Solaris™ 9 Network Administrator Exam Cram™ 2 (Exam CX-310-044)

Network Topologies

The topology of a network refers to how the physical layout is organized—that is, how the nodes on the network are physically wired together. Some topologies are cheaper to implement than others; some require more maintenance; and some have single points of failure, making them less reliable and robust. When designing a network, it is important to consider how big the network is going to be, the levels of traffic, and whether any failover requirements exist. Each of these aspects influences the decision of which topology to use. The following sections describe some of the more common topologies.

Bus Topology

In a bus topology, hosts are connected to a single cable—also known as a backbone—that runs through an area. Each end ...