2. Types of Network
• Computer networks are divided into the following types based on the size and
physical area or distance covered by the network
• Local Area Network (LAN)
• Wide Area Network (WAN)
• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
3. Local Area Network (LAN)
• Covers a small area. (limited to building or group of adjacent buildings)
• Consists of limited number of computers.
• Designed to share different resources (such as printers, scanners, storage
devices, and application programs)
• Examples:
• Computer network in laboratory of a college
• Network of computers in an office building
• Connected using cables or wireless transmission medium and Network Interface
Card (NIC).
• Fast data transmission rate: from 10 Mbps to 1000 Mbps.
5. Wide Area Network (WAN)
• Covers a large area such as different cities of the country or different countries
of the world.
• Typically, consists of many LANs connected across a wide geographical area.
• Example:
• An organization has a LAN at each site.
• LANs of all sites are connected to WAN.
• World’s largest WAN is Internet
• Computers and other devices are connected through telephone lines.
• Can also be connected through leased lines, microwave, or satellite
systems.
• Expensive and transmission rate slower.
7. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
• Covers an area of a single city or town.
• Usually, connects two or more LANs in a city or town.
• Larger than LAN and smaller than WAN.
• Fiber optic cables are used as communication media.
• That’s why, very high speed network.
• Examples
• Cable TV network in a city.
• Mobile phones (cellular) systems.
• Internet Service Providers network in a city.
• The network connecting different branches of a company in the same city.
9. Network Topologies
• In networking, term topology is the way of connecting computers or nodes on
a network
• There are many ways in which computers can be connected together in a
computer network
• Way in which computers or other devices are connected in a network is called
network topology
• Shortly term network topology refers to the physical layout or shape of
network
10. Network Topologies
• Commonly used network topologies
• Bus topology
• Star topology
• Ring topology
• Tree topology
• Mesh topology
11. Bus Topology
• In a Bus topology, all nodes are connected to a common communication
medium or central single cable
• This central cable is the backbone cable.
• This cable is called as Bus
• The devices or nodes are connected to the Bus through an interface
connector
• Both ends of the cable are closed with terminators
• A terminator is a special small device that absorbs data signals (or prevents
data signals)
• It is also known as terminating resistance
• Bus topology is suitable for small networks
13. Bus Topology - Working
• When a sending computer wants to send a message, it has to determine whether the
media is in use or free
• If no other device is transmitting the data, it sends a message to the
destination computer
• Address of the destination computer is also attached to the message
• This message moves from one computer to another through the bus
• Each computer connected to the network receives the message, checks the attached
address
• If the attached message matches with the address of the computer, then it accepts the
message
• Otherwise, the message moves toward the next computer
• When message reaches the destination computer, it accepts the message
14. Bus Topology
Pros
• Very simple network
• Easy to install and to maintain
• Less expensive because it requires a single cable to connect devices
• When nodes are added and removed in the network, network is not affected
• If one node fails in the network, other nodes are not affected
Cons
• Entire network fails if there is any problem with the bus (central cable)
• It supports only a small number of nodes. So it is not suitable for a large
• network
15. Star Topology
• In a star network, all nodes are directly connected to a central device, called
Hub or Switch
• This central device controls all the traffic
• Usually, nodes are connected to the Hub with unshielded twisted pair (UTP).
• Shape of the Star network looks like a star.
• Star topology is most commonly used in LAN
• Many home networks use the star
topology.
16. Star Topology-Working
• Computers communicate with each other through a central device i.e. hub
• Sending computer sends data to the central device
• Central device sends data to the receiving computer
• In this way, data is transferred from one computer to another in the Star
network
17. Star Topology- Advantages
• Easy to install and to maintain
• Nodes can easily be added or removed without affecting the network
• If any node or cable fails then the rest of the network is not affected
• It is easy to detect and remove faults in the network
• It is suitable for small and large networks
18. Star Topology- Disadvantages
• This type of network depends upon the central device If this device fails,
whole network breaks down
• It requires more cables than any other networks.
• So it becomes more costly.
19. Ring Topology
• In a ring topology, each node is connected to next node and last node is connected
to first
• Thus, shape of the network is formed just like a ring
20. Ring Topology - Working
• In Ring topology, a token is passed around the network
• Computer that has control of the token can transmit data/message
• When a computer sends a message to another computer on the network, message
flows from one computer to the next computer
• Every computer receives a message from previous computer and retransmits it to the
next computer until the destination computer receives the message
• Destination computer sends an acknowledgment of receiving a message to the
sender computer
• Sender computer then releases the token back to the network
• This method of controlling access to shared network cable is called token passing
21. Ring Topology - Advantages
• Less expensive to implement
• Easy to install and to maintain
• All computers have equal access to the network
• Every computer regenerates/refreshes the data signal that’s why it can travel
over a longer distance
22. Ring Topology - Disadvantages
• If one node fails (or the ring is broken at any point), the entire network stops
functioning
• Adding or removing a computer in the network affects the whole network.
23. Tree Topology
• Tree topology has combined features of both bus and star topologies
• Whole network is divided into segments
• Each segment represents a Star topology
• All segments (i e Star topologies) are combined through central
cable or bus
• Thus, Bus topology works as the backbone of the Tree network
• Tree network looks like a tree structure
25. Tree Topology - Working
• In Tree topology network, usually, multiple hubs are used
• Each hub controls the nodes directly connected to it and exchanges data among
them
• It also exchanges data to other devices connected to the other hubs
• Advantages
• Can be expanded very easily.
• Segments easily managed and maintained.
• One segment fails, other segments are not affected.
• Easy errors detection and correction.
27. Mesh Topology
• Each node is directly connected to every other node
• Involves the concept of routes.
• Rarely used in LAN. Mostly used in WANs like Internet.
• Working
• In Mesh topology, each node can send a message to the destination through multiple
paths
• It means that each node of the Mesh network has several possible paths to send or
to receive a message, but in Bus, Star, and Ring topologies each node has only one
path
• Data always travels through the best suited path
29. Mesh Topology - Advantages
• It provides multiple routes If one route is blocked, then another suitable route can be
used for data communication
• Its performance is not affected by the heavy load of data transmission
• It ensures data privacy or security
• Troubleshooting of this topology is easy as compared with other networks
Disadvantages
• It becomes very expensive because a large number of cabling and I/O ports are
required
• It is difficult to install and configure.
• Its maintenance is also difficult.
30. Hybrid Topology
• A hybrid topology is a type of network topology that uses two or more
differing network topologies.
• These topologies can include a mix of bus topology, mesh topology, ring
topology, star topology, and tree topology.
• For Example
• A department uses a Bus network, second department uses the ring network,
third department uses the Mesh network and fourth department uses the
star network.
• All networks of different departments can be connected through a central
hub.
32. Hybrid Topology
Advantages
• Flexibility in design
• Potentially easier to manage
• Potentially easier to add or remove nodes
• Suitable for larger networks
Disadvantages
• Difficult to design and maintain
• Costly
33. Communication Devices
• An electronic device that is used for sending and receiving data between the
sending device and receiving device is called a communication device
• Most of the communication devices have the ability to convert the digital
signal of the computer into an analog signal so that the signals can be
transmitted on the communication line to another end
• The reverse is also true
34. NIC
• NIC stands for Network Interface Card
• NIC is a communication device that is used to connect a computer to a LAN
• It is also called a LAN card
• NIC is a circuit board which is installed on the motherboard
• A computer must have a network card ( to connect to the LAN
• Nowadays, most computer systems have built in network card into the
motherboard
35. HUB & Switch
• Hub and Switch are communication devices
• Both provide a central connection point for connecting computers/nodes
together in a computer network
• Typically, Hub does not manage any of the traffic that comes through it
• It broadcast data packets to every computer/node
• Only the receiver computer/node accepts the message and other
computers/nodes ignore the message
• A switch is like a Hub but it is more intelligent than the Hub
• It records the addresses of the computers connected to it in a table
• It sends a message to the receiver computer/node only
36. Modem
• Modem stands for modulator & demodulator
• It is a commonly used communication device that converts digital signals into
analog signals and vice versa
• It is used to send and receive data between two computers through the
telephone line
• Both sending and receiving computers must have modems
• Data is stored inside the digital computers in digital form
• However, data is transmitted over the telephone line in the form of analog
signals
37. Modem
• The sender computer sends data to the receiving computer as follows
• Modulator
• Dialup modem of sending a computer converts digital signals into analog
signals and sends it to the receiving computer through a telephone line
• The process of converting digital signals into analog signals is called
modulation
• Demodulator
• Modem of receiving computer receives data from the telephone line in the
form of analog signals.
• It converts these signals into digital signals and enters in the computer.
• The process of converting the analog signals into digital form is called
demodulation
39. Router
• A router is a communication device that connects multiple computers/devices or
other routers together and transmits data to its correct destination on a network
• Typically, routers are used to connect two or more different or similar networks and
transfers data packets from one network to another
• Networks can be LANs or WANs
• Router stores addressing information (routing information) of each computer on the
connected networks
• When a router receives a packet of data, it looks at the address attached with the
data packet where the packet of data is to be sent
• It determines the best route (path) to forward the data packet at its destination and
then sends it accordingly
41. Gateway
• A gateway is a communication device (or networking device)
• It is used to connect two different types of networks (i e networks that use different
protocols)
• It is an intelligent device
• It translates data from one format to the other
• Different networks may have different types of data and of different formats
• Gateway receives a data packet from one type of network
• It reads the address of the computer on the networks where the data packet is to be
sent
• It converts the data packet into a format that the destination computer can understand
• For example, computers connected to a LAN require a gateway to access the Internet
42. Bridge
• A bridge is a communication electronic device that is used to connect two similar
network segments
• A segment is a part of a network
• It also controls the data flow between them
• When a bridge receives a message, it reads the addresses of both the sender and
receiver
• If the sender and receiver are in the same network segment, the bridge does not
pass the message to the other network segment
• The message is directly sent to the receiver
• The bridge, therefore, reduces network traffic
• So the performance of the network is increased