Lesson 1 - Physical Network Topology

Question 1

Topology

Answer 1

Network Specification that determines the network’s overall layout, signaling, and data flow patterns

Question 2

Physical Topology

Answer 2

Describes a network’s physical wiring layout or shape

Question 3

Logical Topology

Answer 3

Describes the paths through which data moves

Question 4

Point to Point Connections

Answer 4

Direct connection between two nodes on a network

Ex: Connecting one host’s NIC directly to another host’s NIC via Cat5 crossover cable

Question 5

Multipoint Connections

Answer 5

Connections between multiple nodes

Question 6

Radiated Connections

Answer 6

Also known as Broadcast Connections, is a wireless point to point or multipoint connection between devices.
(Ex: Wireless LAN, infrared, and WI-FI are examples)

Question 7

Physical Bus Topology

Answer 7

Network topology in which nodes are connected linearly with a T-Connector connecting each node directly to the network cable. The cable is called the bus and serves as a single communications channel. This requires 50 ohm terminators at both ends of the cable to prevent Signal bounce from one end to the other.
Adv - Easy to Implement

Question 8

Disadvantages of Bus Topology

Answer 8

• Can be unreliable because the entire bus fails if there is a break in the network cable
• Cant support multiple pairs of terminals at the same time
• Transmits data slower than the other topologies as only two nodes can communicate at a time

Question 9

Physical Star Topology

Answer 9

Network topology that uses a central connectivity device, such as a switch, with individual physical connections to each node. Individual nodes send data to the switch, which is then passed to the appropriate destination, or in the case of a hub, it is passed to all connected devices.

Question 10

Disadvantages of Star Topology

Answer 10

If Central Device fails, the entire network fails

Question 11

Physical Ring Topology

Answer 11

Network topology in which each node is connected to the two nearest nodes: the upstream and downstream neighbors. The flow of data in a ring network is unidirectional to avoid collisions. There is no central device, and data moves in one direction. Each node acts as a booster and repeater when it retransmits the data packets to the next node until it reaches it’s destination

Question 12

Dual Ring Topology

Answer 12

Each ring flows in opposite direction

Adv: If one ring fails, the other ring can carry the weight

Question 13

Disadvantage of Ring topology

Answer 13

If one node breaks, the entire network is down

Question 14

Physical Mesh Topology

Answer 14

Network topology in which each node is directly connected to every other node.
Adv: This allows Fast data travel with no congestion and are very reliable communications between independent networks

Question 15

Disadvantages of Mesh Topology

Answer 15

-Difficult to implement and maintain because the number of connections increases exponentially with the number of nodes

Question 16

Physical Tree Topology

Answer 16

Network topology in which a central, or root node is hierarchically connected to one or more second-level nodes, which are one level lower in the hierarchy. The root node has a point to point link with each of the scone-level nodes, while each of the second nodes is connected to one or more third-level nodes. Each node has the same number of lower level nodes connected to it, this is called the “Branching Factor”

Question 17

Hybrid Topology

Answer 17

Any topology that exhibits the characteristics of more than one standard topology