Answer to Question #311729 in Computer Networks for Showi

Question

“Network topology can simply be defined as the arrangement of the elements (links,

nodes, etc.) of a communication network”.

With reference to the foregoing statement, use a well labelled diagram, describing any three types of Network topologies and highlighting their advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 1

Network topology can simply be defined as the arrangement of the elements (links, nodes, etc.) of a communication network". With reference to the foregoing statement, use a well labelled diagram, describing any three types of Network topologies and highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. 

This is network topology in which links and nodes are connected on one main backbone cable.

Its advantages are;

Bus topology is easy to implement and maintain

Bus topology is cost effective to implement and maintain.

Disadvantages include;

The efficiency of the nodes decreases with the increase in distance of the backbone cable.

Bus topology is insecure since each node in the topology has access to the data.

Ring topology is an arrangement of links and nodes in a ring-like structure such that there is no central component.

Advantages;

The ring topology offers high speed compared to other topologies

It is easy to identify and isolate faulty nodes hence it's an easy topology to maintain.

Disadvantages;

One node failure spell doom to the whole network.

Since all nodes are interconnected together a simple change affects the whole network. Hence it is an unstable topology.

Star topology

This is a topology whose elements are all connected to a central point.

Advantages;

It is easy to identify and isolate faulty elements. Hence easy to maintain

With centralization, it is easy to maintain nodes and also monitor traffic efficiently.

Disadvantages;

With dependence of the other elements on the central element, failure of the central tool spell service outage for the whole network.

Star topology is expensive to set up unlike topologies like ring.

Reference

Haddadi, H., Rio, M., Iannaccone, G., Moore, A., & Mortier, R. (2008). Network topologies: inference, modeling, and generation. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 10(2), 48-69.