Network topology-

Network topology refers to the arrangement of different elements like nodes,

links, or devices in a computer network. It defines how these components are
connected and interact with each other.

Types of network topology-

1- Point-to-point link: This type of topology relies upon two functions, i.e.,
Transmit and Receive. It is a type of communication network between
two communication nodes where there is one transmitter and on the
other end, there is the receiver. It is a communication medium with two
endpoints or end nodes. They provide high bandwidth.

Advantages-
 Efficiency: P2P networks are highly efficient as they allow for direct
communication between two devices without any intermediate devices
or network components.
 Security: P2P networks are relatively more secure than other topologies
as they do not rely on intermediate devices that can be compromised or
attacked.
 Simple Configuration: P2P networks are easy to configure and require
minimal management or administration.
Disadvantages-
 Limited Scalability: P2P networks are not scalable as adding new devices
requires establishing a separate link between each new device and the
existing network, which can be time-consuming and expensive.
 Maintenance: P2P networks can be difficult to maintain as each device
has to be managed separately.
 Lack of Redundancy: P2P networks do not provide redundancy, which
can be a problem if a link fails or a device goes offline. with a dedicated
communication connection between two systems.

2- Star topology- A star may be a topology for a Local Area Network (LAN)
during which all nodes are individually connected to a central connection
point, sort of a hub or a switch. A star takes more cable than e.g. a bus,
but the benefit is that if a cable fails, just one node is going to be brought
down. Each device within the network is connected to a central device
called a hub. If one device wants to send data to another device, it’s first
to send the info to the hub then the hub transmits that data to the
designated device. The number of links required to connect nodes in the
star topology is N where N is the number of nodes. The hub, switch, or
concentrator manages and controls all functions of the network.

For example- when any node wants to transmit data to another node it first
transmits data to the central node which then transfers the data to all the
nodes on the network. Once the node receives the data then it checks for
the destination address if the address matches the data is accepted
otherwise data is rejected.
 Advantages-
 It is very reliable – if one cable or device fails then all the others will still
work.
 It is high-performing as no data collisions can occur.
 Easy fault detection because the links are often easily identified.
 No disruptions to the network when connecting or removing devices.
 If N devices are connected in star, then the amount of cables required to
attach them is N. So, it’s easy to line up.

Disadvantages-
 More expensive than linear bus topology due to the value of the
connecting devices (network switches).
 If the hub goes down everything goes down, none of the devices can
work without the hub.
 Hub requires more resources and regular maintenance because it’s the
central system of Star.

Bus topology or linear topology- All of the devices in a bus topology network
are linked together by a single cable, which is referred to as a “bus” and the
cable is known as backbone cable. All of the network’s devices can
simultaneously receive the same signal due to the shared communication
medium provided by this connection.
Bus topology carries transmitted data through the cable because data reaches
each node, the node checks the destination address (MAC/IP address) to
determine if it matches their address. If the address does not match with the
node, the node does nothing more. But if the addresses of nodes match the
addresses contained within the data then they receive and process the data.
Advantages-
 It is the easiest network topology for linearly connecting peripherals or
computers.
 It works very efficiently well when there is a small network.
 The length of cable required is less than a star topology.
 It is easy to connect or remove devices in this network without affecting
any other device.
 Very cost-effective as compared to other network topologies i.e. mesh
and star
 It is easy to understand topology.
 Easy to expand by joining the two cables together.

Disadvantages-
 Bus topology is not good for large networks.
 Identification of problems becomes difficult if the whole network goes
down.
 Troubleshooting individual device issues is very hard.
 Need terminators are required at both ends of the main cable.
 Additional devices slow the network down.
 If the main cable is damaged, the whole network fails or splits into two.
  Bus topology is very slow compared to other topologies.

Tree topology- Tree Topology is a topology which is having a tree structure in

which all the computers are connected like the branches that are connected to
the tree. In a Computer Network, tree topology is called a combination of a Bus
and Star network topology. The main advantages of this topology are that is
very flexible and also has better scalability. Tree network topology is considered
to be the simplest topology in all the topologies which is having only one route
between any two nodes on the network. The pattern of connection resembles
a tree in which all branches spring from one root hence (Tree Topology). Tree
topology is one of the most popular among the five network topologies.

Advantages-
 Leaf nodes can hold more nodes.
 Tree Topology is highly secure.
 It is used in WAN.
 Tree Topology is reliable.
 The other nodes in a network are not affected if one of their nodes gets
damaged or does not work.
 Tree topology provides easy maintenance and easy fault identification
can be done.
Disadvantages-
 This network is very difficult to configure as compared to the other
network topologies.
 The length of a segment is limited & the limit of the segment depends on
the type of cabling used.
 Due to the presence of a large number of nodes, the network
performance of tree topology becomes a bit slow.
 If the computer on the first level is erroneous, the next-level computer
will also go under problems.
 The Backbone appears as the failure point of the entire segment of the
network.
 Treatment of the topology is pretty complex.
 The establishment cost increases as well.

Factors to consider for topology selection-

There are number of factors that govern the selection of topology for a
network, the most important of which are as following :
(a) Cost – For a network to be cost effective, one would try to minimize
installation cost. This may be achieved by using well understood media and
also, to a lesser extent, by minimizing the distances involved.
(b) Flexibility – Because the arrangement of furniture, internal walls etc. in
offices are often subject to change, the topology should allow for easy
reconfiguration of the network. This involves moving existing nodes and adding
new ones.
(c) Reliability – Failure in a network can take two forms. Firstly, an individual
node can malfunction. This is not nearly as serious as the second type of fault
where the network itself fails to operate. The topology chosen for the network
can help by allowing the location of the fault to be detected and to provide
some means of isolating it.

Identifying nodes on a computer network-

A node on a network can be identified by it MAC/IP addresses.
MAC address:-
 MAC address is the physical address, which uniquely identifies each
device on a given network.
 To make communication between two networked devices, we need two
addresses: IP address and MAC address.
 It is assigned to the NIC (Network Interface card) of each device that can
be connected to the internet
 It stands for Media Access Control, and also known as Physical address,
or hardware address.
 It is globally unique; it means two devices cannot have the same MAC
address
 It is represented in a hexadecimal format on each device, such as
00:0a:95:9d:67:16.
 It has 12-digits, and 48 bits, out of which the first 24 bits are known as
manufacturer id, and the last 24 bits are unique serial number.
 It works on the data link layer of the OSI model.
 It is provided by the device's vendor at the time of manufacturing and
embedded in its NIC, which is ideally cannot be changed.
 The ARP protocol is used to associate a logical address with a physical or
MAC address.
IP address:- It stands for internet protocol address. It is a unique address each
device connected to the internet has a unique IP address. It is also known as
logical address.
Types of IP Address:- IP Address is of two types
1. IPV4(Internet Protocol version 4) :-
It consists of 4 numbers separated by dots.
Each number can be from 0-255 in decimal numbers. But computers do not
understand decimal numbers, they instead change them in binary numbers
which are only 0 and 1. Therefore, in binary, this (0-255) range can be
written as (0000000011111111). Since each number N can be represented
by a group of 8-digit binary digits. So, a whole IPv4 binary address can be
represented by 32 bits of binary digits. In IPv4, a unique sequence of bits is
assigned to a computer, so a total of (2/32) devices approximately
4,294.967,296 can be assigned with IPv4.
IPv4 can be written as:
189.123.123.904
2. IPv6(Internet Protocol version 6):-
But, there is a problem with the IPv4 address. With IPv4, we can connect
only the above number of 4 billion devices uniquely, and apparently, there
are many more devices in the world to be connected to the internet. So,
gradually we are making our way to IPv6 Address which is a 128-bit IP
address. In human-friendly form, IPV6 is written as a group of 8 hexadecimal
numbers separated with colons).
But in the computer-friendly form, it can be written as 128 bits of 0s and 1s.
Since, a unique sequence of binary digits is given to computers,
smartphones, and other devices to be connected to the internet. So, via
IPv6 a total of (2˄128) devices can be assigned with unique addresses which
are actually more than enough for upcoming future generations.
IPv6 can be written as:
2011:0bd9:75c5:0000:0000:6b3e:0170:8394