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Networking Topologies and Tcp/Ip Protocol

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Networking Topologies and TCP/IP protocol Bus Topology It just doesn't get much simpler than the physical bus topology when it comes to connecting nodes on a Local Area Network (LAN). The most common implementation of a linear bus topology is IEEE 802.3 Ethernet. All devices in a bus topology are connected to a single cable called the bus, backbone, or ether. The transmission medium has a physical beginning and an end. All connections must be terminated with a resistor to keep data transmissions from being mistaken as network traffic. The terminating resistor must match the impedance of the cable. One advantage of bus topology is that small networks are fairly easy to set up and does not require specialized networking equipment. It is …show more content…

First of all, Ethernet hardware and cabling is relatively inexpensive, compared with FDDI or wireless. The simplicity of Ethernet also reduces the expense of maintenance and support. Second, Ethernet allows for various types of networking media such as twisted pair, coaxial, and even fiber. Ethernet also offers more security than wireless, since connectivity requires physical access to the wire. While wireless is often considered Ethernet, it uses CSMA/CA (Carrier Sensing Media Access/Collision Avoidance). Wireless network security and signal interference has been a real concern for network administrators. Most of these concerns have been addressed, but the reputation of being a largely free and wide-open media still lingers. Perhaps the greatest advantage of wireless networks is the freedom from physical cabling. Laptop users can finally use their machines as they were intended; away from a desk. Unfortunately, wireless LAN standards (IEEE 802.11) are considerably slower than their wired counterparts. 802.11a wireless is capable of speeds up to 72Mbps; however, it is currently restricted to a throughput of 54Mbps by the FCC. While Token Ring (IEEE 802.5) bandwidth was speedy for 1980's (4 or 16Mbps), its performance would be hardly sufficient for all but the smallest of LAN networks today. What really made Token Ring such an attractive network transport protocol for its time was its method for handling collisions, called token passing. A station must posses

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