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Essay about network topology
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Network Topologies Analysis and Comparison
The bus topology connects several computers, or nodes, with a communication channel, often a single cable. Computers on a bus either transmit data to other computers on the network or listen for data from other computers on the network. They are not responsible for moving data from one computer to the next. Consequently, if one computer fails, it does not affect the rest of the network. Because the data, or electronic signal, is sent to the entire network, it travels from one end of the cable to the other. If the signal is allowed to continue uninterrupted, it will keep bouncing back and forth along the cable and prevent other computers from sending signals. Therefore, the signal must be stopped after it has had a chance to reach the proper destination address. To stop the signal from bouncing, a component called a terminator is placed at each end of the cable to absorb free signals. Absorbing the signal clears the cable so that other computers can send data. Both ends of the network must be terminated with a terminator. A barrel connector can be used to extend the cables for better reach. A barrel connector can connect two pieces of cable together to make a longer piece of cable which can be helpful in many office situations. However, connectors weaken the signal and should be used sparingly. One continuous cable is preferable to connecting several smaller ones with connectors. Using too many connectors can prevent the signal from being correctly received. There are ways around that. Another handy piece of equipment is known as a repeater, a repeater can be used to connect two cables together. A repeater actually boosts the signal before it sends the signal on its way. A repeater is...
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... central node connected to each of the other nodes, usually a smaller computer or terminals, by a single, point to point link. All communications between network devices must pass through the central node. Thus, the central node intervenes to deliver messages to a specified destination. Some pros and cons to the Star Topography would be:
1. Failure of the central node shuts down the entire network.
2 The star network offers the advantage of centralized resources and management.
3 If one computer or the cable that connects it to the hub fails on a star network, only the failed computer will not be able to send or receive network data, thus not affecting the rest of the network.
4. Each computer is connected to a central point, this topology requires a great deal of cable in a large network installation and could cost a great deal of time and money for installation.
“Network topology is the arrangement of the various network elements such as node, link, of computer network. Basically, it is topological structure of a network which ether be physically or logically.”
...a flood of packets. Therefore, the victim node or sometimes the whole network can get easily paralyzed [24].
Meanwhile, these massive files quickly began monopolizing the services of the central location network switch. Since the network was physically redundant throughout, the network components tried to calculate new paths along which the data could flow; but eventually became confused. Therefore, the redundant components intended to operate in tandem became primary and began to duplicate each other’s functions, resulting in an endless loop until the network was totally disabled. On the afternoon of November 13, 2002, every software application that required network communication abruptly stopped
An Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol is the most used interior gateway protocol and computation intensive protocol where energy consumption in Internet Protocol (IP) networks is the main concern. The energy in an IP network can be saved by allowing a subset of IP router interfaces on sleep mode setting during the low traffic hours through the model of “move” by dint of an Energy Aware Routing (EAR) strategy, which is completely compatible with OSPF and is based on the “Shortest Path Tree (SPT) exportation” techinque or “Dijkstra's Algorithm”. In case of heavy traffic hours, the EAR strategy is not usable and may cause denial of service. The strategy implemented can help a network operator to control the network performance and allow a smoothed QoS degradation. This performance evaluation study permits to save about 30% of network links with a insignificant rise of link loads and network path lengths.
Spanning tree protocol is a protocol that prevents loops that are not wanted in a network. In order for a network to work properly it has to have only one active path between two network stations. If there are multiple active paths between stations loops can and will occur. When loops occur, there can sometimes be duplicate messages in the network. The loops are created by the network and if the devices that connect the network segments are all configured to forward, they will continuously forward frames into an endless network loop. If there are enough loops going then a frame will not reach its destination. The reason duplicate messages occur is because sometimes switches will see situations appear on both sides of it. When this occurs that is when spanning tree protocol comes in. In order to shut down the loops bridges and switches exchange BPDU messages with other bridges and switches to detect loops and then remove them by shutting down selected bridge interfaces. BPDU is short for bridge protocol data unit. Bridge protocol data units are part of the spanning tree protocol and they help describe and identify the parts of a switch port. The bridge protocol data unit allows switches to obtain information about each other. All the switches gather information from each other by exchanging data messages. In order for them to exchange messages they have to elect a root switch for the topology. The root switch has to be unique. The way they elect they have to have a unique switch for every local area network segment. To exchange messages they have to remove all loops by putting them in a backup state. Now to talk about states there is 5 different states. Two of the five states do not participate in frame forwarding. Frame forwarding is what the three main states do. The three main states are listening, learning, and forwarding. The other 2 are blocking state and disabled state. When you enable the spanning tree protocol the network goes through the blocking state and then the listening state and learning state are enabled after being turned on. If the protocol is properly configured the ports are stabilized to the forwarding or blocking state. The blocking state does not participate in the frame forwarding. It removes frames that are received from the attached segment. It also discards frames from another port for forwarding.
In the early years of computer and network research and development many systems were designed by a number of companies. Although each system had its rights and were sold across the world, it became apparent as network usage grew, that it was difficult, to enable all of these systems to communicate with each other.
Network topologies have some advantages and some disadvantages as well. This essay discusses the main advantages and disadvantages of three of these main topology technologies, to mention, the ring, the bus, and the star, showing the associated wiring types for each one of these topologies.
In this topology, all nodes are connected to a central device, usually a hub or a switch. Each connected device has a dedicated, point-to-point connection between the device and the hub. The star network topology is by far the most widely implemented topology in use today.
Connecting computers together to create a network greatly increases the communication capabilities and can even save a company substantial amounts of time and money. A well thought out network design from a small home network to a large corporate intranet can be a deciding factor in the success of a network. Two important steps in the designing of a successful network are the logical designing phase and physical designing phase. The difference between the two and the importance of each are explained in the following pages.
A hierarchical topology is created similar to an extended star but instead of linking the hubs/switches together, the system is linked to a computer that controls the traffic on the topology. A mesh topology is used when there can be absolutely no break in communications, for example the control systems of a nuclear power plant. Each host has its own connections to all other hosts. This also reflects the design of the Internet, which has multiple paths to any one location.
Local Area Networks also called LANs have been a major player in industrialization of computers. In the past 20 or so years the worlds industry has be invaded with new computer technology. It has made such an impact on the way we do business that it has become essential with an ever-growing need for improvement. LANs give an employer the ability to share information between computers with a simple relatively inexpensive system of network cards and software. It also lets the user or users share hardware such as Printers and scanners. The speed of access between the computers is lighting fast because the data has a short distance to cover. In most cases a LAN only occupies one or a group of buildings located next to each other. For larger area need there are several other types of networks such as the Internet.
Star topology is a network topology which all the nodes are individually connected to a central conduit to do the data transmission.
Wired and wireless media are important means of transmitting or transporting information since they provide different means and benefits in some areas. Due to the differences between the two media, it is important for organizations to use both of them to capitalize on the benefits or advantages of each. Generally, wired media is media used to transport information through a network that involves the use of physical pathways i.e. wire. The most common types of wired transmission media include telephone cables and coaxial cables. With regards to computer networks, a wired home network involves connecting the computer or other related devices to a Super Hub with an Ethernet cable (“Wired or Wireless”, n.d.). However, the use of wired networks in computer systems has lessened significantly because of the introduction and prevalence of wired r...
Mesh networks are reliable, stable, and redundant. If a node can no longer operate, all the others are not affected as they can still communicate either directly or through one or more intermediate nodes. Mesh networks can be very expensive due to the large amount of cable and connections required. Bus Topology Bus topology refers to a local area network (LAN) arrangement where each node or device is connected to a main cable or link called a bus. The bus network is simple yet very reliable.
The idea of distributing resources within a computer network is not new. This first started with the use of data entry terminals on mainframe computers, then moved into minicomputers and it is now possible in personal computers and client-server architecture.