Topology, Protocol and Architecture

NETWORK TOPOLOGY: The study of the arrangement or mapping of the elements of a network especially the physical and logical interconnections between nodes.

PHYSICAL TOPOLOGY: The physical layout of devices on a network and the way the workstations are connected to the network. 

LOGICAL TOPOLOGY: The mapping of the flow of data between nodes. 

TOPOLOGY

Linear Bus Topology

Above is the linear bus topology and it consists of a main run of cable with a terminator at each end. The protocol that can be used with this topology are Ethernet and LocalTalk.

Star Topology

For star topology, each node is connected to a hub or a connector. Similar to linear bus topology, it is applied to a protocol such as Ethernet and also LocalTalk. 

Ring Topology

As for ring topology, each of the system is connected to its respective neighbor forming a ring. However, if one of the workstations or nodes are disabled, therefore, the whole system would be disabled. FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) is one of the protocol that uses ring topology in its systems.

Tree Topology

Tree topology combines features of linear bus and star topology. Tree topology is also known as hybrid.

PROTOCOL

Protocol is a set of rules that governs the communication between computers of the network. 

Examples of protocol:

1. Ethernet

2. LocalTalk

3.Token Ring

4. TCIP/WAP which is for the internet

5. WiFi

6. Bluetooth

ASYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER MODE (ATM)

• A standard switching approach constructed to unify telecommunication and computer networks.

• Uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing and it encodes data into a small and fixed-size cells compared to Ethernet protocol that uses packets or frames. 

Hope you readers had fun absorbing all the new information and knowledge. Till next time! ^^