Star and mesh topologies *

Question 1

What is a node?

Answer 1

any device connected to a network

Question 2

How can nodes be connected to a network?

Answer 2

either by wire or wirelessly

Question 3

What is a star topology? (2 points)

Answer 3

all nodes are indirectly connected to each other through one or more switches
the switch acts as a central point through which all communications are passes

Question 4

What is the client-server model?

Answer 4

a form of computer networking where the data or web application is hosted on a server and accessed by client computers

Question 5

What is the peer-to-peer model?

Answer 5

type of network model where all computers on the network share responsibility and there is no central server

Question 6

is a star topology a client-server model or a peer-to-peer model?

Answer 6

client-server model

Question 7

Give two advantages of star topology

Answer 7

• each node is separately connected, so failure of one node won’t affect any other nodes
• new nodes can be added easily

Question 8

Give two disadvantages of star topologies

Answer 8

• the whole network fails if the switch fails
• a wired star network requires lots of cables - in a large network this is expensive

Question 9

Where can you find star topologies?

Answer 9

large organisations, eg. schools or businesses

Question 10

What is a mesh topology?

Answer 10

there is no central point, but each node is connected to at least one other and usually to more than one
each node is capable of sending messages to and receiving messages from other nodes

Question 11

What are the two types of mesh topology?

Answer 11

• full mesh
• partial mesh

Question 12

What is partial mesh?

Answer 12

not all nodes are connected directly to each other
fewer routes for a message to travel along but simpler to implement

Question 13

Give 4 advantages of mesh topology

Answer 13

• messages can be received more quickly if the route is short
• message should always get through as there are lots of routes to travel along
• new nodes can be added without interruption or interfering with other nodes
• multiple connections mean each node can transmit to and receive from more than one node at a time

Question 14

Where are mesh topologies used?

Answer 14

where the reliability of network communication is very important
eg. military organisations, emergency services