Meaning of Computer Netwoks

A computer network is a group of computers that are interconnected by electronic circuits

or wireless transmissions of various designs and technologies for the purpose of exchanging
data or communicating information between them or their users. Networks may be classified
according to a wide variety of characteristics. This article provides a general overview of
types and categories and also presents the basic components of a network.

Network Topologies
The study of network topology recognizes five topologies:

 Bus topology
 Star topology
 Ring topology
 Tree topology
 Mesh topology

Bus network topology

In local area networks where bus topology is used, each machine is connected to a
single cable. Each computer or server is connected to the single bus cable through
some kind of connector. A terminator is required at each end of the bus cable to
prevent the signal from bouncing back and forth on the bus cable. A signal from the
source travels in both directions to all machines connected on the bus cable until it
finds the MAC address or IP address on the network that is the intended recipient. If
the machine address does not match the intended address for the data, the machine
ignores the data. Alternatively, if the data does match the machine address, the data is
accepted. Since the bus topology consists of only one wire, it is rather inexpensive to
implement when compared to other topologies. However, the low cost of
implementing the technology is offset by the high cost of managing the network.
Additionally, since only one cable is utilized, it can be the single point of failure. If
the network cable breaks, the entire network will be down.

Notes:
1.) All of the endpoints of the common transmission medium are normally terminated
with a device called a 'terminator' (see the note under linear bus).
2.) The physical linear bus topology is sometimes considered to be a special case of
the physical distributed bus topology – i.e., a distributed bus with no branching
segments.

Star network topology

In local area networks where the star topology is used, each machine is connected to a central
hub. In contrast to the bus topology, the star topology allows each machine on the network to
have a point to point connection to the central hub. All of the traffic which transverses the
network passes through the central hub. The hub acts as a signal booster or repeater which in
turn allows the signal to travel greater distances. As a result of each machine connecting
directly to the hub, the star topology is considered the easiest topology to design and

implement. An advantage of the star topology is the simplicity of

adding other machines. The primary disadvantage of the star topology is the hub is a single
point of failure. If the hub were to fail the entire network would fail as a result of the hub
being connected to every machine on the network.

Notes:
1.) A point-to-point link (described above) is sometimes categorized as a special
instance of the physical star topology – therefore, the simplest type of network that is
based upon the physical star topology would consist of one node with a single point-
to-point link to a second node, the choice of which node is the 'hub' and which node is
the 'spoke' being arbitrary[1].
2.) After the special case of the point-to-point link, as in note 1.) above, the next
simplest type of network that is based upon the physical star topology would consist
of one central node – the 'hub' – with two separate point-to-point links to two
peripheral nodes – the 'spokes'.
.

Ring network topology

In local area networks where the ring topology is used, each computer is connected to
the network in a closed loop or ring. Each machine or computer has a unique address
that is used for identification purposes. The signal passes through each machine or
computer connected to the ring in one direction. Ring topologies typically utilize a
token passing scheme, used to control access to the network. By utilizing this scheme,
only one machine can transmit on the network at a time. The machines or computers
connected to the ring act as signal boosters or repeaters which strengthen the signals
that transverse the network. The primary disadvantage of ring topology is the failure
of one machine will cause the entire network to fail.
Fully connected mesh topology

The value of fully meshed networks is proportional to the exponent of the number of
subscribers, assuming that communicating groups of any two endpoints, up to and including
all the endpoints, is approximated by Reed's Law.

Note: The physical fully connected mesh topology is generally too costly and
complex for practical networks, although the topology is used when there are only a
small number of nodes to be interconnected.
In most practical networks that are based upon the physical partially connected mesh
topology, all of the data that is transmitted between nodes in the network takes the
shortest path (or an approximation of the shortest path) between nodes, except in the
case of a failure or break in one of the links, in which case the data takes an
alternative path to the destination. This requires that the nodes of the network possess
some type of logical 'routing' algorithm to determine the correct path to use at any
particular time.

Tree network topology.

The type of network topology in which a central 'root' node (the top level of the hierarchy) is
connected to one or more other nodes that are one level lower in the hierarchy (i.e., the
second level) with a point-to-point link between each of the second level nodes and the top
level central 'root' node, while each of the second level nodes that are connected to the top
level central 'root' node will also have one or more other nodes that are one level lower in the
hierarchy (i.e., the third level) connected to it, also with a point-to-point link, the top level
central 'root' node being the only node that has no other node above it in the hierarchy (The
hierarchy of the tree is symmetrical.) Each node in the network having a specific fixed
number, of nodes connected to it at the next lower level in the hierarchy, the number, being
referred to as the 'branching factor' of the hierarchical tree. Also known as a hierarchical
network

1.) A network that is based upon the physical hierarchical topology must have at least
three levels in the hierarchy of the tree, since a network with a central 'root' node and
only one hierarchical level below it would exhibit the physical topology of a star.
2.) A network that is based upon the physical hierarchical topology and with a
branching factor of 1 would be classified as a physical linear topology.
3.) The total number of point-to-point links in a network that is based upon the
physical hierarchical topology will be one less than the total number of nodes in the
network.