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Questions and Answers
What is a characteristic of a hybrid topology?
What is a characteristic of a hybrid topology?
What was the issue with the old LAN connection method?
What was the issue with the old LAN connection method?
What is a characteristic of a LAN?
What is a characteristic of a LAN?
What is the main difference between a LAN and a WAN?
What is the main difference between a LAN and a WAN?
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What is a WAN used for?
What is a WAN used for?
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What is an identifier for a host in a LAN?
What is an identifier for a host in a LAN?
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What type of WAN interconnects devices using switches or routers?
What type of WAN interconnects devices using switches or routers?
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Who normally owns a WAN?
Who normally owns a WAN?
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What is the purpose of a smart connecting switch in a LAN?
What is the purpose of a smart connecting switch in a LAN?
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What is a type of WAN that connects two devices directly?
What is a type of WAN that connects two devices directly?
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Study Notes
Physical Topology
- A multipoint connection is where more than two devices share a single link, with capacity shared spatially or temporally.
- In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every other device, requiring n(n-1)/2 duplex-mode links for n nodes.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Mesh Topology
- Advantages: dedicated links, robustness, privacy or security, easy fault identification and isolation.
- Disadvantages: high cabling and I/O port requirements, difficult installation and reconnection, expensive hardware.
Physical Topology: Star
- In a star topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a central controller (hub), with devices not directly linked to each other.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Star Topology
- Advantages: less expensive than mesh, easy to install and reconfigure, less cabling, robustness (if one link fails, only that link is affected).
- Disadvantages: dependency on the hub, if the hub fails, the whole system fails.
Physical Topology: Bus
- In a bus topology, one long cable acts as a backbone to link all devices in a network.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Bus Topology
- Advantages: easy installation, backbone cable can be laid along the most efficient path.
- Disadvantages: difficult reconnection and fault isolation, signal reflection at taps can cause signal degradation, a fault in the bus cable stops all transmission.
Physical Topology: Ring
- In a ring topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point connection with only the two devices on either side of it, with a signal passed along the ring in one direction.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Ring Topology
- Advantages: easy to add or delete devices, fault isolation is simplified, a signal is circulating at all times.
- Disadvantages: unidirectional traffic, a break in the ring can disable the entire network (can be solved using a dual ring or switch).
Network Types
- Criteria for distinguishing network types include size, geographical coverage, and ownership.
- Two main types of networks: Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN).
Local Area Network (LAN)
- A LAN connects hosts in a single office, building, or campus, and is usually privately owned.
- Each host in a LAN has a unique identifier (address) that defines the host in the LAN.
- A packet sent by a host to another host carries both the source host's and destination host's addresses.
Wide Area Network (WAN)
- A WAN is an interconnection of devices capable of communication, with a wider geographical span than a LAN.
- A WAN interconnects connecting devices such as switches, routers, or modems, and is normally created and run by communication companies and leased by organizations.
- Two distinct examples of WANs: point-to-point WANs and switched WANs.
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Description
Learn about multipoint connections and mesh topology, including their advantages and disadvantages in computer networks.
