1.4 Network Topologies

Question 1

How are nodes (computing devices on the network) connected in a star network?

Answer 1

Each node is directly connected to the switch

Node
I
I
Node  -- Switch -- Node
I
I
Node

Question 2

How are nodes (computing devices on the network) connected in a mesh network?

Answer 2

All nodes are connected to each other

Node
I
I
Node – Node – Node

Question 3

In which topology does the entire network fail if the switch does?

Answer 3

The star networks core disadvantage is that if the switch fails the entire network does

Question 4

In which topology are faults very easy to locate?

Answer 4

In a star network faults are very easy to locate because the faults will only affect one node

Question 5

What are at least three advantages of a star network topology?

Answer 5

If one connection is compromised the network can still function and all other nodes continue as normal

Data collisions are very rare as data is passed from the nodes to the switch

Faults are very easy to locate

Good security as all devices need to communicate through the switch