Appendix D

11. Your network consists of four servers. Each server

has three NICs. Server A is connected to servers
B, C, and D. Server B is attached to C and D.
Server C is attached to server D. No hub is used.
All cabling is CA ! "# crossover cables. $hat
is %our &h%sical to&olog%'
a. Star b. Bus
c. (ing d. )esh
Another to&olog% is the mesh topology. In this t%&e of to&olog%, ever% co*&uter
is linked to ever% other co*&uter. $hile this to&olog% is not ver% co**on in +ANs, it is
co**on in $ANs, where it connects re*ote sites over teleco**unication links. his is
of course the hardest to install and reconfigure since the nu*ber of cables increases
geo*etricall% with each co*&uter that %ou add.
NOTE: So*e networks will use a *odified *esh to&olog%, which has *ulti&le links fro*
one co*&uter to another but doesn,t necessaril% have each co*&uter linked to ever%
other
co*&uter.
12. Your network consists of a -./&ort bridge, two
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Appendix D
servers, and 01 workstations. Each co*&uter interfaces
with the bridge using its own seg*ent of
CA 1 twisted/&air cable, which is ter*inated at
both ends with (2/.1 connectors. $hat t%&e of
&h%sical to&olog% do %ou have'
a. )esh b. Bus
c. (ing d. Star
A star to&olog% is the *ost &o&ular to&olog% in use. Each network device connects
to a central &oint such as a hub or switch, which acts as a *ulti&oint connector. 3ther
na*es for a hub are a concentrator, *ulti&oint re&eater, and *edia access unit 4)A"5.
Star networks are relativel% eas% to install and *anage, but the% *a% take so*e ti*e
to install since each co*&uter re6uires a cable that runs back to the central &oint. If a
link fails 4hub &ort or cable5, the re*aining workstations are not affected as the% would
be in the bus and ring to&olog%. "nfortunatel%, if %ou are using a hub, bottlenecks can
occur because all data *ust &ass through the hub. 3f course, since un*anaged
switches are so ine7&ensive, there is no reason to &urchase hubs. E7a*&les of star
networks include Ethernet 08Base and 088Base9.
13. Your network,s &h%sical to&olog% is that of a star
configuration. :ro* ti*e to ti*e, each workstation
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Appendix D
will hold a &acket called a token, during
which ti*e it will trans*it data and then &ass the
token along to the ne7t workstation. $hat is the
logical to&olog% of %our network'
a. Bus b. Star
c. )esh d. (ing
A ring to&olog% has all devices connected to one another in a closed loo&. Each device
is connected directl% to two other devices. %&icall% in a ring, each node checks to see if
the &acket was addressed to it and acts as a re&eater 4du&licates the data signal, which
hel&s kee& the signal fro* degrading5 for the other &ackets. his of course allows the
network to s&an large distances. hough it *ight look inefficient, this to&olog% sends
data ver% 6uickl% because each co*&uter has e6ual access to co**unicate on the
network. here are two *ain disadvantages to a ring to&olog%. he first is related to a
break in the ring. raditionall%, a break in the ring will cause the entire network to go
down and can be difficult to isolate. oda%, so*e networks have overco*e these &itfalls
b% allowing co*&uters to still co**unicate with their connected &artners, b% using dual
rings for fault tolerance, or b% having a co*&uter act as a beacon if it notices a break in
the ring. he second disadvantage is cost. Since each node is a re&eater, the
networking device tends to be *ore e7&ensive than the other to&ologies.
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Appendix D
4