Types of network & Topology?

 Types of computer network?

A computer network is a group of computers linked to each other that enables the computer to communicate with another computer and share their resources, data,and application.

A computer network can be categorized by their size.A computer network is mainly of four types:-

• LAN(local area network)
• PAN(personal area network)
• MAN(metropolitan area network)
• WAN(wide area network)

LAN(Local Area Network):-

• Local area network is a group of computer connected to each other in a small area such as twisted pair, coaxial cable,etc.
• The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in local area network.
• Local area network provides higher security.
• LAN is used for connecting two or more personal computers through a communication medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable ,etc.
• Local area network are private networks and can span a radius of up to 1 km. They are generally established within a building or campus. LANs operate at a speed in the range 10Mbps to 1 Gbps.

 PAN(Personal Area Network):-

• Personal area network is a network arranged within an individual person, typically within a range of 10 meters.
• Personal area network is used for connecting the computer devices of personal use in known as personal area network.
• Personal area network covers an area of 30 feet.
• A PAN may include wired and wireless devices.
• Personal computer devices that are used to develop the personal area network are the laptop,mobile phones,media player,and play stations.
• Example:-

1. Mobile phone
2. Printer 
3. Laptop 
4. Mouse 
5. Keyboard 
6. Head phone 

MAN(Metropolitan Area Network):-

• A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger geographic area by interconnecting a different LAN to form a larger network.
• Government agencies use MAN to connect to the town, citizens and private industries.
• In MAN, various LAN are connected to each other through a telephone exchange line.
• It has a higher range than local area network (LAN).
• These networks are used to establish links within a city,and span an area of radius up to 50 km.

Uses of metropolitan area network:-

• Man is used in communication between the banks in a city.
• It can be used in an airline reservation.
• It can be used in a college within a city.
• It can also be used for communication in the military.

WAN(Wide Area Network):-

• A wide area network is a network that extends over a large geographical area such as states or countries.
• A wide area network is quite bigger network than the LAN.
• A wide area network is not limited to a single location,but it spans over a large geographical area through a telephone line,fibre optic cable,or satelite links.
• The internet is non of the biggest WAN in the world.
• A wide area network is widely used in the field of business, government,and education.

What is topology?

Topology defines the structure of the network oh how all the components are interconnected to each other. These are two types is topology physical and local topology.

Types of network topology:-

1. Bus topology
2. Ring topology 
3. Star topology 
4. Tree topology 
5. Mesh topology 
6. Hybrid topology 

1.Bus topology:-

• The bus topology is designed in such a way that all the stations are connected through a single cable known as a backbone cable .
• Each node is either connected to the backbone cable by drop cable or directly connected to the backbone cable.
• When a node wants to send a message over the network,it puts a messages over the network.All the stations available in the network will receive the message whether it has been addressed or not.

2.Ring topology:-

• Ring topology is like a business topology,but with connected ends.
• The node that receives the message from the previous computer will retransmit to the next node.
• The data flows in one direction,i.e,it is unidirectional.
• The data flows in a single loop continuously known as an endless loop.
• It has no terminated ends,i.e.,each node is connected to other node and having no termination points.
• The data in a ring topology flow in a clockwise direction.

3.Star topology :-

• Star topology is an arrangement of the network in which every node is connected to the control hub, switch or a central computer.
• The central computer is known as a server,and the peripheral devices attached to the server are known as clients.
• All the devices are connected to the central controller called hub.

4.Tree topology :-

• Tree topology combines the characteristics of business topology and star topology.
• A tree topology is a type of structure in which all the computers are connected with each other in hierarchical fashion.
• It is very easy to manage and maintain the network.
• The top most node is tree topology is known as a root node,and all other nodes are the descendants of the root node.
• The cost is high because of the cabling.
• There is only one path exists between two nodes for the data transmission.thus ,or forms a parent-child hierarchy.

5.Mesh topology :- 

• Mesh technology is an arrangement of the network in which computers are interconnected with each other through various redundant connections.
• There are multiple paths form one computers to another computer.
• The internet is an example of the mesh topology.
• Mesh topology is mainly used for WAN implementations where communication failures are a critical concern.

6.Hybrid topology :-

The combination of various different topologies is known as hybrid topology.

• A hybrid topology is a connection between different links and notes to transfer the data.
• It is used school, colleges,offices,and business,etc.
• When two or more different topologies are combined together is termed as hybrid topology and of similar topologies are connected with each other will not result in hybrid topology.
• For example, if there exists a ring topology in one branch of ICICI Bank and bus topology is another branch of ICICI Bank, connection these two topologies will result in hybrid topology.