Mesh, Bus, Ring and Star topologies

Mesh, Bus, ring, and star are different types of topology.

Topology is the configuration of how the computers are connected to each other. In other words, topology is the network setup. Mesh topology is a network set up in which computers and network devices are interconnected to each other. This configuration thus allows the maximum transmission to be generated.

If one of the connections of the computers in this configuration fails, the other computers will not be affected by the connection failure of the said computer.This type of configuration is a rare one. Using this type of configuration is very expensive and difficult. Compared to other setup, the mesh topology is the most reliable setup (Computer Hope 2008).

Bus topology is a network set up wherein the computers and devices are linked to a single cable or backbone. The backbone can be illustrated as a road in which majority of the traffic happens. The backbone is used in connecting large networks or companies. The bus topology can be a reliable setup next to the mesh topology (Comptechdoc 2002).Ring topology is a simple network setup wherein computers and devices are connected to each other creating a ring (circle) or other similar shape. This type of network is rarely used today.

If one of the computer connections fails, the packet that is transferred will be limited and will not be transmitted to other computers (Comptechdoc 2002). Last is the star topology. In a star topology, computers and devices are connected to a main computer called the central hub.A hub is a hardware device that is used to link several computers and devices to one single computer and device. This means that if the central hub fails, all the computers will also fail (Comptechdoc 2002).

Ethernet, Token Ring, FIDDI and wireless Ethernet is a local are network (LAN) protocol. This protocol is widely used because of its fast and reliable network solution. Ethernet is one of the most inexpensive alternatives for high-speed LAN. Ethernet has a transmission and receiving speed of 1000 megabytes per second (Comptechdoc 2002).Token ring uses tokens which are passed from one computer to another computer in a circular fashion.

Token is a term used to describe a segment of information that is passed around in the ring. If a computer can decode a token, then that computer will receive the information that is passed around (Comptechdoc 2002). FDDI or fiber distributed data interface is developed by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a standard of data transfer for optic fibers. FDDI are slower compared to other LAN protocols (Comptechdoc 2002).

Wireless LAN is a LAN protocol that is wireless. Because it is wireless, it can communicate to other computer or devices by just utilizing radio transmissions. Also, wireless LAN is cheaper than other LAN protocols because one will get rid of the cable that is used in some LAN. The only problem with WLAN is that data that are transmitted in this manner are prone to invasion and interruption because of its openness to public users (Comptechdoc 2002).Use a short answer to explain at what levels of the OSI model TCP/IP functionsThe OSI model has seven layers of internetworking stack.

The upper layers is said to execute encryption and connection management. The lower layers is said to execute functions like routing, addressing and flow control (Suess, 1995). TCP/IP functions at level 3 and level 4 layers of the OSI model. Specifically, internet protocol (IP) functions at level 3 layer of OSI model which is the transport layer. TCP on the other hand functions at the level 4 layer of the OSI model which is the network layer (Suess 1995).