About Network Topology

What exactly is network topology? Well before learning what it means, we should probably go over some useful terms so that everything makes sense.

Terms

Network: A network is a group of two or more computer systems which are linked together to be able to share data, exchange files and communicate electronically. The network can be connected by cables, telephone lines, radio waves, satellites, or infrared light beams. A really good example of a network is the internet, it’s a network since it links together millions of people around the world so that they can share data with each other. There are also many types of computer networks which include: LAN, WAN, CAN, MAN and HAN. Local-area networks (LAN) are when the computers are geographically close together, like in the same building or school. Wide-area-networks (WAN) are when computers are in larger geographic areas like in different provinces or countries. Telephone lines, radio waves, transoceanic cabling or even from satellites. Campus-area networks (CAN) are computers within a restricted a geographic area such as on a campus or military base. Metropolitan-area networks (MAN), is a data network made for a town or city. Finally, home-area network (HAN) are networks within the user’s home that can be used to connect digital devices. Along with these types of networks, networks can be classified into even smaller groups by characteristics like the type of network topology.

Node: A network node is a connection point that can collect, create, store or direct data through different network routes. Some examples of nodes include computers or other devices such as printers. Each node has their own unique network address. You need two or more nodes in order to create a network connection. In the types of network topology diagrams, the nodes are represented by the points where the two lines meet.

Whats is Network Topology?

Network topology is the layout of connected devices and determines how different nodes in the network are linked together and how they communicate. Topology is basically the virtual shape or structure of the network. Topologies can either be physical or logical. Physical topologies is how network devices are physically connected like through cables, wireless connectivity, etc. Basically, it’s the way that devices/nodes are plugged in to each other. Also, it includes the physical structure of the network. Meanwhile, the logical topology is the way that network devices appear to be passing on data to each other without considering the physical connection of the devices. That may seem a bit confusing but here’s an example: In a logical network diagram of an office’s network, you could see the connection from country A to country B. However, what you’re not seeing is the actual physical network. In the physical network you could see that the data went through many switches (device that links devices together on a network by grouping data to receive, process and send data to another device) in other countries as well. Therefore, logical path is just a representation of how nodes are connected, while the physical path is the actual route that the data goes through. Logical topologies are also known as signal topologies, which is the way that signals are transmitted through physical topologies. The way that the signals are made and transferred is determined by the network protocol (rules and signals that devices on the same network use to communicate). The two most popular types of signal topologies include shared media access and token-based access. A shared media access network is when every single device on the network can transfer data at any given time. Oftenly, this can lead to a collision which is when two devices transfer data at the same time. An example of shared media access is ethernet. A token-based access network is when the devices cannot transfer their data all at once, they have to wait their turn with the network token (special series of bit, bit is the unit of information in computer and digital communication) before transferring their data.

Why we need Network Topology?

You may be wondering, but why do we need network topologies? The answer is that we need it for many reasons actually. Firstly, the importance of having the right type of network topology can impact the performance and speed of communication because some types of topologies allows data to flow more effectively. Secondly, depending on the type of topology that you’re using, you will need different networking cables. For example, in a bus topology you will need thin coaxial cable and for a ring topology you would need either shielded twisted pair (STP) cable, unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable or fiber optic cable. Based on the different cables being used, the type of network topology could affect the price since different cables have different prices. Finally, different types of network topology require different amounts of cable, some need more and some need less. Typically, the thin coaxial and UTP cables are the cheapest. Meanwhile, STP cable is in the middle of the price range. Fiber optics tend to be the most expensive of them all.

Some of the most common types of network topologies include bus, mesh, star, ring, tree, hybrid and point-to-point. To find out more information about these types of network topologies, click on the “Types” tab, located on the menu bar.