Comprehensive notes on Network Type and Topologies Class 12

This article provides you Comprehensive notes on Network Type and Topologies class 12. So here we begin!

Network Type and Topologies Class 12

So first we will discuss about network types. So now you are familiar with the network. The network can be small in size or huge in size. Small networks links few computers together whereas huge network can link thousands of computers together. So the network types are classified into following types based their size, geographical distance and complexity.

  1. PAN – Personal Area Network
  2. LAN – Local Area Network
  3. MAN – Metropolitan Area Network
  4. WAN – Wide Area Network

We will see each of them in brief.

Topologies are the types of network layout. It provides the interconnection to the network using cables and network devices. These factors are considered while choosing the appropriate topology for the network.

  1. Cost – As many of the companies are always thinking about cost-cutting and cost-effectiveness. So the network administrator has to try to minimize the cost of network devices and cables installations and maintenance.
  2. Flexibility – Many times the office layout and structure may be modified. So as network layout can be also flexible any change physical office structure changes. The network administrator should add or remove or reconfigure the network layout easily.
  3. Reliability – A network failure happens quite often in the network. There are two forms of network failure.
    1. Individual node failure – A node connected to the network which is malfunctioning. It should be isolated to avoid further problems until the network failure gets repaired.
    2. Entire Network – Sometimes entire network may fail due to uncertain results. This leads to the detection of the fault and gets repaired. Topology offers the location and some solutions based on the network layout to get it repair.

There are many network topologies in the existence. In your syllabus the following topologies given, so we will cover them in this article.

  1. Star
  2. Bus or Linear
  3. Ring or circular
  4. Tree
  5. Mesh
  6. Fully Connected

We will see each of them in detail one by one.

Let’s start network type and topologies class 12 with network types.

Network Types

As we have listed the network types in the above section of Network Type and Topologies Class 12. In this section, we will see each of them in detail. So here it is:

PAN – Personal Area Network

network type and topologies class 12
network type and topologies class 12

Personal Area Network refers to the network created by persons or individuals. Let’s understand with this example. If you are sending files from your smartphone to another smartphone using Bluetooth or any other app is considered as Personal Area Network. Mostly people using their own devices like PDAs, Smartphones, Tablets etc. to share the data using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

LAN – Local Area Network

LAN - network type and topologies class 12
LAN – network type and topologies class 12

Local area networks are limited to one specific area and cover limited distance. A network that spreads up to a building, office, organization or institute is known as Local Area Network. In this type of network all the devices are connected through a central device. This connectivity is done by means wires or using Wi-Fi.

It provides short range network with high speed data transmission. It can be extended up to 1 KM in the range. It provides speed up to 10 Mbps known as Ethernet and 1000 Mbps is known as Gigabit Ethernet.

MAN – Metropolitan Area Network

This is an extended form of LAN. It can be spread over cities of one country. It can connect different cities of a country. It provides less speed compared to LAN. If you are using an internet connection using cable TV is considered as MAN. One MAN network can be extended up to 30-40 KM. Certains LAN can form a MAN quite often.

WAN – Wide Area Network

The WAN is the next type of network we are going to cover under Network Type and Topologies Class 12. It covers the longest geographical areas. It can spread over countries. Many LANs and MANs can be connected in the WAN. Internet is an example of WAN. In this network, LANs and MANs are connected using Wires or Wi-Fi. It is mostly used in large organizations, businesses, institutions having various branches across the world. Millions of computers are connected together in WAN.

Network Topologies

As we have listed the topologies in the early section of Network Type and Topologies Class 12. In this section, we will see each of them in detail. So here it is:

The star topology

We will start the discussion of topology for Network Type and Topologies Class 12 with the star topology. This is the most popular topology in the LAN. A central device (hub or switch) is required to connect all the devices with cables. Each device communicates with each other via a central device. This topology uses ethernet cable for the network establishment. The reasons behind its popularity are:

  1. Cost
  2. Efficiency
  3. Speed

If any problem arise at any device won’t affect the network too much except central device. The advantages of star topology are as following:

  • Easy Access – In start topology, the devices are connected with points that access any device easily.
  • Easy Configurations -The configuration of star topology is very simple and easy. As the cable is connected to the device and central device.
  • Problem Diagnoses – The problem diagnoses process is very simple and easy. As you can remove the faulty device from the network and repair it won’t impact on the network.
  • Simple Protocols – It accesses simple protocols in the network.

The disadvantages of star topology are as following:

  • Cable Length – The star topology requires long length cables to establish a network. All the devices require a cable to connect with a central device.
  • Difficult to expand – The expansion of the network is very difficult as it has a limited length.
  • Central node dependency – The entire network is dependent on the central node.

The bus or linear topology

The next topology of Network Type and Topologies Class 12 is bus topology. The bus or linear topology uses a single length cable to connect the devices. This single length cable has a terminator at both the ends. Mostly this topology uses coaxial cable. The data travels in both directions. The advantages of a bus or linear topology are as follows:

  • Short cable length – The bus topology uses a short cable length compared to a star topology.
  • Installation Cost – As the only single cable is used to establish a network, it will reduce the cost of cables installation.
  • Easy to extend – The extension of the network becomes very using a single length cable with repeater over geographical distance.

The but or liner topology has following disadvantages:

  • Difficult to diagnose a fault – If any problem arises, it is very difficult to diagnose the fault in bus topology.
  • A node failure, entire network failure – In bus topology is any node fails, the entire network fails as data travels in a single path or direction.
  • Repeater configuration – The repeater configuration is difficult to process when any changes occure.
  • Add/Remove node – It is difficult to add/remove the node in bus topology.

Ring or circular topology

The next topology of Network Type and Topologies Class 12 is ring or circular topology. In this topology the devices are connected in a ring with two neighboring nodes. The data transfer from one device to another device with adjacent node. The data transfers in one direction inside the ring. The advantages of ring topology are as following:

  • Short cable length – The ring topology requires short cable length compared to star or bus topology.
  • Wiring closet required – All the devices are connected with two neighbour nodes which do not require closet space.

The disadvantages of ring or circular topology are as following:

  • Node failure results to network failure – If a single node fails, the entire network fails. The defective device must be remove or repair from the network to resolve the problem.
  • Difficult to Diagnose a fault– Like bus topology, in ring topology also it is very difficult to diagnose a fault.
  • Difficult to reconfigure a network – In the ring topology, the network configuration process is very difficult.

The tree topology

The next topology of Network Type and Topologies Class 12 is the tree topology. The tree topology is similar to bus topology. In tree topology, the network shapes like a tree with different nodes connected together. One node is connected with the different branches. It offers similar advantages to a bus topology.

Mesh Topology

The last topology for Network Type and Topologies Class 12 given in your syllabus is the Mesh topology. The mesh topology offers excellent connectivity over long distances. In this, each node is connected to more than one device. These devices provide alternative routes. It offers the following advantages:

  • The data load is carried by the node.
  • It is more secure and offers privacy.
  • The process of fault diagnoses is very easy.

The disadvantaged of Mesh topology are as following:

  • The installation and configuration of network is difficult.
  • As each node is connected more than one device, the cost is more compared to other topologies.
  • It required more number of cables.

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