What is Topology? In the world of computer technology, the term that refers to the diagramming of connected devices within a network is called “topology”. To phrase it up, “topology” is the structure, layout or shape of the various devices contained in a network. There are various kinds of topologies but the three most common topologies are the bus, the ring, and the star.
The bus topology is often mistaken as something else. Bus networks are often confused with the “system bus” that is contained within the computer. These two are in fact not the same. A bus network uses a single cable that functions through a shared communication exchange medium. It attaches devices and permits the devices to connect with the interface connector. Simply put, if one device on the network would want to “speak” with another device on the network, it will then send out a message through the cable that all of the devices on the network can see. However, only the device for which the message was intended to go to will accept the delivery of the sent message and process it.
This topology is run through an Ethernet bus and it is simple enough to install yourself. It does not require a lot of wiring and cables, as most of the other topologies do. It is important to note that bus topology networks are most efficient when utilized with a finite or limited amount of devices attached to it. If too many computers are attached to the network, problems with performance will arise causing the network cable to fail. If this happens within the network, the network in its entirety will become unserviceable.
The advantages of bus topology are that it is simple to connect to a computer or a peripheral device, as well as that it requires significantly less cable than other topologies. Despite the facts, the bus does have its drawbacks. The biggest drawback is that if there is a breakdown of the main cable, then the entire network may crash or shut down. When this happens, terminators, which are resistors that connect to a signal wire in order to prevent reflections, must be placed at each end of the main cable. Bus topology can create a situation because it is so challenging to locate the source of a problem should the system crash.
A bus is a communication system that connects multiple subsystems within a computer. An average computer system normally consists of several components such as a central processing unit, memory devices, and input/output (I/O) devices. The bus system consists of linking media like wires and connectors, and a bus protocol. Buses can be categorized as serial or parallel and synchronous or asynchronous. The bus lets the different components communicate with each other by allowing information to flow between units and devices.
“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.”
... two devices, which were connect together using an RS-232 cable, to communicate. A fieldbus, which transfers data serially, reduces the number of cables required over long distances. The data transferred is available at all the nodes at the same time. Fieldbus is a flexible system allowing new units to be easily connected to the bus.
Meanwhile, the advent of early PC’s and the recognition of the value in networking devices together gave rise to Local Area Networks. These LAN’s were developed from a business customer perspective, which placed more emphasis on costs and ease of use over reliability. There were a number of different competing LAN technologies, two of the most common being Token Ring (IBM) and Ethernet (everyone else). The triumph of Ethernet in the marketplace, to the extent where it is included in every PC, game console and some refrigerators, provides a consistent and relatively inexpensive way to build internal networks with relative ease.
Laid out in a line – Has a single cable connecting all of nodes. If one node breaks down the whole network breaks down
In order to have a greater understanding of the terminology and descriptions offered in this paper, we must first understand what a network switch is. A brief definition of a network switch is a computer networking device that connects network segments. It uses the logic of a Network bridge, but allows a physical and logical star topology. It is often used to replace network hubs. A switch is also often referred to as an intelligent hub.
How does data pass through the internet? If you said decision support systems, you are correct. In an indecisive world, network hardware devices uses decision support systems (DSS) to efficiently and effectively route data, in a local area network, with the least amount of errors and inconsistencies. Decision support systems are the brains behind network hardware, and would be near impossible for them to work without the intelligent core of each distinct DSS. There are a variety of network hardware devices: switches, hubs, and routers; and they all use algorithms/procedures to transfer data towards the correct destination. Although there are many more DSS related methods used to route traffic, this paper describes how these three devices use them and each of there functions. Other types of decision support systems that network hardware devices may use are firewall technology, network address translation, and filter tables, which are all described in this paper.
The 7-layer OSI network reference model delineates a hierarchy of abstract building blocks that provide basic protocols and services in a logically separated manner for the standardization of networks (Serpanos & Wolf, 2011; Cowley, 2012; Egyedi, 1997).
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 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.
A network Bridge is a device that connects two separate Ethernet networks into one extended network. It works at a logical level which means that it can filter frames so that it only lets data whose destination address corresponds to a machine located on the other connected side of the bridge pass.
The I2C consist of two active wires i.e. SDA and SCL. Both of these wires support bi-directional communication. Every device, which is hooked to the bus, has its own unique address. Each of these chips can act as sender and/or receiver depending upon its functionality. The I2C bus is a multi-master bus. This means that more than one IC capable of initiating a data transfer can be connected to it. According to the I2C protocol specification, the IC that initiates a data transfer on the bus is considered the Bus Master.
A Mesh topology is a style of connecting computers in a network in a fashion where every link has a redundant path. A mesh topology is also known as a self healing network in that if a segment of the network fails for what ever reason then the data can still be transmitted across another linked path. This would include possibly hoping across a few extra network segments to reach the destination but it would be able to do it. This redundancy of course comes with a price for the extra pathing that would be incurred to ensure that every node will be able to see every other node.
The term Topology refers to the physical or logical shape or layout of a network. Communication between different nodes within a network is determined by its topology. Mesh, Bus, Ring and Star are four of the most common network topologies, each with advantages and disadvantages in relation to each other.
A bus is simply a circuit that connects one part of the motherboard to another. The more data a bus can handle at one time, the faster it allows information to travel. The speed of the bus, measured in megahertz (MHz), refers to how much data can move across the bus simultaneously. Bus speed usually refers to the speed of the front side bus (FSB), which connects the CPU to the northbridge. FSB speeds can range from 66 MHz to over 800 MHz. Since the CPU reaches the memory controller though the northbridge, FSB speed can dramatically affect a computer's performance. The faster a computer's bus speed, the faster it will operate -- to a point. A fast bus speed cannot make up for a slow processor or chipset. Here are some buses I will cover is this report: