Collisions and Collision Domains

• Collision - A situation that can occur, when

two bits propagate at the same time on the
same network
• If there is only one cable that interconnects
all of the devices on a network, the possibility
of conflicts with more than one user sending
data at the same time is very high
• The same is true if segments of a network
are only connected by non-filtering devices,
such as repeaters (hubs)
 Collisions and Collision Domains

• Collision Domain - The area within the

network, where the data packets
originated and collided
• Contention - competition for the
medium
• A certain amount of collisions are a
natural function of a shared media
environment
 Collisions and Collision Domains

• If you connect several computers to a single

medium that has no other networking devices
attached, you have a shared-access situation,
and you have a collision domain
• Repeaters (hubs)
– regenerate and retime bits
– they cannot filter the flow of traffic
– repeaters extend collision domains
– Extending a run of cable with a repeater, and ending
that run with a hub, results in a larger collision domain
 The Four Repeater Rule

• No more than four repeaters or repeating

hubs can be between any two computers on
the network
– late collision - collision happens after the first 64
bytes of the frame are transmitted
– consumption delay - late collision frames add this
delay
• Repeater latency, propagation delay, and
NIC latency all contribute to the 4-repeater
rule
 The Four Repeater Rule

• Ethernet rule of thumb is also known

as the 5-4-3-2-1 rule
– Five sections of the network
– Four repeaters or hubs
– Three sections of the network are
"mixing" sections (with hosts)
– Two sections are link sections (for link
purposes)
– one large collision domain
 Segmenting collision domains

• The size of collision domains can be reduced by

using intelligent networking devices that break
up the domains
– bridges, switches, and routers
– This process is called segmentation
• A bridge can eliminate unnecessary traffic on a
busy network by dividing a network into
segments and filtering traffic based on the
station address (MAC address)
– If the traffic is heave a bridge can actually become a
bottleneck
 Network topologies
• Physical topology
describes the plan
for wiring the
physical devices
• Logical topology to
learn how
information flows
through a network
to determine where
collisions may
occur
 Network topologies
• A network may have one type of
physical topology, and a completely
different type of logical topology
– Ethernet 10BASE-T uses an extended-
star physical topology, but acts as though
it uses a logical bus topology
 Linear Bus
• Bus topology has all of its nodes connected
directly to one link, and has no other
connections between nodes
– Physical perspective
• advantage of this topology is that all hosts are
connected to each other
• disadvantage of this topology is that a break in the
cable disconnects hosts from each other
– Logical perspective
• bus topology enables every networking device to see
all signals from all other devices
 Ring Topology
• Ring Topology is a single closed ring
consisting of nodes and links, with each
node connected to only two adjacent nodes
– Physical perspective
• topology shows all devices wired directly to each other
in what is called a daisy-chain
– Logical perspective
• each station must pass the information to its adjacent
station
 Dual Ring Topology
• Dual ring topology consists of two concentric
rings, each of which is linked only to its
adjacent ring neighbor
– Physical perspective
• dual ring topology is the same as a ring topology,
except that there is a second, redundant ring, that
connects the same devices
– Logical perspective
• dual ring topology acts like two independent rings, of
which, only one at a time is used
 Star Network
• Star topology has a central node with all
links to other nodes radiating from it and
allows no other links
– Physical perspective
• primary advantage is that it allows all other nodes to
communicate with each other, conveniently
• disadvantage is that if the central node fails, the whole
network becomes disconnected
• collisions can be a problem depending on device at the
center of the star
– Logical perspective
• flow of all information would go through one device
• desirable for security or restricted access reasons
• susceptible to any problems in the star's central node.
 Extended Star Network
• Extended star topology repeats a star
topology, except that each node that links to
the center node is, also, the center of
another star
– Physical perspective
• advantage is that it keeps wiring runs shorter, and limits
the number of devices that need to interconnect to any
one central node
– Logical perspective
• extended star topology is very hierarchical, and
information is encouraged to stay local
 Tree network
• tree topology uses a trunk node from which it
branches to other nodes
– binary tree - each node splits into two links
– backbone tree - backbone trunk has branch
nodes with links hanging from it
– Physical Perspective
• The trunk is a wire that has several layers of branches.
– Logical Perspective
• The flow of  information is hierarchical
 Irregular network
• Irregular network topology there is no
obvious pattern to the links and nodes
– Physical Perspective
• The wiring is inconsistent
• The nodes have varying numbers of wires
leading from them
– Logical Perspective
• There is no obvious pattern to the links and
nodes
 Complete (mesh) network
• mesh topology, every node is linked directly
to every other node
– Physical Perspective
• Every node is physically connected to every other node
(creating a redundant connection)
• allows information to flow along many paths on its way
back through the network
• disadvantage for more than a small number of nodes,
the amount of media for the links, and the amount of
connections to the links becomes overwhelming
– Logical  Perspective
• The behavior of a complete, or mesh topology depends
greatly on the devices used
 Cellular Network
• cellular topology consists of circular or
hexagonal areas each of which has an individual
node at its center
– Physical Perspective
• no tangible media other than the earth's atmosphere or the
vacuum of space
• signals are present everywhere in a cell and are susceptible
to disruptions and to security violations
– Logical Perspective
• Cellular technologies communicate with each other directly
or communicate only with their adjacent cells,
• cellular-based topologies are integrated with other topologies