Types of networks.

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Instructor, PACE-IT Program – Edmonds Community College

Areas of Expertise Industry Certification

PC Hardware

Network Administration

IT Project Management

Network Design

User Training

IT Troubleshooting

Qualifications Summary

Education

M.B.A., IT Management, Western Governor’s University

B.S., IT Security, Western Governor’s University

Entrepreneur, executive leader, and proven manger

with 10+ years of experience turning complex issues

into efficient and effective solutions.

Strengths include developing and mentoring diverse

workforces, improving processes, analyzing

business needs and creating the solutions

required— with a focus on technology.

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– Categories of networks.

– Network topologies.

PACE-IT.

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Types of networks.

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When describing a network, you have a couple of different options. Are you going to describe its function or its design?

If you are going to describe a network’s function,

then the first place to start is with what category of

network it is and then build from there. If you are

going to describe its design, then the first place to

start is with its topology.

Types of networks.

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– Local area network (LAN).» A single network address range.

• The address range may be broken into subgroups called

virtual local area networks (VLANs).

» LANs can span from a small area (a single room) to a building

or a small group of buildings.

» They tend to be high speed.

» 802.3 (Ethernet) and 802.11 (wireless) are the most common

types of network found in the LAN.

– Metropolitan area network (MAN).» Is larger than a LAN.

» Most often it contains multiple LANs.

» They are often owned by municipalities.

» When they are owned by a private entity, they are sometimes

called campus area networks (CAMs).

Types of networks.

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– Wide area network (WAN).» A network which spans significant geographic distances.

» They can be described as a network of networks.

» The best example is the Internet.

» As a general rule, if the infrastructure has a single owner, then

it is not a WAN.

– Personal area network (PAN).» Extremely distance and size limited.

• Most often it is a connection between only two devices.

• A common example is Bluetooth technology.

» They tend to provide low throughput of data and have a low

power output.

• As the distance between devices increases, throughput

decreases.

Types of networks.

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Types of networks.

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The way in which the nodes of the network are arranged or interrelated is how the topology of the network is explained.

The description of the topology of a network can

focus on its physical layout, as in how the nodes are

arranged or how they connect. Alternatively, the

description of the topology can focus on how the

data flows across the network logically, as in how

the nodes interrelate. It is not uncommon for the

physical and logical topologies to be different.

Types of networks.

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– The bus topology.» Composed of a single cable with each node connecting to the

cable.

» The network signal flows from end to end (past each device).

» A single break in the line brings down the whole network.

» An example of the bus topology is the 10base2 network.

– The ring topology.» Denoted by its circular physical topology.

» The network signal flows around the circle (past each node).

» It has some fault tolerance. If a break occurs in the line, the

path of the data is redirected in the opposite direction.

» It tends to be a legacy LAN technology (it is difficult to find a

ring topology in the workplace).

» Still found in the MAN and the WAN environments.

• When deployed in MAN and WAN environments, multiple

rings are often installed to improve the fault tolerance. If one

ring goes down, another one takes its place.

Types of networks.

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– The star topology.» All of the nodes connect to a central device.

• This physical topology can be deployed logically as a bus topology

if a hub, rather than a switch, is used as the central device.

» It is the most common physical LAN topology.

» The loss of one connection only affects the node(s) on that

connection.

– The mesh topology.» In a full mesh topology, every node has a connection to every other

node.

» In a partial mesh topology, there are multiple connections between

nodes—creating different paths through the network.

» Due to its redundancy, this topology is very robust; however, its

redundancy tends to make it more difficult to manage and maintain.

» A partial mesh topology is often deployed in the enterprise

environment.

» The Internet utilizes both partial and full mesh topologies (making it

a hybrid topology).

Types of networks.

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A hybrid topology is when multiple topologies are found in the same networking environment.

By its very nature, the Internet utilizes a hybrid

topology. It is also not uncommon to find multiple

topologies in the enterprise environment. For

example, the workstations may utilize a star

topology; the workstation switches may have a

partial mesh topology; and the core switches (often

called backbone switches), which carry huge

amounts of data, will utilize a full mesh topology to

ensure redundancy.

Types of networks.

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Types of networks.

The LAN spans a small area like a building. While, there is not a distinct line

between the LAN and the MAN, the MAN is larger than the LAN. WANs

span large geographic areas. As a rule, if the infrastructure is owned by one

entity, it is not a WAN. PANs are very small low powered networks that tend

to only span two devices.

Topic

Categories of networks.

Summary

Network topologies are both physical (how the nodes are arranged) and

logical (how they interrelate). These topologies may be different and still

coexist. The bus involves a single line of communication and data travels

end to end on the line. The circle is recognized by its circular design. In the

star topology, every node connects to a central device. The mesh topology

creates multiple links between nodes. The hybrid topology mixes different

topologies together.

Network topologies.

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THANK YOU!

This workforce solution was 100 percent funded by a $3 million grant awarded by the

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