to another
node.
2) Point-to-point link makes fault isolation easy.
3) Privacy between computers is maintained as
messages travel along dedicated path.
4) Network problems are easier to diagnose.
 MESH TOPOLOGY
B. Disadvantages
1) The amount of cabling required is high.
2) A large number of I/O (input/output) ports
are required.
 TREE TOPOLOGY
• Tree topology is a hybrid topology, it is similar
to the star topology but the nodes are
connected to the secondary hub, which in
turn is connected to the central hub. Tree
topology is a combination of two or more bus
and the star topology. In this topology group
of star-configured networks are connected to
a linear bus backbone.
TREE TOPOLOGY
 TREE TOPOLOGY
A. Advantages
1) Installation and configuration of network are
easy.
2) The addition of the secondary hub allows
more devices to be attached to the central hub.
3) Less expensive when compared to mesh
topology.
4) Faults in the network can be detected traces.
 TREE TOPOLOGY
B. Disadvantages
1) Failure in the central hub brings the entire
network to a halt.
2) More cabling is required when compared to
the bus topology because each node is
connected to the central hub.
 LOGICAL TOPOLOGY
• Logical Network Topology emphasizes the
representation of data flow between nodes
• The logical topology is associated with the
arrangement of devices on a computer
network and how they communicate with one
another.
• Logical topologies are often closely associated
with Media Access Control methods and
protocols
 LOGICAL TOPOLOGY
There are two categories of logical topologies:
A. Shared Media Topology
 In this topology the systems have unrestricted access
to the physical media that is all the systems in a
network have the ability to access the physical layout
whenever they need it.
 Collision is the main disadvantage of this topology as
more than one system send information out on the
wire at the same time, the packets collide and as a
result this collision kills the packets. Ethernet is an
example of a shared media topology.
 LOGICAL TOPOLOGY
B. Token Based Topology
• In token based topology a token is used which
travels around the network to access the
physical media.
• If any node wants to send a packet to another
one it should wait for the token which is
traverse within the network either clockwise
or anti-clockwise direction.
 Components of the Network
• Devices and media are the physical elements or
hardware of the network.
• Hardware is often the visible components of the
network platform such as a laptop, a PC, a switch,
or the cabling used to connect the devices.
• Occasionally, some components might not be so
visible. In the case of wireless media, messages
are transmitted through the air using invisible
radio frequency or infrared waves.
 Components of the Network
• Services and processes are the communication
programs, called software, that run on the
networked devices.
• Services include many of the common network
applications people use every day, like e-mail
hosting services and web hosting services.
• Processes provide the functionality that directs
and moves the messages through the network.
Processes are less obvious (Clear) to us but are
critical to the operation of networks.
 End Devices and their Role on the
Network
• An end device refers to a piece of equipment that
is either the source or the destination of a
message on a network.
• End device that sends or receives messages is a
host.
• A host can be one of several pieces of equipment
performing a wide variety of functions.
• Examples of hosts and end devices are as follows:
• Computers, laptops, and servers , Network
printers, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
phones, Cameras, PDAs and handheld scanners.
 End Devices
• When hosts communicate with each other,
they use addresses to find each other.
• The host address is a unique physical address
used by hosts inside a local-area network
(LAN), and when a host sends a message to
another host, it uses the physical address of
the destination device.
 Intermediary Devices and Their Role
on the Network
• End devices are the hosts that initiate
communications and are the ones that people
are most familiar with.
• But getting a message from the source to the
destination can be a complex task involving
several intermediary devices along the way.
• Intermediary devices connect the individual
hosts to the network and can connect multiple
individual networks to form an internetwork.
 Intermediary Devices
• Intermediary devices are not all the same.
Some work inside the LAN performing
switching functions, and others help route
messages between networks.
Examples of Intermediary Devices
 Intermediary Devices Functions
Processes running on the intermediary network
devices perform these functions:
■ Regenerate and retransmit data signals.
■ Maintain information about what pathways exist through
the network and internetwork.
■ Notify other devices of errors and communication failures.
■ Direct data along alternate pathways when there is a link
failure.
■ Classify and direct messages according to quality of service
(QoS) priorities.
■ Permit or deny the flow of data, based on security settings.