Name That Topology — TechKnowSurge

About this interactive

The eight topologies in the lesson: - **Point-to-point:** two devices talking directly to each other. - **Bus:** every node on one shared line. Common in early networking, rare now. - **Star (hub and spoke):** every node connects to one central device. Common for Layer 2 and sometimes Layer 3. - **Ring:** nodes in a closed loop. Service providers still use rings, such as SONET rings, because they can heal themselves. - **Tree:** a hierarchy, with a root switch at the top and switches and nodes branching out below it. - **Full mesh:** every node connected to every other node. High availability, but the links multiply as nodes are added. - **Partial mesh:** some of the links dropped, keeping much of the availability with fewer connections. - **Hybrid:** different topologies in different parts of one network, such as a tree of switches in a LAN and a full mesh of routers.

What you'll learn

Identify a point-to-point, bus, star (hub and spoke), ring, tree, full mesh, partial mesh or hybrid topology from how its nodes are connected
Tell a full mesh, where every node links to every other node, from a partial mesh, which keeps redundant paths with fewer links

Aligned to

CompTIA Network+

1.6 Compare and contrast network topologies, architectures, and types.

Cisco CCNA

1.2 Describe characteristics of network topology architectures

Cisco CCST Networking

1.1 Identify the fundamental conceptual building blocks of networks

Key terms

Point-to-Point: A network topology in which one node is connected directly to another single node.
Bus Topology: A network design in which all nodes share a single communication line, historically common in early networking.
Star Topology: A network design in which all nodes connect to a central hub or switch, also called a hub-and-spoke topology.
Ring Topology: A network design in which nodes are connected in a closed loop, used in some Layer 2 and Layer 3 self-healing implementations.
Full Mesh: A network topology where every site has a direct connection to every other site, requiring a large number of individual links or tunnels.
Partial Mesh Topology: A network design in which some but not all nodes are directly interconnected, balancing availability with reduced connection complexity.
Hybrid Topology: A network design that combines two or more different topology types to meet the varied needs of different network segments.
Redundancy: The duplication of critical components or systems to increase reliability and availability.

Topics

Network Topology Bus Star Ring Tree Mesh Hybrid Interactive Categorize

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