Network Topology Advantages And Disadvantages

In today’s world we are exchanging data and communicating faster than ever before. In a click of a button we can send and receive messages or even video chat. Any device that can be connected to a network has the power to do so. Continuing our technology advancements, we always have the need to upgrade and improve our networks for many reasons. There are a lot more households using Local Area Networks (LAN) in this generation than past generations. Within a Local Area Network there are a few ways to lay out a physical topology of a network. There is the ring topology, which is rarely used today. There is also the bus topology, which is also rarely used today because it is an outdated physical topology because of our technological growth. Lastly, the star topology which is the most common topology used today. Let’s look further into these three topologies to see how they work, to see the type of wires they use, and to see their advantages and disadvantages. …show more content…
The ring topology is a network configuration where each computer is connected to each other. It makes the shape of a ring or circle. All the computers on the network are connected together. The data packages that are sent through each node on this network are sent around in one direction at high speeds until the data packages reach its final destination. This network is one of the simplest of them all. The advantage of the ring topology network is that it is easy to install and also easy to troubleshoot when it is not working properly. The disadvantage of the ring topology network is that each computer that is connected to the network relies on each other. This means that if one computer or cable goes down all of the data flow would be interrupted throughout out the network connection. This will cause the network to slow down and eventually the network will collapse until the issue is corrected. Below is an example of what a ring topology looks