Network Topologies

The arrangement of cabling and access devices is referred to as a network topology. There are four different types of network topologies (see Figure 21.7):

  • Bus— All computers share a common cable. This topology is used by 10Base2 and 10Base5 Ethernet.

  • Star— All computers connect to a central hub or switch (wired) or access point (wireless). This topology is used by 10BaseT, 100BaseT, and 1000BaseT Ethernet and by Wireless Ethernet when configured for the default infrastructure mode.

  • Ring— All computers connect in a ring. This topology is used by token ring.

  • Peer-to-peer— All computers on the network can connect directly to each other. This topology is used by Wireless Ethernet when configured for peer-to-peer mode and Bluetooth. ...

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