Network Topologies

Ways of connecting computers and other devices like switches and printers together are topologies.

Bus and Ring

The first generation of wired networks used one of those popular and inexpensive Bus and ring topologies.

<aside> 💡 The entire network stopped working if the cable broke at any point.

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Star

The star topology (hub-and-spoke), used a central connection box for all the computers on the network.

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<aside> 💡 In Star topology if one of the cables broke, all of the other computers could still communicate.

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Hybrid

Any form of networking technology that combines a physical topology with a signaling topology is called a hybrid topology. The two important hybrid topologies are star-ring topology and star-bus topology

Mesh

Wireless devices can connect in a mesh topology network, where every computer connects to every other computer via two or more routes.

Cabling and Connectors

Different types of networks over the years have used different types of cables.