Network Types and Topologies

There are the various types of the networks which should be identified so that one can make the better out of them. Also, the devices which get connected to the network can have different forms and it is called as the network topologies. There are many choices for the network topologies that one can adopt. All these choices contain some merits and demerits so knowing about them can be a good thing so that one can chose which one should be established. Here are some network types which are available these days;



LAN:

This term actually is for the Local Area Network. One should know about this network since This is the network that one sees inside one building and it can be extended to more buildings as well. This network stays in some confined area. Now, people are using the things which are Ethernet connections, wireless access which is 802.11. If one gets slow connection as compared to these, then it is not considered as a local connection by the people. If one gets the local connectivity, it has some advantages since it can bring one some really amazing bandwidths which can be used for the transfer for the local data.






WAN:

A Wide Area Network, Also known as WAN, is the network which is extended to a pretty large area. This can extant to some really big area that it can be from one corner of the world to another corner. But, this is something that is not connected to someone in locally. Even though it goes down the street, but one has to be connect at a very long distance so be able to do this. Also, if one is directly connected to a LAN type of connection, then the speed is surely not going to be so good. To get connected over the WAN, there are many various methods. One of them is the point to point connection. These connections are the serial connections. Also, one would face the choice is having the MPLS type connection. One can get connected through the grounds with the help of using cables. Also, one can have the option of using the satellite connections which are the non-terrestrial link. So, if one is going over some really long distances, then it would be a WAN connection.



PAN:

For the many years people have been using only the WLAN and the LAN. Now, there is a new term which is PAN. PAN is the new technology and it stands for the personal Network Area. As the name explains, it is a network which is at some short distance. Normally, it is the blue tooth network and one can use this network by his own devices. But not always it is the Bluetooth network connection, at times, it can be the 802.11 network as well which is the wireless network, One can find these connections very common and they are being used in and automobile as well. One can connect the mobile devices or other devices to the car's audio system. Hence, one can also integrate the dialling services so that one can have the complete hands off. One doesn't have to dial. One can simply drive easily by putting the hands on the wheel while looking forward using that personal area network. The mobile phones there days also have some wireless connections and the blue tooth is one of them. Hence, one doesn't have to be in the hustle of using the wires anymore. Also, the Bluetooth can get connected to the laptops as well. Hence one doesn't even have to sue the data cable for sending and receiving the data from the computers and laptops as well. The amazing usage of this network is, that one can use this for the health fitness monitoring as well. One can have the mobile meters which are the great tools. One simply has to click them and they can be located anywhere, like on the belt, arms, clothes etc. This device would measure that how much of the distance has been travelled by one in a day. Hence, one can use this network to keep the track of how much workout has been done in a day and hence one doesn't even have to go to the gyms and use those machines to know about their workouts.



MAN:

Here comes the network. This network is medium ranged. It is not as big a WAN and is not as small as the LAN. It stays between them so it has the moderate amount of coverage that it provides to its users. Normally, one can use it just in one city, as the name suggests. The Man stands for the Metropolitan Are Network. Normally, these connections are done in some small geographical area. In the past, MAN connection was actually used to get connected through the protocol and they used very specific to those certain metropolitan areas. Besides these networks, there are some other networks as well which are now taking their place rapidly. The example of such network is the Ethernet. It comes under the MAN network. It is also known as the Metro Ethernet. It has become so common there days that one can connect the devices to each other which are present in one city. Also, in the past, there have been some providers of networks that gave the access to the other side from the one side, at some large distances. The MAN is now being increased dramatically since the government itself, tends to own it. The logic behind this networking is that these days it is easy to connect one metropolitan area together. It is now quite easy thing to put some cables underground and these cables can provide very good speed of the internet that even wireless cannot provide. As, there is now the invention of fiber cable which has made the life become easy since it has some great speed advantages and it is cost effective as well. So, the governments also look for the cost effective ways to provide the people with the best possible option which can come into their money range. So, for that purpose, Ethernet MAN is one of the few best options that are available these days.



Topologies:

When one is engaged in designing a network, then he would come across the options of many topologies. So, it is important for one to understand the types and the workings of those topologies. Network topology is actually the way how the devices are connected together. Because the way those devices can get connected have some advantages and the disadvantages. So, one should surely know about what are the network topologies and which options are available. Knowing the advantages and the disadvantages can also make one have some good choices while choosing one for own network building. These topologies are really best when one is planning on some local network. Here are the topologies which are available;



Mesh:

Mesh topology, is the one where there are multiply links present and that travel towards the exact same point. One might know this type of topology with the name of the fully connected network. There are some advantages of these topology and these advantages come from the connection perspective. One can get some redundancy and the faulty tolerance built in it. The first and the major advantage are about the loosing of the connection. The biggest problem here is that if one loses a single connection, then one can have several other links. Hence, the other links can be used and the connection process can be saved. Hence his problem can be handled quickly and easily. Another problem there is that one can have the many abilities to load some balancing on those connections. With so many links, one can have the great amount if bandwidths which can provide some really amazing speed. The bandwidth now is around double the bandwidth that would have been there if this topology wasn't used. Hence this speed is really amazing for sending and the receiving of the data. The wide area networks supports this topology and it is pretty common seeing this topology over that network. This way, one can connect many sites using that simply connection.



Ring:

As the name indicates, this is the topology which is formed into one giant ring. They are not sued for the LAN anymore. Token ring is something that one cannot find often. But if someone goes to the back of the infrastructure of these devices which now re not being used anymore, one might some token rings which would be there and they were used for the second data on many devices and they helped the business keep running be connecting all those devices. Now the rings connection is normally seen in some really big networks. The places which use the MAN and the WAN do use this technology since there one can have some fault tolerance. For example, if there is the construction that is being carried and then the connection is broken suddenly, then still one can have connection to some devices since it is in the form of the ring. And the connection where it is broken can be diverted to some other direction and hence the connection can be restored.



Bus:

Tis topology was very common specially when used in the home networks. One could easily find this topology being used at home and in some Ethernet cables which came early, this topology was used. Now, this technology cannot be seen anymore since the use of this technology is so less now. But, it is the topology which actually allowed one to take alone coaxial cable and then extends it from each of the end it has and then the other one was built. Hence, everyone got connected into the single wire on that piece of the coax cable. But this topology has some really major issue. That issue is unforgivable because if this issue happens, every device would be disconnected. Since the all networks are connected to only one wire, then if the wire gets disconnected from any of the side, all the connections between he devices are broken and those devices become disconnected. That's the reason why this topology is not being used anymore.



Star:

This is the topology which is in the trend. The very big portion of the WAN uses this topology to get the communication done. The theory behind this topology is that everyone who is using this topology gets connected to one single concentrator. It can also be a switch. That switch can also be placed in the middle. Everyone who is on the network gets connected to the series of the devices used. Since it is formed dint he stars form, so everyone is connected to one central device. So, no one is connected to anyone else and hence, the switching the Ethernet is very common in this topology. Everyone here is connected to some real large switch which is in the middle of the floor or the building. Or even on the floor of the building. Hence, the device is in the pretty centre of everything.



Hybrid:

Here comes the last topology which is known as the hybrid topology. It is basically, the mixture of all he topologies and all of the topologies are mixed together to form this topology. It is the most common one to see in the today's environment. People normally; sue many topologies to use them in their networks. But while connecting to the remote sites, one might have the mash topology used for creating a network there. The usage of all these topologies can eliminate the risks that are associated with the using a single topology for the entire machine.



So, there are many topologies and the networking options. One can chose the networking option which is best for him and for doing that, he first has to know what options are out there lying for him to choose. Also, there are the topologies which are of various kinds. Some of them have their unique advantages while some of them carry certain disadvantages. So, it is very important for one to know about all the network topologies which are being used and which have been obsoleted. So that he can measure the weightages of the advantages and the disadvantages associated to them and can make some good decisions while creating a network.


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