Networking 1 - Types of Network – LAN –WAN- PAN- CAN and Network Topology
Networking 1
Definition- Types of Network – LAN –WAN- PAN- CAN and Network Topology
Definition of Computer Network
A computer network often simply refers to as a network, is a collection of computers and device interconnected by communication channels that facilitates communication among users and allow users to share resources.
Types of Network
The major types of networks are:
1. Local Area Network (LAN)
2. Wide Area Network (WAN)
3. Campus Area Network (CAN)
4. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
5. 5. Personal Area Network (PAN)
6. Virtual Private Network (VPN)
1. Local Area Network (LAN): This is the most common network type. It allows users to connect within a short distance in a common area. Home WiFi networks and small business networks, a building, office, are common examples of LANs.
2. Wide Area Network (WAN): This network covers a wide geographical area such as a country or even the world. Most WANs consist of two or more LANs that are connected by routers. Communication channels can include telephone systems, fiber optics, satellites, microwave etc. The largest WAN is the internet.
3. Campus Area Network (CAN): is a computer network that spans a limited geographic area. CANs interconnect multiple local area networks (LAN) within an educational or corporate campus (university). Most CANs connect to the public Internet.
4. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) : is a computer network that connects computers within a metropolitan area, which could be a single large city, multiple cities and towns, or any given large area with multiple buildings. A MAN is larger than a local area network (LAN) but smaller than a wide area network (WAN).
5. Personal area network (PAN): This connects electronic devices within a user's immediate area. The size of a PAN ranges from a few centimeters to a few meters. One of the most common real-world examples of a PAN is the connection between a Bluetooth earpiece and a smartphone. PANs can also connect laptops, tablets, printers, keyboards, and other computerized devices.
6. Virtual Private Network (VPN) : This is an encrypted connection over the Internet from a device to a network. The encrypted connection helps ensure that sensitive data is safely transmitted. It prevents unauthorized people from eavesdropping on the traffic and allows the user to conduct work remotely.
Network Topology
Topology is the arrangement of nodes (computers) and other devices within a network.
Types of Network Topology
The common types of network topology are:
(a) Bus Topology
(b) Star Topology
(c) Ring Topology
(d) Mesh Topology
(e) Tree topology.
(f) Hybrid network topology.
( (a) Bus Topology: This is a network setup where each computer and network device is connected to a single cable or backbone to connect all devices. An example of bus topology is the ethernet(Ethernet is the traditional technology for connecting devices in a wired local area network (LAN) or wide area network.)
Advantages of Bus Topology
1. Easy to connect a computer or peripheral to a linear bus
2. Requires less cable length than a star topology.
3. No Additional Power Source Required.
4. Cheaper than other Alternative Topologies
Disadvantages of Bus Topology
1. Limited Connection Cable
2. Data Transmission is Not Secure
3. Vulnerable to Physical Damage
4. Difficult to identify the problem if the entire network shuts down.
5. High Possibility of Data Collision
(b) Star Topology: is a topology for a Local Area Network (LAN) in which all nodes are individually connected to a central connection point, like a hub or a switch. A star takes more than cable a bus.
Advantages of Star Topology
1. Easy to install
2. No disruption to the network when connecting or removing devices.
3. Easy to detect faults and to remove parts
4. Robust in nature
5. Less expensive because each device only need one I/O port
Disadvantages of Star Topology
1. Requires more cable length
2. If the connecting network device (network switch) fails, nodes attached are disabled
3. If hub goes down everything goes down
4. Extra hardware is required (hubs or switches) which adds to cost
(c) Ring Topology: This is a network configuration where device connections create a closed circular data path i.e together in a ring form. Each networked device is connected to two others, like points that form a circle.
Advantages of Ring Topology
- It is cheap to install and expand.
- Minimum collision.
- Speed to transfer the data is very high in this type of topology.
- Due to the presence of token passing the performance of ring topology becomes better than bus topology under heavy traffic.
- Easy to manage.
- Disadvantages of Ring Topology
- If one workstation shuts down, it affects whole network or if a node goes down entire network goes down.
- It is slower in performance as compared to the bus topology
- It is Expensive.
- Addition and removal of any node during a network is difficult and may cause issue in network activity.
- Difficult to troubleshoot the ring.
(d) Mesh Topology: A mesh topology is a network setup where each computer and network device is interconnected with one another. This topology setup allows most transmissions to be distributed even if one of the connections goes down.
Advantages of Mesh Topology :
- Failure during a single device won’t break the network.
- There is no traffic problem as there is a dedicated point to point links for every computer.
- Fault identification is straightforward.
- This topology provides multiple paths to succeed in the destination and tons of redundancy.
- It provides high privacy and security.
Disadvantages of Mesh Topology :
- It’s costly as compared to the opposite network topologies i.e. star, bus, point to point topology.
- Installation is extremely difficult in the mesh.
- Power requirement is higher as all the nodes will need to remain active all the time and share the load.
- Complex process.
(e) Tree topology: This is a special type of structure where many connected elements are arranged like the branches of a tree. For example, tree topologies are frequently used to organize the computers in a corporate network, or the information in a database.
Advantages of Tree Topology
1. Easy expansion
2. Error detection in a tree topology becomes more accessible
3. Easy expansion
4. Low cable requirement
Disadvantages of Tree Topology
1. Installation process of this topology becomes difficult to handle and expensive.
2. Installation process of this topology becomes difficult to handle and expensive.
3. If the backbone cable gets defective and fails, then the whole network will collapse
4. If the backbone cable gets defective and fails, then the whole network will collapse
(f) Hybrid network topology: A hybrid topology is a kind of network topology that is a combination of two or more network topologies, such as mesh topology, bus topology, and ring topology.
Advantages of Hybrid Topology
- This type of topology combines the benefits of different types of topologies in one topology.
- Can be modified as per requirement.
- It is extremely flexible.
- It is very reliable.
- It is easily scalable as Hybrid networks are built in a fashion which enables easy integration of new hardware components.
- Error detecting and troubleshooting are easy.
Disadvantages of Hybrid Topology
- It is a type of network expensive.
- The design of a hybrid network is very complex.
- There is a change in the hardware to connect one topology with another topology.
- Usually, hybrid architectures are larger in scale so they require a lot of cables in the installation process.
- Installation is a difficult process.
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