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data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Topologies" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Topologies"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Topologies</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Topologies-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Links</span> </div> </a> <button 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class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Exotic_technologies"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3</span> <span>Exotic technologies</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Exotic_technologies-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Nodes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Nodes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Nodes</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Nodes-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Nodes subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Nodes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Network_interfaces" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Network_interfaces"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Network interfaces</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Network_interfaces-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Repeaters_and_hubs" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Repeaters_and_hubs"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Repeaters and hubs</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Repeaters_and_hubs-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Bridges" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Bridges"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>Bridges</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Bridges-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Switches" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Switches"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.4</span> <span>Switches</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Switches-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Routers" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Routers"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.5</span> <span>Routers</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Routers-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Modems" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Modems"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.6</span> <span>Modems</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Modems-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Firewalls" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Firewalls"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.7</span> <span>Firewalls</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Firewalls-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Classification" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Classification"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Classification</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Classification-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Classification subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Classification-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Point-to-point" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Point-to-point"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Point-to-point</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Point-to-point-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Daisy_chain" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Daisy_chain"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>Daisy chain</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Daisy_chain-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Bus" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Bus"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3</span> <span>Bus</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Bus-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Linear_bus" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Linear_bus"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3.1</span> <span>Linear bus</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Linear_bus-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Distributed_bus" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Distributed_bus"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3.2</span> <span>Distributed bus</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Distributed_bus-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Star" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Star"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.4</span> <span>Star</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Star-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Extended_star" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Extended_star"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.4.1</span> <span>Extended star</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Extended_star-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Distributed_star" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Distributed_star"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.4.2</span> <span>Distributed star</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Distributed_star-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Ring" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Ring"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.5</span> <span>Ring</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Ring-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Mesh" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Mesh"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.6</span> <span>Mesh</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Mesh-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Fully_connected_network" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Fully_connected_network"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.6.1</span> <span>Fully connected network</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Fully_connected_network-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Partially_connected_network" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Partially_connected_network"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.6.2</span> <span>Partially connected network</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Partially_connected_network-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Hybrid" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Hybrid"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.7</span> <span>Hybrid</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Hybrid-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Centralization" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Centralization"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Centralization</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Centralization-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Decentralization" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Decentralization"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Decentralization</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Decentralization-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Network topology</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 54 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-54" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">54 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B7%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A7_%D8%B4%D8%A8%D9%83%D8%A9" title="طوبولوجيا شبكة – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="طوبولوجيا شبكة" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topolox%C3%ADa_de_rede" title="Topoloxía de rede – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Topoloxía de rede" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Asturianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%93%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%95_%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BF" title="নেটওয়ার্ক টপোলজি – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="নেটওয়ার্ক টপোলজি" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%96%D1%8F" title="Сеткавая тапалогія – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Сеткавая тапалогія" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be-x-old mw-list-item"><a href="https://be-tarask.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%91%D0%B3%D1%96%D1%8F_%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%BA%D1%96" title="Тапалёгія сеткі – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" lang="be-tarask" hreflang="be-tarask" data-title="Тапалёгія сеткі" data-language-autonym="Беларуская (тарашкевіца)" data-language-local-name="Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская (тарашкевіца)</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B6%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%8F" title="Мрежова топология – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Мрежова топология" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bs mw-list-item"><a href="https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologija_ra%C4%8Dunarskih_mre%C5%BEa" title="Topologija računarskih mreža – Bosnian" lang="bs" hreflang="bs" data-title="Topologija računarskih mreža" data-language-autonym="Bosanski" data-language-local-name="Bosnian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bosanski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-br mw-list-item"><a href="https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologiezh_rouedad" title="Topologiezh rouedad – Breton" lang="br" hreflang="br" data-title="Topologiezh rouedad" data-language-autonym="Brezhoneg" data-language-local-name="Breton" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Brezhoneg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologia_de_xarxa" title="Topologia de xarxa – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Topologia de xarxa" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologie_s%C3%ADt%C3%AD" title="Topologie sítí – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Topologie sítí" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologie_(Rechnernetz)" title="Topologie (Rechnernetz) – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Topologie (Rechnernetz)" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A4%CE%BF%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%AF%CE%B1_%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%84%CF%8D%CE%BF%CF%85" title="Τοπολογία δικτύου – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Τοπολογία δικτύου" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topolog%C3%ADa_de_red" title="Topología de red – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Topología de red" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reta_topologio" title="Reta topologio – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Reta topologio" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sare_topologia" title="Sare topologia – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Sare topologia" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%87%D9%85%E2%80%8C%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%AF%DB%8C_%D8%B4%D8%A8%DA%A9%D9%87" title="هم‌بندی شبکه – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="هم‌بندی شبکه" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologie_de_r%C3%A9seau" title="Topologie de réseau – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Topologie de réseau" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ga mw-list-item"><a href="https://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toipeola%C3%ADocht_l%C3%ADonra" title="Toipeolaíocht líonra – Irish" lang="ga" hreflang="ga" data-title="Toipeolaíocht líonra" data-language-autonym="Gaeilge" data-language-local-name="Irish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Gaeilge</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topolox%C3%ADa_de_rede" title="Topoloxía de rede – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Topoloxía de rede" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-glk mw-list-item"><a href="https://glk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A4%D9%86_%D8%AC%D9%8A%DA%AF%D9%87-%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A" title="لابدؤن جيگه-شناسي – Gilaki" lang="glk" hreflang="glk" data-title="لابدؤن جيگه-شناسي" data-language-autonym="گیلکی" data-language-local-name="Gilaki" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>گیلکی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%84%A4%ED%8A%B8%EC%9B%8C%ED%81%AC_%ED%86%A0%ED%8F%B4%EB%A1%9C%EC%A7%80" title="네트워크 토폴로지 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="네트워크 토폴로지" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%9F%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%95_%E0%A4%9F%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%9C%E0%A5%80" title="नेटवर्क टोपोलोजी – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="नेटवर्क टोपोलोजी" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabirni%C4%8Dka_topologija" title="Sabirnička topologija – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Sabirnička topologija" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologi_jaringan" title="Topologi jaringan – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Topologi jaringan" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ia mw-list-item"><a href="https://ia.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologia_de_rete" title="Topologia de rete – Interlingua" lang="ia" hreflang="ia" data-title="Topologia de rete" data-language-autonym="Interlingua" data-language-local-name="Interlingua" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Interlingua</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologia_di_rete" title="Topologia di rete – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Topologia di rete" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%98%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%92%D7%99%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%A8%D7%A9%D7%AA" title="טופולוגיית רשת – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="טופולוגיית רשת" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ka mw-list-item"><a href="https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%A2%E1%83%9D%E1%83%9E%E1%83%9D%E1%83%9A%E1%83%9D%E1%83%92%E1%83%98%E1%83%90_(%E1%83%99%E1%83%9D%E1%83%9B%E1%83%9E%E1%83%98%E1%83%A3%E1%83%A2%E1%83%94%E1%83%A0%E1%83%A3%E1%83%9A%E1%83%98_%E1%83%A5%E1%83%A1%E1%83%94%E1%83%9A%E1%83%94%E1%83%91%E1%83%98)" title="ტოპოლოგია (კომპიუტერული ქსელები) – Georgian" lang="ka" hreflang="ka" data-title="ტოპოლოგია (კომპიუტერული ქსელები)" data-language-autonym="ქართული" data-language-local-name="Georgian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ქართული</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kk mw-list-item"><a href="https://kk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%96%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%96_%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%8F%D1%81%D1%8B" title="Желі топологиясы – Kazakh" lang="kk" hreflang="kk" data-title="Желі топологиясы" data-language-autonym="Қазақша" data-language-local-name="Kazakh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Қазақша</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lv mw-list-item"><a href="https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C4%ABkla_topolo%C4%A3ija" title="Tīkla topoloģija – Latvian" lang="lv" hreflang="lv" data-title="Tīkla topoloģija" data-language-autonym="Latviešu" data-language-local-name="Latvian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latviešu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lmo mw-list-item"><a href="https://lmo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologia_de_red" title="Topologia de red – Lombard" lang="lmo" hreflang="lmo" data-title="Topologia de red" data-language-autonym="Lombard" data-language-local-name="Lombard" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lombard</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1l%C3%B3zati_topol%C3%B3gia" title="Hálózati topológia – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Hálózati topológia" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0" title="Мрежна топологија – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Мрежна топологија" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netwerktopologie" title="Netwerktopologie – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Netwerktopologie" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%8D%E3%83%83%E3%83%88%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BB%E3%83%88%E3%83%9D%E3%83%AD%E3%82%B8%E3%83%BC" title="ネットワーク・トポロジー – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="ネットワーク・トポロジー" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nettverkstopologi" title="Nettverkstopologi – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Nettverkstopologi" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uz mw-list-item"><a href="https://uz.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarmoq_topologiyasi" title="Tarmoq topologiyasi – Uzbek" lang="uz" hreflang="uz" data-title="Tarmoq topologiyasi" data-language-autonym="Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча" data-language-local-name="Uzbek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pa mw-list-item"><a href="https://pa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A8%A8%E0%A9%88%E0%A9%B1%E0%A8%9F%E0%A8%B5%E0%A8%B0%E0%A8%95_%E0%A8%9F%E0%A9%8C%E0%A8%AA%E0%A9%8C%E0%A8%B2%E0%A9%8C%E0%A8%9C%E0%A9%80" title="ਨੈੱਟਵਰਕ ਟੌਪੌਲੌਜੀ – Punjabi" lang="pa" hreflang="pa" data-title="ਨੈੱਟਵਰਕ ਟੌਪੌਲੌਜੀ" data-language-autonym="ਪੰਜਾਬੀ" data-language-local-name="Punjabi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ਪੰਜਾਬੀ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologia_sieci_komputerowej" title="Topologia sieci komputerowej – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Topologia sieci komputerowej" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologia_de_rede" title="Topologia de rede – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Topologia de rede" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologie_de_re%C8%9Bea" title="Topologie de rețea – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Topologie de rețea" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%8F" title="Сетевая топология – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Сетевая топология" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sq mw-list-item"><a href="https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topologjia_e_rrjetit" title="Topologjia e rrjetit – Albanian" lang="sq" hreflang="sq" data-title="Topologjia e rrjetit" data-language-autonym="Shqip" data-language-local-name="Albanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Shqip</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-si mw-list-item"><a href="https://si.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B6%85%E0%B6%BB%E0%B7%93%E0%B6%BA_%E0%B6%A2%E0%B7%8F%E0%B6%BD" title="අරීය ජාල – Sinhala" lang="si" hreflang="si" data-title="අරීය ජාල" data-language-autonym="සිංහල" data-language-local-name="Sinhala" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>සිංහල</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_topology" title="Network topology – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Network topology" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topol%C3%B3gia_siete" title="Topológia siete – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Topológia siete" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mre%C5%BEne_topologije" title="Mrežne topologije – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Mrežne topologije" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkkotopologia" title="Verkkotopologia – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Verkkotopologia" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ta mw-list-item"><a href="https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%A9%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A9%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%9F%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%81" title="வலைப்பின்னல் கட்டமைப்பு – Tamil" lang="ta" hreflang="ta" data-title="வலைப்பின்னல் கட்டமைப்பு" data-language-autonym="தமிழ்" data-language-local-name="Tamil" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>தமிழ்</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%C4%9F_topolojisi" title="Ağ topolojisi – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Ağ topolojisi" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%96%D1%8F_%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B6" title="Топологія мереж – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Топологія мереж" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%E1%BA%A5u_tr%C3%BAc_li%C3%AAn_k%E1%BA%BFt_m%E1%BA%A1ng" title="Cấu trúc liên kết mạng – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Cấu trúc liên kết mạng" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B6%B2%E7%B5%A1%E6%8B%93%E6%A8%B8" title="網絡拓樸 – Cantonese" lang="yue" hreflang="yue" data-title="網絡拓樸" data-language-autonym="粵語" data-language-local-name="Cantonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>粵語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C%E6%8B%93%E6%89%91" title="网络拓扑 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="网络拓扑" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q145490#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav 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For the topology of electrical networks, see <a href="/wiki/Topology_(electrical_circuits)" class="mw-redirect" title="Topology (electrical circuits)">Topology (electrical circuits)</a>. 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rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1246091330"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1246091330"><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle" style="padding-bottom:0.15em;">Part of <a href="/wiki/Category:Network_science" title="Category:Network science">a series</a> on</td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle" style="font-size:175%;"><a href="/wiki/Network_science" title="Network science">Network science</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><div class="center"><div class="center"> <div style="width: 250px; height: 250px; overflow: hidden;"> <div style="position: relative; top: -0px; left: -0px; width: 250px"><div class="noresize"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Internet_map_1024.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Internet_map_1024.jpg" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Internet_map_1024.jpg/250px-Internet_map_1024.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="250" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Internet_map_1024.jpg/375px-Internet_map_1024.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Internet_map_1024.jpg/500px-Internet_map_1024.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1280" data-file-height="1280" /></a></span></div></div> </div> </div></div></td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Network_theory" title="Network theory">Theory</a></li></ul></div></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist" style="padding-top:0.2em;padding-bottom:0.5em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Graph_(discrete_mathematics)" title="Graph (discrete mathematics)">Graph</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Complex_network" title="Complex network">Complex network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Complex_contagion" title="Complex contagion">Contagion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Small-world_network" title="Small-world network">Small-world</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scale-free_network" title="Scale-free network">Scale-free</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Community_structure" title="Community structure">Community structure</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Percolation_theory" title="Percolation theory">Percolation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Evolving_networks" class="mw-redirect" title="Evolving networks">Evolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Network_controllability" title="Network controllability">Controllability</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Graph_drawing" title="Graph drawing">Graph drawing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_capital" title="Social capital">Social capital</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Link_analysis" title="Link analysis">Link analysis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Combinatorial_optimization" title="Combinatorial optimization">Optimization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reciprocity_(network_science)" title="Reciprocity (network science)">Reciprocity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Triadic_closure" title="Triadic closure">Closure</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Homophily" title="Homophily">Homophily</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transitive_relation" title="Transitive relation">Transitivity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Preferential_attachment" title="Preferential attachment">Preferential attachment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Balance_theory" title="Balance theory">Balance theory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Network_effect" title="Network effect">Network effect</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_influence" title="Social influence">Social influence</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Network types</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist" style="padding-top:0.2em;padding-bottom:0.5em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Computer_network" title="Computer network">Informational (computing)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_network" title="Telecommunications network">Telecommunication</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transport_network" class="mw-redirect" title="Transport network">Transport</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_network" title="Social network">Social</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scientific_collaboration_network" title="Scientific collaboration network">Scientific collaboration</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Biological_network" title="Biological network">Biological</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Artificial_neural_network" class="mw-redirect" title="Artificial neural network">Artificial neural</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interdependent_networks" title="Interdependent networks">Interdependent</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Semantic_network" title="Semantic network">Semantic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spatial_network" title="Spatial network">Spatial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dependency_network" title="Dependency network">Dependency</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flow_network" title="Flow network">Flow</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Network_on_a_chip" title="Network on a chip">on-Chip</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Graph_(discrete_mathematics)" title="Graph (discrete mathematics)">Graphs</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist" style="padding-top:0.2em;padding-bottom:0.5em;"> <table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks" style="background-color: transparent; color: var( --color-base ); border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0px; border:none; width:100%; margin:0px; font-size:100%; clear:none; float:none"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;"> Features</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Clique_(graph_theory)" title="Clique (graph theory)">Clique</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Connected_component_(graph_theory)" class="mw-redirect" title="Connected component (graph theory)">Component</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cut_(graph_theory)" title="Cut (graph theory)">Cut</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cycle_(graph_theory)" title="Cycle (graph theory)">Cycle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Graph_(abstract_data_type)" title="Graph (abstract data type)">Data structure</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Edge_(graph_theory)" class="mw-redirect" title="Edge (graph theory)">Edge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Loop_(graph_theory)" title="Loop (graph theory)">Loop</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neighbourhood_(graph_theory)" title="Neighbourhood (graph theory)">Neighborhood</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Path_(graph_theory)" title="Path (graph theory)">Path</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vertex_(graph_theory)" title="Vertex (graph theory)">Vertex</a></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Adjacency_list" title="Adjacency list">Adjacency list</a> / <a href="/wiki/Adjacency_matrix" title="Adjacency matrix">matrix</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Incidence_list" class="mw-redirect" title="Incidence list">Incidence list</a> / <a href="/wiki/Incidence_matrix" title="Incidence matrix">matrix</a></span></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;"> Types</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bipartite_graph" title="Bipartite graph">Bipartite</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Complete_graph" title="Complete graph">Complete</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Directed_graph" title="Directed graph">Directed</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hypergraph" title="Hypergraph">Hyper</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Labeled_graph" class="mw-redirect" title="Labeled graph">Labeled</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Multigraph" title="Multigraph">Multi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Random_graph" title="Random graph">Random</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Weighted_graph" class="mw-redirect" title="Weighted graph">Weighted</a></li></ul></td> </tr></tbody></table></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Metrics_(networking)" title="Metrics (networking)">Metrics</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_algorithms#Networking" title="List of algorithms">Algorithms</a></li></ul></div></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist" style="padding-top:0.2em;padding-bottom:0.5em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Centrality" title="Centrality">Centrality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Degree_(graph_theory)" title="Degree (graph theory)">Degree</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Network_motif" title="Network motif">Motif</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Clustering_coefficient" title="Clustering coefficient">Clustering</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Degree_distribution" title="Degree distribution">Degree distribution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Assortativity" title="Assortativity">Assortativity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Distance_(graph_theory)" title="Distance (graph theory)">Distance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Modularity_(networks)" title="Modularity (networks)">Modularity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Efficiency_(network_science)" title="Efficiency (network science)">Efficiency</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Models</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist" style="padding-top:0.2em;padding-bottom:0.5em;"> <table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks" style="background-color: transparent; color: var( --color-base ); border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0px; border:none; width:100%; margin:0px; font-size:100%; clear:none; float:none"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;"> Topology</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Random_graph" title="Random graph">Random graph</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Erd%C5%91s%E2%80%93R%C3%A9nyi_model" title="Erdős–Rényi model">Erdős–Rényi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Barab%C3%A1si%E2%80%93Albert_model" title="Barabási–Albert model">Barabási–Albert</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bianconi%E2%80%93Barab%C3%A1si_model" title="Bianconi–Barabási model">Bianconi–Barabási</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fitness_model_(network_theory)" title="Fitness model (network theory)">Fitness model</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Watts%E2%80%93Strogatz_model" title="Watts–Strogatz model">Watts–Strogatz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Exponential_random_graph_models" class="mw-redirect" title="Exponential random graph models">Exponential random (ERGM)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Random_geometric_graph" title="Random geometric graph">Random geometric (RGG)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hyperbolic_geometric_graph" title="Hyperbolic geometric graph">Hyperbolic (HGN)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hierarchical_network_model" title="Hierarchical network model">Hierarchical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stochastic_block_model" title="Stochastic block model">Stochastic block</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Blockmodeling" title="Blockmodeling">Blockmodeling</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maximum-entropy_random_graph_model" title="Maximum-entropy random graph model">Maximum entropy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soft_configuration_model" title="Soft configuration model">Soft configuration</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lancichinetti%E2%80%93Fortunato%E2%80%93Radicchi_benchmark" title="Lancichinetti–Fortunato–Radicchi benchmark">LFR Benchmark</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;"> Dynamics</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Boolean_network" title="Boolean network">Boolean network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Agent-based_model" title="Agent-based model">agent based</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Epidemic_model" class="mw-redirect" title="Epidemic model">Epidemic</a>/<a href="/wiki/SIR_model" class="mw-redirect" title="SIR model">SIR</a></li></ul></td> </tr></tbody></table></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <div class="hlist"><ul><li>Lists</li><li>Categories</li></ul></div></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist" style="padding-top:0.2em;padding-bottom:0.5em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_network_theory_topics" title="List of network theory topics">Topics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_network_analysis_software" title="Social network analysis software">Software</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_network_scientists" title="List of network scientists">Network scientists</a></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Network_theory" title="Category:Network theory">Category:Network theory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Graph_theory" title="Category:Graph theory">Category:Graph theory</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Network_science" title="Template:Network science"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Network_science" title="Template talk:Network science"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Network_science" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Network science"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Network topology</b> is the arrangement of the elements (<a href="/wiki/Data_link" title="Data link">links</a>, <a href="/wiki/Node_(networking)" title="Node (networking)">nodes</a>, etc.) of a communication network.<sup id="cite_ref-Groth_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Groth-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-atis_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-atis-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Network topology can be used to define or describe the arrangement of various types of telecommunication networks, including <a href="/wiki/Command_and_control" title="Command and control">command and control</a> radio networks,<sup id="cite_ref-GrantC2_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GrantC2-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> industrial <a href="/wiki/Fieldbus" title="Fieldbus">fieldbusses</a> and <a href="/wiki/Computer_networks" class="mw-redirect" title="Computer networks">computer networks</a>. </p><p>Network topology is the <a href="/wiki/Topological" class="mw-redirect" title="Topological">topological</a><sup id="cite_ref-Chiang04_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Chiang04-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> structure of a network and may be depicted physically or logically. It is an application of <a href="/wiki/Graph_theory" title="Graph theory">graph theory</a><sup id="cite_ref-GrantC2_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GrantC2-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> wherein communicating devices are modeled as nodes and the connections between the devices are modeled as links or lines between the nodes. <b>Physical topology</b> is the placement of the various components of a network (e.g., device location and cable installation), while <b>logical topology</b> illustrates how data flows within a network. Distances between nodes, physical interconnections, <a href="/wiki/Bit_rate" title="Bit rate">transmission rates</a>, or signal types may differ between two different networks, yet their logical topologies may be identical. A network's physical topology is a particular concern of the <a href="/wiki/Physical_layer" title="Physical layer">physical layer</a> of the <a href="/wiki/OSI_model" title="OSI model">OSI model</a>. </p><p>Examples of network topologies are found in <a href="/wiki/Local_area_network" title="Local area network">local area networks</a> (<a href="/wiki/LAN" class="mw-redirect" title="LAN">LAN</a>), a common computer network installation. Any given node in the LAN has one or more physical links to other devices in the network; graphically mapping these links results in a geometric shape that can be used to describe the physical topology of the network. A wide variety of physical topologies have been used in LANs, including <a href="/wiki/Ring_network" title="Ring network">ring</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bus_network" title="Bus network">bus</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mesh_network" class="mw-redirect" title="Mesh network">mesh</a> and <a href="/wiki/Star_network" title="Star network">star</a>. Conversely, mapping the <a href="/wiki/Traffic_flow_(computer_networking)" title="Traffic flow (computer networking)">data flow</a> between the components determines the logical topology of the network. In comparison, <a href="/wiki/CAN_bus" title="CAN bus">Controller Area Networks</a>, common in vehicles, are primarily distributed <a href="/wiki/Control_system" title="Control system">control system</a> networks of one or more controllers interconnected with sensors and actuators over, invariably, a physical bus topology. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Topologies">Topologies</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Topologies"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:NetworkTopologies.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/NetworkTopologies.svg/300px-NetworkTopologies.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/NetworkTopologies.svg/450px-NetworkTopologies.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/NetworkTopologies.svg/600px-NetworkTopologies.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="508" data-file-height="249" /></a><figcaption>Diagram of different network topologies</figcaption></figure> <p>Two basic categories of network topologies exist, physical topologies and logical topologies.<sup id="cite_ref-Inc,_S._2002_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Inc,_S._2002-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Transmission_medium" title="Transmission medium">transmission medium</a> layout used to link devices is the physical topology of the network. For conductive or fiber optical mediums, this refers to the layout of <a href="/wiki/Structured_cabling" title="Structured cabling">cabling</a>, the locations of nodes, and the links between the nodes and the cabling.<sup id="cite_ref-Groth_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Groth-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The physical topology of a network is determined by the capabilities of the network access devices and media, the level of control or fault tolerance desired, and the cost associated with cabling or telecommunication circuits. </p><p>In contrast, logical topology is the way that the signals act on the network media,<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> or the way that the data passes through the network from one device to the next without regard to the physical interconnection of the devices.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A network's logical topology is not necessarily the same as its physical topology. For example, the original <a href="/wiki/Twisted_pair_Ethernet" class="mw-redirect" title="Twisted pair Ethernet">twisted pair Ethernet</a> using <a href="/wiki/Repeater_hub" class="mw-redirect" title="Repeater hub">repeater hubs</a> was a logical bus topology carried on a physical star topology. <a href="/wiki/Token_Ring" title="Token Ring">Token Ring</a> is a logical ring topology, but is wired as a physical star from the <a href="/wiki/Media_access_unit" title="Media access unit">media access unit</a>. Physically, <a href="/wiki/Avionics_Full-Duplex_Switched_Ethernet" title="Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet">Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet</a> (AFDX) can be a cascaded star topology of multiple dual redundant Ethernet switches; however, the <a href="/wiki/Avionics_Full-Duplex_Switched_Ethernet#Virtual_links" title="Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet">AFDX virtual links</a> are modeled as <a href="/wiki/Time-division_multiplexing" title="Time-division multiplexing">time-switched</a> single-transmitter bus connections, thus following the safety model of a <a href="/wiki/ARINC_429" title="ARINC 429">single-transmitter bus topology</a> previously used in aircraft. Logical topologies are often closely associated with <a href="/wiki/Media_access_control" class="mw-redirect" title="Media access control">media access control</a> methods and protocols. Some networks are able to dynamically change their logical topology through configuration changes to their <a href="/wiki/Router_(computing)" title="Router (computing)">routers</a> and switches. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Links">Links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Data_transmission" class="mw-redirect" title="Data transmission">data transmission</a></div> <p>The transmission media (often referred to in the literature as the <i>physical media</i>) used to link devices to form a computer network include <a href="/wiki/Electrical_cables" class="mw-redirect" title="Electrical cables">electrical cables</a> (<a href="/wiki/Ethernet" title="Ethernet">Ethernet</a>, <a href="/wiki/HomePNA" title="HomePNA">HomePNA</a>, <a href="/wiki/Power_line_communication" class="mw-redirect" title="Power line communication">power line communication</a>, <a href="/wiki/G.hn" title="G.hn">G.hn</a>), <a href="/wiki/Optical_fiber" title="Optical fiber">optical fiber</a> (<a href="/wiki/Fiber-optic_communication" title="Fiber-optic communication">fiber-optic communication</a>), and <a href="/wiki/Radio_waves" class="mw-redirect" title="Radio waves">radio waves</a> (<a href="/wiki/Wireless_networking" class="mw-redirect" title="Wireless networking">wireless networking</a>). In the <a href="/wiki/OSI_model" title="OSI model">OSI model</a>, these are defined at layers 1 and 2 — the physical layer and the data link layer. </p><p>A widely adopted <i>family</i> of transmission media used in local area network (<a href="/wiki/LAN" class="mw-redirect" title="LAN">LAN</a>) technology is collectively known as <a href="/wiki/Ethernet" title="Ethernet">Ethernet</a>. The media and protocol standards that enable communication between networked devices over Ethernet are defined by <a href="/wiki/IEEE_802.3" title="IEEE 802.3">IEEE 802.3</a>. Ethernet transmits data over both copper and fiber cables. Wireless LAN standards (e.g. those defined by <a href="/wiki/IEEE_802.11" title="IEEE 802.11">IEEE 802.11</a>) use <a href="/wiki/Radio_waves" class="mw-redirect" title="Radio waves">radio waves</a>, or others use <a href="/wiki/IrDA" class="mw-redirect" title="IrDA">infrared</a> signals as a transmission medium. <a href="/wiki/Power_line_communication" class="mw-redirect" title="Power line communication">Power line communication</a> uses a building's power cabling to transmit data. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Wired_technologies">Wired technologies</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Wired technologies"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Fibreoptic.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Bundle of glass threads with light emitting from the ends" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Fibreoptic.jpg/150px-Fibreoptic.jpg" decoding="async" width="150" height="227" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Fibreoptic.jpg/225px-Fibreoptic.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Fibreoptic.jpg/300px-Fibreoptic.jpg 2x" data-file-width="350" data-file-height="529" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Fiber-optic_cable" title="Fiber-optic cable">Fiber-optic cables</a> are used to transmit light from one computer/network node to another.</figcaption></figure> <p>The orders of the following wired technologies are, roughly, from slowest to fastest transmission speed. </p> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Coaxial_cable" title="Coaxial cable">Coaxial cable</a></i> is widely used for cable television systems, office buildings, and other work-sites for local area networks. The cables consist of copper or aluminum wire surrounded by an insulating layer (typically a flexible material with a high dielectric constant), which itself is surrounded by a conductive layer. The insulation between the conductors helps maintain the characteristic impedance of the cable which can help improve its performance. Transmission speed ranges from 200 million bits per second to more than 500 million bits per second.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/ITU-T" title="ITU-T">ITU-T</a> <a href="/wiki/G.hn" title="G.hn">G.hn</a></i> technology uses existing <a href="/wiki/Home_wiring" title="Home wiring">home wiring</a> (<a href="/wiki/Ethernet_over_coax" title="Ethernet over coax">coaxial cable</a>, phone lines and <a href="/wiki/Power_line_communication" class="mw-redirect" title="Power line communication">power lines</a>) to create a high-speed (up to 1 Gigabit/s) local area network.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Signal_trace" title="Signal trace">Signal traces</a></i> on <a href="/wiki/Printed_circuit_board" title="Printed circuit board">printed circuit boards</a> are common for board-level serial communication, particularly between certain types integrated circuits, a common example being <a href="/wiki/Serial_Peripheral_Interface_Bus" class="mw-redirect" title="Serial Peripheral Interface Bus">SPI</a>.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Ribbon_cable" title="Ribbon cable">Ribbon cable</a></i> (untwisted and possibly unshielded) has been a cost-effective media for serial protocols, especially within metallic enclosures or rolled within copper braid or foil, over short distances, or at lower data rates. Several serial network protocols can be deployed without shielded or twisted pair cabling, that is, with flat or ribbon cable, or a hybrid flat and twisted ribbon cable, should <a href="/wiki/Electromagnetic_compatibility" title="Electromagnetic compatibility">EMC</a>, length, and <a href="/wiki/Bandwidth_(computing)" title="Bandwidth (computing)">bandwidth</a> constraints permit: <a href="/wiki/RS-232" title="RS-232">RS-232</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/RS-422" title="RS-422">RS-422</a>, <a href="/wiki/RS-485" title="RS-485">RS-485</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/CAN_Bus" class="mw-redirect" title="CAN Bus">CAN</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/GPIB" title="GPIB">GPIB</a>, <a href="/wiki/SCSI" title="SCSI">SCSI</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> etc.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Twisted_pair" title="Twisted pair">Twisted pair</a> wire</i> is the most widely used medium for all telecommunication.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> Twisted-pair cabling consist of copper wires that are twisted into pairs. Ordinary telephone wires consist of two insulated copper wires twisted into pairs. Computer network cabling (wired <a href="/wiki/Ethernet" title="Ethernet">Ethernet</a> as defined by <a href="/wiki/IEEE_802.3" title="IEEE 802.3">IEEE 802.3</a>) consists of 4 pairs of copper cabling that can be utilized for both voice and data transmission. The use of two wires twisted together helps to reduce <a href="/wiki/Crosstalk" title="Crosstalk">crosstalk</a> and <a href="/wiki/Electromagnetic_induction" title="Electromagnetic induction">electromagnetic induction</a>. The transmission speed ranges from 2 million bits per second to 10 billion bits per second. Twisted pair cabling comes in two forms: unshielded twisted pair (UTP) and shielded twisted pair (STP). Each form comes in several category ratings, designed for use in various scenarios.</li></ul> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:World_map_of_submarine_cables.png" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="World map with red and blue lines" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/World_map_of_submarine_cables.png/220px-World_map_of_submarine_cables.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="141" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/World_map_of_submarine_cables.png/330px-World_map_of_submarine_cables.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/World_map_of_submarine_cables.png/440px-World_map_of_submarine_cables.png 2x" data-file-width="1601" data-file-height="1025" /></a><figcaption>2007 map showing submarine optical fiber telecommunication cables around the world</figcaption></figure> <ul><li>An <i><a href="/wiki/Optical_fiber" title="Optical fiber">optical fiber</a></i> is a glass fiber. It carries pulses of light that represent data. Some advantages of optical fibers over metal wires are very low transmission loss and immunity from electrical interference. Optical fibers can simultaneously carry multiple wavelengths of light, which greatly increases the rate that data can be sent, and helps enable data rates of up to trillions of bits per second. Optic fibers can be used for long runs of cable carrying very high data rates, and are used for <a href="/wiki/Undersea_communications_cables" class="mw-redirect" title="Undersea communications cables">undersea communications cables</a> to interconnect continents.</li></ul> <p>Price is a main factor distinguishing wired- and wireless technology options in a business. Wireless options command a price premium that can make purchasing wired computers, printers and other devices a financial benefit. Before making the decision to purchase hard-wired technology products, a review of the restrictions and limitations of the selections is necessary. Business and employee needs may override any cost considerations.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Wireless_technologies">Wireless technologies</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Wireless technologies"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Wireless_network.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Black laptop with router in the background" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Wireless_network.jpg/220px-Wireless_network.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Wireless_network.jpg/330px-Wireless_network.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Wireless_network.jpg 2x" data-file-width="400" data-file-height="300" /></a><figcaption>Personal computers are very often connected to networks using wireless links.</figcaption></figure> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Wireless_network" title="Wireless network">Wireless network</a></div> <ul><li><i>Terrestrial <a href="/wiki/Microwave" title="Microwave">microwave</a></i> – Terrestrial microwave communication uses Earth-based transmitters and receivers resembling satellite dishes. Terrestrial microwaves are in the low gigahertz range, which limits all communications to line-of-sight. Relay stations are spaced approximately 50 km (30 mi) apart.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Communications_satellite" title="Communications satellite">Communications satellites</a></i> – Satellites communicate via microwave radio waves, which are not deflected by the Earth's atmosphere. The satellites are stationed in space, typically in <a href="/wiki/Geostationary_orbit" title="Geostationary orbit">geostationary orbit</a> 35,786 km (22,236 mi) above the equator. These Earth-orbiting systems are capable of receiving and relaying voice, data, and TV signals.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Cellular_network" title="Cellular network">Cellular</a> and PCS systems</i> use several radio communications technologies. The systems divide the region covered into multiple geographic areas. Each area has a low-power transmitter or radio relay antenna device to relay calls from one area to the next area.</li> <li><i>Radio and <a href="/wiki/Spread_spectrum" title="Spread spectrum">spread spectrum</a> technologies</i> – Wireless local area networks use a high-frequency radio technology similar to digital cellular and a low-frequency radio technology. Wireless LANs use spread spectrum technology to enable communication between multiple devices in a limited area. <a href="/wiki/IEEE_802.11" title="IEEE 802.11">IEEE 802.11</a> defines a common flavor of open-standards wireless radio-wave technology known as <a href="/wiki/Wi-Fi" title="Wi-Fi">Wi-Fi</a>.</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Free-space_optical_communication" title="Free-space optical communication">Free-space optical communication</a></i> uses visible or invisible light for communications. In most cases, <a href="/wiki/Line-of-sight_propagation" title="Line-of-sight propagation">line-of-sight propagation</a> is used, which limits the physical positioning of communicating devices.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Exotic_technologies">Exotic technologies</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Exotic technologies"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>There have been various attempts at transporting data over exotic media: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/IP_over_Avian_Carriers" title="IP over Avian Carriers">IP over Avian Carriers</a> was a humorous April fool's <a href="/wiki/Request_for_Comments" title="Request for Comments">Request for Comments</a>, issued as <b>RFC 1149</b>. It was implemented in real life in 2001.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>Extending the Internet to interplanetary dimensions via radio waves, the <a href="/wiki/Interplanetary_Internet" title="Interplanetary Internet">Interplanetary Internet</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <p>Both cases have a large <a href="/wiki/Round-trip_delay_time" class="mw-redirect" title="Round-trip delay time">round-trip delay time</a>, which gives slow two-way communication, but does not prevent sending large amounts of information. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Nodes">Nodes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Nodes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Node_(networking)" title="Node (networking)">Node (networking)</a></div> <p>Network nodes are the points of connection of the transmission medium to transmitters and receivers of the electrical, optical, or radio signals carried in the medium. Nodes may be associated with a computer, but certain types may have only a microcontroller at a node or possibly no programmable device at all. In the simplest of serial arrangements, one <a href="/wiki/RS-232" title="RS-232">RS-232</a> transmitter can be connected by a pair of wires to one receiver, forming two nodes on one link, or a Point-to-Point topology. Some protocols permit a single node to only either transmit or receive (e.g., <a href="/wiki/ARINC_429" title="ARINC 429">ARINC 429</a>). Other protocols have nodes that can both transmit and receive into a single channel (e.g., <a href="/wiki/CANbus" class="mw-redirect" title="CANbus">CAN</a> can have many transceivers connected to a single bus). While the conventional <a href="/wiki/Systems_engineering" title="Systems engineering">system</a> building blocks of a <a href="/wiki/Computer_network" title="Computer network">computer network</a> include <a href="/wiki/Network_interface_controller" title="Network interface controller">network interface controllers</a> (NICs), <a href="/wiki/Repeater" title="Repeater">repeaters</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ethernet_hub" title="Ethernet hub">hubs</a>, <a href="/wiki/Network_bridge" title="Network bridge">bridges</a>, <a href="/wiki/Network_switch" title="Network switch">switches</a>, <a href="/wiki/Router_(computing)" title="Router (computing)">routers</a>, <a href="/wiki/Modem" title="Modem">modems</a>, <a href="/wiki/Gateway_(telecommunications)" title="Gateway (telecommunications)">gateways</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Firewall_(computing)" title="Firewall (computing)">firewalls</a>, most address network concerns beyond the physical network topology and may be represented as single nodes on a particular physical network topology. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Network_interfaces">Network interfaces</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Network interfaces"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:ForeRunnerLE_25_ATM_Network_Interface_(1).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="A network interface circuit with port for ATM" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/ForeRunnerLE_25_ATM_Network_Interface_%281%29.jpg/220px-ForeRunnerLE_25_ATM_Network_Interface_%281%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/ForeRunnerLE_25_ATM_Network_Interface_%281%29.jpg/330px-ForeRunnerLE_25_ATM_Network_Interface_%281%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/ForeRunnerLE_25_ATM_Network_Interface_%281%29.jpg/440px-ForeRunnerLE_25_ATM_Network_Interface_%281%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4587" data-file-height="3058" /></a><figcaption>An <a href="/wiki/Asynchronous_Transfer_Mode" title="Asynchronous Transfer Mode">ATM</a> network interface in the form of an accessory card. A lot of network interfaces are built-in.</figcaption></figure> <p>A <a href="/wiki/Network_interface_controller" title="Network interface controller">network interface controller</a> (NIC) is <a href="/wiki/Computer_hardware" title="Computer hardware">computer hardware</a> that provides a computer with the ability to access the transmission media, and has the ability to process low-level network information. For example, the NIC may have a connector for accepting a cable, or an aerial for wireless transmission and reception, and the associated circuitry. </p><p>The NIC responds to traffic addressed to a <a href="/wiki/Network_address" title="Network address">network address</a> for either the NIC or the computer as a whole. </p><p>In <a href="/wiki/Ethernet" title="Ethernet">Ethernet</a> networks, each network interface controller has a unique <a href="/wiki/MAC_address" title="MAC address">Media Access Control</a> (MAC) address—usually stored in the controller's permanent memory. To avoid address conflicts between network devices, the <a href="/wiki/Institute_of_Electrical_and_Electronics_Engineers" title="Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers">Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers</a> (IEEE) maintains and administers MAC address uniqueness. The size of an Ethernet MAC address is six <a href="/wiki/Octet_(computing)" title="Octet (computing)">octets</a>. The three most significant octets are reserved to identify NIC manufacturers. These manufacturers, using only their assigned prefixes, uniquely assign the three least-significant octets of every Ethernet interface they produce. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Repeaters_and_hubs">Repeaters and hubs</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Repeaters and hubs"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A <a href="/wiki/Repeater" title="Repeater">repeater</a> is an <a href="/wiki/Electronics" title="Electronics">electronic</a> device that receives a network <a href="/wiki/Signal" title="Signal">signal</a>, cleans it of unnecessary noise and regenerates it. The signal may be reformed or <a href="/wiki/Retransmission_(data_networks)" title="Retransmission (data networks)">retransmitted</a> at a higher power level, to the other side of an obstruction possibly using a different transmission medium, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation. Commercial repeaters have extended <a href="/wiki/RS-232" title="RS-232">RS-232</a> segments from 15 meters to over a kilometer.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In most twisted pair Ethernet configurations, repeaters are required for cable that runs longer than 100 meters. With fiber optics, repeaters can be tens or even hundreds of kilometers apart. </p><p>Repeaters work within the physical layer of the OSI model, that is, there is no end-to-end change in the physical protocol across the repeater, or repeater pair, even if a different physical layer may be used between the ends of the repeater, or repeater pair. Repeaters require a small amount of time to regenerate the signal. This can cause a <a href="/wiki/Propagation_delay" title="Propagation delay">propagation delay</a> that affects network performance and may affect proper function. As a result, many network architectures limit the number of repeaters that can be used in a row, e.g., the Ethernet <a href="/wiki/5-4-3_rule" title="5-4-3 rule">5-4-3 rule</a>. </p><p>A repeater with multiple ports is known as hub, an <a href="/wiki/Ethernet_hub" title="Ethernet hub">Ethernet hub</a> in Ethernet networks, a <a href="/wiki/USB_hub" title="USB hub">USB hub</a> in USB networks. </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/USB" title="USB">USB</a> networks use hubs to form tiered-star topologies.</li> <li>Ethernet hubs and repeaters in LANs have been mostly obsoleted by modern <a href="/wiki/Network_switch" title="Network switch">switches</a>.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Bridges">Bridges</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Bridges"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A <a href="/wiki/Network_bridge" title="Network bridge">network bridge</a> connects and filters traffic between two <a href="/wiki/Network_segment" title="Network segment">network segments</a> at the <a href="/wiki/Data_link_layer" title="Data link layer">data link layer</a> (layer 2) of the <a href="/wiki/OSI_model" title="OSI model">OSI model</a> to form a single network. This breaks the network's collision domain but maintains a unified broadcast domain. Network segmentation breaks down a large, congested network into an aggregation of smaller, more efficient networks. </p><p>Bridges come in three basic types: </p> <ul><li>Local bridges: Directly connect LANs</li> <li>Remote bridges: Can be used to create a wide area network (WAN) link between LANs. Remote bridges, where the connecting link is slower than the end networks, largely have been replaced with routers.</li> <li>Wireless bridges: Can be used to join LANs or connect remote devices to LANs.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Switches">Switches</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Switches"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A <a href="/wiki/Network_switch" title="Network switch">network switch</a> is a device that forwards and filters <a href="/wiki/OSI_layer_2" class="mw-redirect" title="OSI layer 2">OSI layer 2</a> <a href="/wiki/Datagram" title="Datagram">datagrams</a> (<a href="/wiki/Frame_(networking)" title="Frame (networking)">frames</a>) between <a href="/wiki/Computer_port_(hardware)" title="Computer port (hardware)">ports</a> based on the destination MAC address in each frame.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A switch is distinct from a hub in that it only forwards the frames to the physical ports involved in the communication rather than all ports connected. It can be thought of as a multi-port bridge.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It learns to associate physical ports to MAC addresses by examining the source addresses of received frames. If an unknown destination is targeted, the switch broadcasts to all ports but the source. Switches normally have numerous ports, facilitating a star topology for devices, and cascading additional switches. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Network_switch#Layer-specific_functionality" title="Network switch">Multi-layer switches</a> are capable of routing based on layer 3 addressing or additional logical levels. The term <i>switch</i> is often used loosely to include devices such as routers and bridges, as well as devices that may distribute traffic based on load or based on application content (e.g., a Web <a href="/wiki/URL" title="URL">URL</a> identifier). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Routers">Routers</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Routers"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Adsl_connections.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Adsl_connections.jpg/220px-Adsl_connections.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Adsl_connections.jpg/330px-Adsl_connections.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Adsl_connections.jpg/440px-Adsl_connections.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3750" data-file-height="2500" /></a><figcaption>A typical home or small office router showing the <a href="/wiki/ADSL" title="ADSL">ADSL</a> telephone line and <a href="/wiki/Ethernet" title="Ethernet">Ethernet</a> network cable connections</figcaption></figure> <p>A <a href="/wiki/Router_(computing)" title="Router (computing)">router</a> is an <a href="/wiki/Internetworking" title="Internetworking">internetworking</a> device that forwards <a href="/wiki/Packet_(information_technology)" class="mw-redirect" title="Packet (information technology)">packets</a> between networks by processing the routing information included in the packet or datagram (Internet protocol information from layer 3). The routing information is often processed in conjunction with the <a href="/wiki/Routing_table" title="Routing table">routing table</a> (or forwarding table). A router uses its routing table to determine where to forward packets. A destination in a routing table can include a <a href="/wiki/Black_hole_(networking)" title="Black hole (networking)">black hole</a> because data can go into it, however, no further processing is done for said data, i.e. the packets are dropped. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Modems">Modems</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Modems"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Modem" title="Modem">Modems</a> (MOdulator-DEModulator) are used to connect network nodes via wire not originally designed for digital network traffic, or for wireless. To do this one or more <a href="/wiki/Carrier_signal" class="mw-redirect" title="Carrier signal">carrier signals</a> are <a href="/wiki/Modulated" class="mw-redirect" title="Modulated">modulated</a> by the digital signal to produce an <a href="/wiki/Analog_signal" title="Analog signal">analog signal</a> that can be tailored to give the required properties for transmission. Modems are commonly used for telephone lines, using a <a href="/wiki/Digital_subscriber_line" title="Digital subscriber line">digital subscriber line</a> technology. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Firewalls">Firewalls</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Firewalls"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A <a href="/wiki/Firewall_(computing)" title="Firewall (computing)">firewall</a> is a network device for controlling network security and access rules. Firewalls are typically configured to reject access requests from unrecognized sources while allowing actions from recognized ones. The vital role firewalls play in network security grows in parallel with the constant increase in <a href="/wiki/Cyber_attack" class="mw-redirect" title="Cyber attack">cyber attacks</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Classification">Classification</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Classification"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The study of network topology recognizes eight basic topologies: point-to-point, bus, star, ring or circular, mesh, tree, hybrid, or daisy chain.<sup id="cite_ref-Bicsi,_B._2002_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bicsi,_B._2002-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Point-to-point">Point-to-point</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Point-to-point"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Point-to-point_(telecommunications)" title="Point-to-point (telecommunications)">Point-to-point (telecommunications)</a></div> <p>The simplest topology with a dedicated link between two endpoints. Easiest to understand, of the variations of point-to-point topology, is a point-to-point <a href="/wiki/Communication_channel" title="Communication channel">communication channel</a> that appears, to the user, to be permanently associated with the two endpoints. A child's <a href="/wiki/Tin_can_telephone" title="Tin can telephone">tin can telephone</a> is one example of a <i>physical dedicated</i> channel. </p><p>Using <a href="/wiki/Circuit-switching" class="mw-redirect" title="Circuit-switching">circuit-switching</a> or <a href="/wiki/Packet-switching" class="mw-redirect" title="Packet-switching">packet-switching</a> technologies, a point-to-point circuit can be set up dynamically and dropped when no longer needed. Switched point-to-point topologies are the basic model of conventional <a href="/wiki/Telephony" title="Telephony">telephony</a>. </p><p>The value of a permanent point-to-point network is unimpeded communications between the two endpoints. The value of an on-demand point-to-point connection is proportional to the number of potential pairs of subscribers and has been expressed as <a href="/wiki/Metcalfe%27s_Law" class="mw-redirect" title="Metcalfe's Law">Metcalfe's Law</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Daisy_chain">Daisy chain</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Daisy chain"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Daisy_chain_(electrical_engineering)" title="Daisy chain (electrical engineering)">Daisy chaining</a> is accomplished by connecting each computer in series to the next. If a message is intended for a computer partway down the line, each system bounces it along in sequence until it reaches the destination. A daisy-chained network can take two basic forms: linear and ring. </p> <ul><li>A <b><a href="/wiki/Linear_bus_topology" class="mw-redirect" title="Linear bus topology">linear topology</a></b> puts a two-way link between one computer and the next. However, this was expensive in the early days of computing, since each computer (except for the ones at each end) required two receivers and two transmitters.</li> <li>By connecting the computers at each end of the chain, a <b><a href="/wiki/Ring_topology" class="mw-redirect" title="Ring topology">ring topology</a></b> can be formed. When a <a href="/wiki/Node_(networking)" title="Node (networking)">node</a> sends a message, the message is processed by each computer in the ring. An advantage of the ring is that the number of transmitters and receivers can be cut in half. Since a message will eventually loop all of the way around, transmission does not need to go both directions. Alternatively, the ring can be used to improve fault tolerance. If the ring breaks at a particular link then the transmission can be sent via the reverse path thereby ensuring that all nodes are always connected in the case of a single failure.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Bus">Bus</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Bus"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:BusNetwork.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/BusNetwork.svg/220px-BusNetwork.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="213" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/BusNetwork.svg/330px-BusNetwork.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/BusNetwork.svg/440px-BusNetwork.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="527" data-file-height="510" /></a><figcaption>Bus network topology</figcaption></figure> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Bus_network" title="Bus network">Bus network</a></div> <p>In local area networks using bus topology, each node is connected by interface connectors to a single central cable. This is the 'bus', also referred to as the <a href="/wiki/Backbone_network" title="Backbone network">backbone</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Trunk_(telecommunications)" class="mw-redirect" title="Trunk (telecommunications)">trunk</a> – all <a href="/wiki/Data_transmission" class="mw-redirect" title="Data transmission">data transmission</a> between nodes in the network is transmitted over this common transmission medium and is able to be <a href="/wiki/Receiver_(Information_Theory)" class="mw-redirect" title="Receiver (Information Theory)">received</a> by all nodes in the network simultaneously.<sup id="cite_ref-Groth_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Groth-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A signal containing the address of the intended receiving machine travels from a source machine in both directions to all machines connected to the bus until it finds the intended recipient, which then accepts the data. If the machine address does not match the intended address for the data, the data portion of the signal is ignored. Since the bus topology consists of only one wire it is less expensive to implement than other topologies, but the savings are offset by the higher cost of managing the network. Additionally, since the network is dependent on the single cable, it can be the <a href="/wiki/Single_point_of_failure" title="Single point of failure">single point of failure</a> of the network. In this topology data being transferred may be accessed by any node. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Linear_bus">Linear bus</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Linear bus"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In a linear bus network, all of the nodes of the network are connected to a common transmission medium which has just two endpoints. When the electrical signal reaches the end of the bus, the signal is reflected back down the line, causing unwanted interference. To prevent this, the two endpoints of the bus are normally terminated with a device called a <a href="/wiki/Electrical_termination" title="Electrical termination">terminator</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Distributed_bus">Distributed bus</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Distributed bus"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In a distributed bus network, all of the nodes of the network are connected to a common transmission medium with more than two endpoints, created by adding branches to the main section of the transmission medium – the physical distributed bus topology functions in exactly the same fashion as the physical linear bus topology because all nodes share a common transmission medium. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Star">Star</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Star"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Star_network" title="Star network">Star network</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:StarNetwork.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/StarNetwork.svg/220px-StarNetwork.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="213" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/StarNetwork.svg/330px-StarNetwork.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/StarNetwork.svg/440px-StarNetwork.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="527" data-file-height="510" /></a><figcaption>Star network topology</figcaption></figure> <p>In star topology (also called hub-and-spoke), every peripheral node (computer workstation or any other peripheral) is connected to a central node called a hub or switch. The hub is the server and the peripherals are the clients. The network does not necessarily have to resemble a star to be classified as a star network, but all of the peripheral nodes on the network must be connected to one central hub. All traffic that traverses the network passes through the central hub, which acts as a <a href="/wiki/Repeater" title="Repeater">signal repeater</a>. </p><p>The star topology is considered the easiest topology to design and implement. One advantage of the star topology is the simplicity of adding additional nodes. The primary disadvantage of the star topology is that the hub represents a single point of failure. Also, since all peripheral communication must flow through the central hub, the aggregate central bandwidth forms a network bottleneck for large clusters. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Extended_star">Extended star</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Extended star"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The extended star network topology extends a physical star topology by one or more repeaters between the central node and the <a href="/wiki/Peripheral" title="Peripheral">peripheral</a> (or 'spoke') nodes. The repeaters are used to extend the maximum transmission distance of the physical layer, the point-to-point distance between the central node and the peripheral nodes. Repeaters allow greater transmission distance, further than would be possible using just the transmitting power of the central node. The use of repeaters can also overcome limitations from the standard upon which the physical layer is based. </p><p>A physical extended star topology in which repeaters are replaced with hubs or switches is a type of hybrid network topology and is referred to as a physical hierarchical star topology, although some texts make no distinction between the two topologies. </p><p>A physical hierarchical star topology can also be referred as a tier-star topology. This topology differs from a <a href="/wiki/Tree_topology" class="mw-redirect" title="Tree topology">tree topology</a> in the way star networks are connected together. A tier-star topology uses a central node, while a tree topology uses a central bus and can also be referred as a star-bus network. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Distributed_star">Distributed star</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Distributed star"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A distributed star is a network topology that is composed of individual networks that are based upon the physical star topology connected in a linear fashion – i.e., 'daisy-chained' – with no central or top level connection point (e.g., two or more 'stacked' hubs, along with their associated star connected nodes or 'spokes'). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Ring">Ring</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Ring"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Ring_network" title="Ring network">Ring network</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:RingNetwork.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/RingNetwork.svg/220px-RingNetwork.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="213" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/RingNetwork.svg/330px-RingNetwork.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/RingNetwork.svg/440px-RingNetwork.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="527" data-file-height="510" /></a><figcaption>Ring network topology</figcaption></figure> <p>A ring topology is a <a href="/wiki/Daisy_chain_(electrical_engineering)" title="Daisy chain (electrical engineering)">daisy chain</a> in a closed loop. Data travels around the ring in one direction. When one node sends data to another, the data passes through each intermediate node on the ring until it reaches its destination. The intermediate nodes repeat (retransmit) the data to keep the signal strong.<sup id="cite_ref-Inc,_S._2002_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Inc,_S._2002-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Every node is a peer; there is no hierarchical relationship of clients and servers. If one node is unable to retransmit data, it severs communication between the nodes before and after it in the bus. </p><p>Advantages: </p> <ul><li>When the load on the network increases, its performance is better than bus topology.</li> <li>There is no need of network server to control the connectivity between workstations.</li></ul> <p>Disadvantages: </p> <ul><li>Aggregate network bandwidth is bottlenecked by the weakest link between two nodes.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Mesh">Mesh</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Mesh"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Mesh_networking" title="Mesh networking">Mesh networking</a></div> <p>The value of fully meshed networks is proportional to the exponent of the number of subscribers, assuming that communicating groups of any two endpoints, up to and including all the endpoints, is approximated by <a href="/wiki/Reed%27s_Law" class="mw-redirect" title="Reed's Law">Reed's Law</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Fully_connected_network">Fully connected network</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Fully connected network"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:NetworkTopology-FullyConnected.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/NetworkTopology-FullyConnected.png/220px-NetworkTopology-FullyConnected.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="202" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/NetworkTopology-FullyConnected.png/330px-NetworkTopology-FullyConnected.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/NetworkTopology-FullyConnected.png/440px-NetworkTopology-FullyConnected.png 2x" data-file-width="452" data-file-height="416" /></a><figcaption>Fully connected mesh topology</figcaption></figure> <p>In a <i>fully connected network</i>, all nodes are interconnected. (In <a href="/wiki/Graph_theory" title="Graph theory">graph theory</a> this is called a <a href="/wiki/Complete_graph" title="Complete graph">complete graph</a>.) The simplest fully connected network is a two-node network. A fully connected network doesn't need to use <a href="/wiki/Packet_switching" title="Packet switching">packet switching</a> or <a href="/wiki/Broadcasting_(networking)" title="Broadcasting (networking)">broadcasting</a>. However, since the number of connections grows quadratically with the number of nodes: </p><p><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle c={\frac {n(n-1)}{2}}.\,}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>c</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mi>n</mi> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <mi>n</mi> <mo>−</mo> <mn>1</mn> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>.</mo> <mspace width="thinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle c={\frac {n(n-1)}{2}}.\,}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/51b4c1adfedc9c8e540f429079fbc65eea02dba1" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -1.838ex; width:14.577ex; height:5.676ex;" alt="{\displaystyle c={\frac {n(n-1)}{2}}.\,}"></span> </p><p>This makes it impractical for large networks. This kind of topology does not trip and affect other nodes in the network. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Partially_connected_network">Partially connected network</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Partially connected network"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:NetworkTopology-Mesh.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/NetworkTopology-Mesh.svg/220px-NetworkTopology-Mesh.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="168" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/NetworkTopology-Mesh.svg/330px-NetworkTopology-Mesh.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/NetworkTopology-Mesh.svg/440px-NetworkTopology-Mesh.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="592" data-file-height="451" /></a><figcaption>Partially connected mesh topology</figcaption></figure> <p>In a partially connected network, certain nodes are connected to exactly one other node; but some nodes are connected to two or more other nodes with a point-to-point link. This makes it possible to make use of some of the redundancy of mesh topology that is physically fully connected, without the expense and complexity required for a connection between every node in the network. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Hybrid">Hybrid</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Hybrid"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Hybrid topology is also known as hybrid network.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Hybrid networks combine two or more topologies in such a way that the resulting network does not exhibit one of the standard topologies (e.g., bus, star, ring, etc.). For example, a <a href="/wiki/Tree_network" title="Tree network">tree network</a> (or <i>star-bus network</i>) is a hybrid topology in which <a href="/wiki/Star_network" title="Star network">star networks</a> are interconnected via <a href="/wiki/Bus_network" title="Bus network">bus networks</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Sosinsky_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sosinsky-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, a tree network connected to another tree network is still topologically a tree network, not a distinct network type. A hybrid topology is always produced when two different basic network topologies are connected. </p><p>A <i>star-ring</i> network consists of two or more ring networks connected using a <a href="/wiki/Media_Access_Unit" class="mw-redirect" title="Media Access Unit">multistation access unit</a> (MAU) as a centralized hub. </p><p><i>Snowflake</i> topology is meshed at the core, but tree shaped at the edges.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Two other hybrid network types are <i>hybrid mesh</i> and <i>hierarchical star</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Sosinsky_20-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sosinsky-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Centralization">Centralization</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Centralization"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <b><a href="/wiki/Star_topology" class="mw-redirect" title="Star topology">star topology</a></b> reduces the probability of a network failure by connecting all of the peripheral nodes (computers, etc.) to a central node. When the physical star topology is applied to a logical bus network such as <a href="/wiki/Ethernet" title="Ethernet">Ethernet</a>, this central node (traditionally a hub) rebroadcasts all transmissions received from any peripheral node to all peripheral nodes on the network, sometimes including the originating node. All <a href="/wiki/Peripheral" title="Peripheral">peripheral</a> nodes may thus communicate with all others by transmitting to, and receiving from, the central node only. The <a href="/wiki/Failure" title="Failure">failure</a> of a <a href="/wiki/Transmission_line" title="Transmission line">transmission line</a> linking any peripheral node to the central node will result in the isolation of that peripheral node from all others, but the remaining peripheral nodes will be unaffected. However, the disadvantage is that the failure of the central node will cause the failure of all of the peripheral nodes. </p><p>If the central node is <i>passive</i>, the originating node must be able to tolerate the reception of an <a href="/wiki/Echo" title="Echo">echo</a> of its own transmission, delayed by the two-way <a href="/wiki/Round-trip_time" class="mw-redirect" title="Round-trip time">round trip</a> <a href="/wiki/Transmission_time" title="Transmission time">transmission time</a> (i.e. to and from the central node) plus any delay generated in the central node. An <i>active</i> star network has an active central node that usually has the means to prevent echo-related problems. </p><p>A <b><a href="/wiki/Tree_topology" class="mw-redirect" title="Tree topology">tree topology</a></b> (a.k.a. <b>hierarchical topology</b>) can be viewed as a collection of star networks arranged in a <a href="/wiki/Hierarchy" title="Hierarchy">hierarchy</a>. This <a href="/wiki/Tree_structure" title="Tree structure">tree structure</a> has individual peripheral nodes (e.g. leaves) which are required to transmit to and receive from one other node only and are not required to act as repeaters or regenerators. Unlike the star network, the functionality of the central node may be distributed. </p><p>As in the conventional star network, individual nodes may thus still be isolated from the network by a single-point failure of a transmission path to the node. If a link connecting a leaf fails, that leaf is isolated; if a connection to a non-leaf node fails, an entire section of the network becomes isolated from the rest. </p><p>To alleviate the amount of network traffic that comes from broadcasting all signals to all nodes, more advanced central nodes were developed that are able to keep track of the identities of the nodes that are connected to the network. These <a href="/wiki/Network_switch" title="Network switch">network switches</a> will <i>learn</i> the layout of the network by <i>listening</i> on each port during normal data transmission, examining the <a href="/wiki/Data_packets" class="mw-redirect" title="Data packets">data packets</a> and recording the address/identifier of each connected node and which port it is connected to in a <a href="/wiki/Lookup_table" title="Lookup table">lookup table</a> held in memory. This lookup table then allows future transmissions to be forwarded to the intended destination only. </p><p>Daisy chain topology is a way of connecting network nodes in a linear or ring structure. It is used to transmit messages from one node to the next until they reach the destination node. </p><p>A daisy chain network can have two types: linear and ring. A linear daisy chain network is like an electrical series, where the first and last nodes are not connected. A ring daisy chain network is where the first and last nodes are connected, forming a loop. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Decentralization">Decentralization</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Decentralization"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In a partially connected mesh topology, there are at least two nodes with two or more paths between them to provide redundant paths in case the link providing one of the paths fails. Decentralization is often used to compensate for the single-point-failure disadvantage that is present when using a single device as a central node (e.g., in star and tree networks). A special kind of mesh, limiting the number of hops between two nodes, is a <a href="/wiki/Hypercube_internetwork_topology" title="Hypercube internetwork topology">hypercube</a>. The number of arbitrary forks in mesh networks makes them more difficult to design and implement, but their decentralized nature makes them very useful. </p><p>This is similar in some ways to a <a href="/wiki/Grid_network" title="Grid network">grid network</a>, where a linear or ring topology is used to connect systems in multiple directions. A multidimensional ring has a <a href="/wiki/Torus" title="Torus">toroidal</a> topology, for instance. </p><p>A <i>fully connected network</i>, <i>complete topology</i>, or <i>full mesh topology</i> is a network topology in which there is a direct link between all pairs of nodes. In a fully connected network with n nodes, there are <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\frac {n(n-1)}{2}}\,}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mi>n</mi> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <mi>n</mi> <mo>−</mo> <mn>1</mn> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> <mspace width="thinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\frac {n(n-1)}{2}}\,}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/63664f0756c06be99e335734efe43a77dc5cc763" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -1.838ex; width:9.825ex; height:5.676ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\frac {n(n-1)}{2}}\,}"></span> direct links. Networks designed with this topology are usually very expensive to set up, but provide a high degree of reliability due to the multiple paths for data that are provided by the large number of redundant links between nodes. This topology is mostly seen in <a href="/wiki/Military" title="Military">military</a> applications. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col" style="column-width: 20em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Broadcast_communication_network" title="Broadcast communication network">Broadcast communication network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Butterfly_network" title="Butterfly network">Butterfly network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Computer_network_diagram" title="Computer network diagram">Computer network diagram</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gradient_network" title="Gradient network">Gradient network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Internet_topology" class="mw-redirect" title="Internet topology">Internet topology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Network_simulation" title="Network simulation">Network simulation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Relay_network" title="Relay network">Relay network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rhizome_(philosophy)" title="Rhizome (philosophy)">Rhizome (philosophy)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scale-free_network" title="Scale-free network">Scale-free network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shared_mesh" title="Shared mesh">Shared mesh</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Switched_communication_network" title="Switched communication network">Switched communication network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Switched_mesh" title="Switched mesh">Switched mesh</a></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-Groth-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Groth_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Groth_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Groth_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2016-03-26</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Understanding+Computer+Science+%28for+Advanced+Level%29%3A+The+Study+Guide&rft.place=Cheltenham&rft.pages=244&rft.pub=Nelson+Thornes&rft.date=2001&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F47869750&rft.isbn=978-0-7487-6147-0&rft.aulast=Bradley&rft.aufirst=Ray&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DgnuwPpBcO-MC%26pg%3DRA1-PT12&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ANetwork+topology" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation cs2"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc5439/"><i>An Analysis of Scaling Issues in MPLS-TE Core Networks RFC 5439</i></a>, February 2009<span class="reference-accessdate">, retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-08-05</span></span></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=An+Analysis+of+Scaling+Issues+in+MPLS-TE+Core+Networks+RFC+5439&rft.date=2009-02&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdatatracker.ietf.org%2Fdoc%2Frfc5439%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ANetwork+topology" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Network_topology&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid 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style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Network topologies</a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div>Arrangements of the <a href="/wiki/Data_link" title="Data link">data links</a> and <a href="/wiki/Node_(networking)" title="Node (networking)">nodes</a> of <a href="/wiki/Computer_network" title="Computer network">computer networks</a></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bus_network" title="Bus network">Bus network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grid_network" title="Grid network">Grid network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mesh_networking" title="Mesh networking">Mesh network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Point-to-point_(telecommunications)" title="Point-to-point (telecommunications)">Point-to-point</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ring_network" title="Ring network">Ring network</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Arbitrated_loop" 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