-Section 2-8: Wired Network Topology

Question 1

Definition of Physical Topology

Answer 1

How devices are physically connected by media.

Question 2

Definition of Logical Topology

Answer 2

How network traffic flows.

Question 3

Bus Topology

Answer 3

Single cable with “T” or vampire taps to connect devices.
Consists of single collision domain. (No longer commonly used.)

Question 4

Ring Topology

Answer 4

Circular loop cable of connected devices.
Traffic flows in a single direction.
Devices wait for a turn to communicate.
FDDI (fiber) networks used two counter-rotating rings for redundancy.

Question 5

Star Topology

Answer 5

Devices connect to a single point. (Ethernet, wireless, fiber, etc.) Single point of network failure.

Question 6

Hub-and-Spoke Topology

Answer 6

Used to connect multiple networked sites.
Like a Star Topology but uses WAN links between sites. No redundancy. If central office fails the whole network can fail.

Question 7

Full-Mesh Topology

Answer 7

Every node connects to every other node.
Most redundant.
Provides for most optimal routing.
Very expensive to operate and maintain.
Number of connections X=n(n-1)/2. (e.g. 6 nodes = 15 connections.)

Question 8

Partial-Mesh Topology

Answer 8

Hybrid of Full-Mesh and Hub-and-Spoke topologies.
Provides optimal routing for some sites.
Must consider traffic patterns when designing.