Network Topologies-

Remember-
1. There are 3 types of network topologies. These are :
• Star- in a star topology an individual wire connects each pc to a
central location.
• Ring- in a ring topology the cable is laid in a circle, each signal has
to pass by each node sequentially in the ring, traffic can be one way
around the loop or it can travel both ways if a double loop is used.
• Bus- the bus topology uses a cable in a single line with two end
points, at each end point there is a terminator that prevents signals
at the end of the cable from being reflected back into the network.
2. Advantages And Disadvantages

Topology Advantage Advantage Disadvantage

Star If a cable to a Each node has If the central
node is broken, its own cable node fails, the
then only that and does not entire network
node is affected. need to share will cease to
the line with any operate.
other node.
Ring A single cable is If the ring is
used to connect broken, or the
all the cable is faulty,
nodes the entire
network will stop
working.
Bus They are easy Nodes can be A fault in the
and cheap to set added and cable can be
up. removed easily. difficult to locate
because it will
usually stop all
the nodes from
transmitting or
receiving

Think
If I was to play a networked game with my mates I think I would use a ring or bus
because it is a lot easier to set up and work, a star topology would suit a larger
group of computers better that just my mates and I.

Investigate
I think our school would use a star topology because we have a large amount of
computers which all need to be hooked up to the same network and i believe
that a star topology would best suit the size of our school.