Data Communication and

Networks

HC1011
Lecture 3: Network Topologies and Technologies
 Lecture 3: Network Topologies and Technologies

This lecture is divided into the following structure:

Describe the primary physical networking topologies

Describe the primary logical networking topologies

Describe the major LAN networking technologies

 Physical Topologies

• Describe the lay of the land

• A network topology describes how a network is

physically laid out and how signals travel from one
device to another

• Since the physical layout of the devices and cables

doesn’t describe how signals travel from one device to
another, they are broken down into physical and logical
topologies
 Physical Topologies

• The arrangement of cabling and how cables connect

one device to another in a network is considered the
network’s physical topology

• The path data travels between computers on a network

is considered the network’s logical topology

• All network designs today are based on these basic

physical topologies: bus, star, ring, and point-to-point
 Physical Bus Topology

• Physical bus topology is the simplest and once was the most
common method for connecting computers
o Defined as a continuous length of cable connecting one computer to
another in daisy-chain fashion
• There’s a limit of 30 computers per cable segment
• The maximum total length of cabling is 185 meters
• Both ends of the bus must be terminated
• Any break in the bus brings down the entire network
• Adding or removing a machine brings down the entire network
temporarily
• Technologies using this topology are limited to 10 Mbps half-
duplex communication since they use coaxial cabling
 Physical Bus Topology

• Due to the limitations, this topology is no longer a practical

choice and technology has moved past this obsolete method
of connecting computers
 How Data Travels in a Physical Bus

• Electrical pulses (signals) travel the cable’s length in all

directions
• Signal continues until it weakens or is absorbed by a
terminator
o A terminator is an electrical component called a resistor that
absorbs the signal instead of allowing it to bounce back up the wire
• Signal travel across the medium and from device to device is
called signal propagation
• If not terminated, the signal bounces or is reflected at end of
medium
o Signal bounce is the term used when electricity bounces off the
end of a cable and back in the other direction
 Physical Star Topology

• Uses a central device (hub or switch) to connect computers

• Advantages:

o Much faster technologies than a bus

o Centralized monitoring and management of network traffic is

possible

o Easier network upgrades

Physical Star Topology
 Physical Ring Topology

• A physical ring topology is like a bus

o Devices are daisy-chained one to another
o But instead of terminating each end, the cabling is brought around
from the last device back to the first device to form a ring
o Data travels in one direction
o If any station in the ring fails, data can no longer be passed along

• Most widely used to connect LANs with a technology called Fiber

Distributed Data Interface (FDDI)

• FDDI uses dual ring

o Data travels in both directions
o One ring failure doesn’t break network
Physical Ring Topology
 Point-to-Point Topology

• Direct link between two devices

• Mostly used in WANs
• Wireless bridge

• Used to connect two computers

 Mesh Topology

• Connects each device to every other device in a network

o Multiple point-to-point connections for the purposes of redundancy
and fault tolerance
• Purpose of creating a mesh topology is to ensure that if one
or more connections fail, there’s another path for reaching all
devices on the network
• Expensive due to multiple interfaces and cabling
• Found in large WANs and internetworks
Mesh Topology
 Logical Topologies

• Describes how data travels from computer to computer

• Sometimes same as physical topology

o In a physical bus and physical ring, the logical topology mimics the
physical arrangement of cables
o For physical star, electronics in central device determine logical
topology
Logical Topologies

A logical bus implemented as a physical star

 Logical Topologies
Logical Network Physical Description
topology technology topology

Bus Ethernet Bus or star

A logical bus topology can be implemented as a physical bus (although this topology is now
obsolete). When a logical bus is implemented as a physical star using wired Ethernet, the
center of the star is an Ethernet hub. Whatever the physical topology is, data transmitted from
a computer is received by all other computers.
Wireless LANs Star
Wireless LANs use a physical star topology because they connect through a central access
point. However, only one device can transmit at a time and all devices hear the transmission,
so a wireless LAN can be considered a logical bus topology.
Ring Token ring Star
Token ring networks use a central device called a multistation access unit (MAU or MSAU). Its
electronics form a logical ring, so data is passed from computer to computer in order, until it
reaches the destination device.
FDDI Ring
As discussed, FDDI devices are connected in a physical ring, and data passes from device to
device until it reaches the destination.

Switched Ethernet Star

A switched logical topology using a physical star topology running Ethernet is by far the most
common topology/technology combination now and likely will be well into the future. A
switched topology creates dynamic connections or circuits between two devices whenever
data is sent. This topology is sometimes considered a switched point-to-point topology
because a circuit is established between two points as needed to transfer data (like turning on
a switch), and then the circuit is broken when it’s no longer needed (like turning off a switch).
 Network Media

• Unshielded Twisted pair (UTP)

o Most common media type in LANs
o Consists of 4 pairs of copper wires (each twisted together)
o Comes in numbered categories

• Fiber-optic cabling uses thin strands of glass to carry pulses of light long
distances and at high data rates

• Coaxial cable is obsolete as a LAN medium but it is used as the network

medium for Internet access via cable modem
 Network Media

• Network technologies can use media to transmit signals in

two main ways
• Baseband sends digital signals in which each bit of data is
represented by a pulse of electricity or light
o Sent at a single fixed frequency and no other frames can be sent
along with it
• Broadband uses analog techniques to encode binary 1s and
0s across a continuous range of values
o Signals flow at a particular frequency and each frequency
represents a channel of data
 Network Technologies

• LAN examples include

o Ethernet
o 802.11 wireless
o Token Ring
• WAN examples include
o Frame relay
o FDDI
o ATM
• Network technology often defines frame format and media
 Ethernet Networks

• Most popular LAN technology

• Easy to install and support with a low cost factor
• Supports a broad range of speeds: 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps
• Can operate in physical bus or physical star and logical bus or
logical switching
• Most NICs/hubs/switches can operate at multiple speeds:
10/100/1000
o Underlying technology is the same
 Collision and Collision Domains

• All devices interconnected by one or more hubs hear all

signals generated by all other devices
• The extent to which signals in an Ethernet bus topology
network are propagated is called a collision domain
• All devices in a collision domain are subject to the possibility
that whenever a device sends a frame, a collision might occur
 Wi-Fi Security

• Signals from a Wi-Fi network can travel several hundred

feet – Wi-Fi devices outside your home or business can
connect to an unsecured network

• Wi-Fi network should be protected by an encryption protocol

that makes data difficult to interpret

• Encryption
o Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), WPA2, wired equivalent privacy
(WEP)
 Token Ring

•Based on the IEEE 802.5 standard

•Star physical topology, ring logical topology
•A token is passed along the network
o Only the station with the token can transmit
o Frames are acknowledged and token is released
o No collisions
•Obsolete
 Internet Access Technologies

• Cable modem networking is a broadband technology used

to deliver Internet access to homes and businesses
o Two “TV” channels used to transmit and receive channels
• Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS)
is the governing standard – provides security
• Shared media from distribution hub to home
• Asymmetrical communication
o Downstream rates are higher than upstream rates
• DOCSIS 3.0 = Wideband Internet, up to 60 Mbps
Internet Access Technologies

A Typical Cable Modem Network

 Cable Modem Operation

• The cable modem has a tuner that

“tunes in” the frequencies for
upstream and downstream
channels for Internet access
• Cable modem has a MAC address
o Cable company uses it to allow
access to their network
o The cable modem compares the
destination address of incoming data
to determine whether the modem
should process arriving data
 Digital Subscriber Line

• DSL/ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)

o Uses existing phone lines to carry voice and data simultaneously
o Asymmetric – download and upload speeds differ substantially
o 256 K to 8 Mbps download
o 16 K to 640 Kbps upload
o Must be within 23,000 feet of vendor equipment
▪ DSL’s main disadvantage
• Symmetric DSL (SDSL)
o Upload and download speeds are the same
 Satellite Technologies

• If neither DSL nor cable modem are available, satellite

Internet is an option
• Speeds are comparable to DSL and to where cable
modem was several years ago
o Download speeds of 1.5 Mbps and uploads speeds of about 256
Kbps
• Two well-known satellite Internet providers are Hughes
Net and WildBlue
 WiMax – Wireless Internet Access

• Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax)

• 802.16d is the standard for fixed WiMax and 802.16e is
the standard for Mobile WiMax
• Provide wireless broadband to outlying and rural areas
• Fixed WiMax delivers up to 70 Mbps of bandwidth at
distances up to 30 miles
• Mobile WiMax has a coverage area of 3-10 miles
 Lecture Three Summary

• Networks can be described by a physical and logical topology

• The primary physical topologies are the bus, star, ring, and
point-to-point
• The primary logical topologies are bus, ring, and switched
• A network technology defines how a network interface
accesses the medium to send data frames and the structure of
the frames
• The most common network technology for LANs is Ethernet
 Lecture Three Summary

• Wi-Fi is a wireless technology based on Ethernet but uses the

CSMA/CA media access method
• Token Ring and FDDI are both obsolete technologies that
used a token-passing access method
• Internet access technologies include cable modem, DSL,
satellite, and WiMax
 Reference

Chapter 3: Network Topologies and Technologies from

Tomsho, G. (2011), Guide to Networking Essentials, 6th Ed.,

Cengage Learning US