Skip to main content

Ring topology

We have already discussed about the introduction to topologies, star topology, bus topology and mesh or fully connected topology. This is the last of a series of blog posts on network topologies. In this blog post we will discuss about the ring topology, its pros and cons and the typical usage of its architecture. 

Ring topology - 

In ring topology all the nodes are connected to make a closed loop as shown in the diagram below : 

Ring Topology


However, data can travel in a ring network only in one direction with the help of a token. A token contains some information and along with this information data is sent throughout the network. 

In this blog post:
  1. Advantages of Ring Topology
  2. Disadvantages of Ring Topology
  3. Usages


For example, suppose A wants to send data to C and let us assume that the token is moving along the loop counter clockwise. Then first E receives the token and since the addresses do not match E passes further. Then D receives it and similarly passes as addresses do not match. Then C receives it and since addresses match C takes the token and gets information stored in it.

Ring Topology - Tokens


Similarly, if a device wants to send data, then it must wait until it receives the token and then transmit the data onto it along with the destination and send in a similar process as stated in the above diagram.

More topologies to discover:
  1. Bus Topology
  2. Mesh or Fully Connected topology
  3. Star topology


Advantages of ring topology - 

1. Less or no collisions - 

 Since there is only one token and no two stations can transmit at the same time, collisions could extremely rarely occur (unless there is a malfunction in the system). Therefore, compared to bus topology, ring topology is an efficient approach.

2. Equal access to resources - 

As with star topology, neither station is benefited over another. All devices share the same resources. Therefore, performance wise, the system is balanced.

3. Economical - 

There is no need of hardware like switches or hubs as in star topology. Also, the distance between any two nodes is limited or could be limited as opposed to bus topology. Therefore, ring topology is a very economical approach compared to other topologies.


Disadvantages of ring topology - 

1. If one of the links fail, then the whole system might shut down.

This in turn is obvious from the token passing mechanism stated above. If a link is broken, the tokens can no longer be delivered and the whole system might shut down.

Also if one of the computers shuts down, the whole network might shut down as the token is passes from computer to computer until reaching the destination.

2. Slow - 

As compared to star topology, ring topologies are slower as the token has to be passed through all computers before reaching the destination. Also, some computers who need to send data to others may have to wait for prolonged periods until the token becomes available to them. Therefore, the efficiency of this mechanism is low compared to other topologies.

Usage - 

Ring topologies could be used in computer labs to connect a small amount of computers. But the usage of ring technology is diminishing over time.

Followers



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mesh / Fully connected topology

In the last blog posts we discussed about the star topology and bus topology . This is the third of the series of blog posts on network topologies. This blog post will explain about the mesh/fully connected topology, its pros and cons and the typical usage of its architecture. Mesh or Fully connected topology -  In a mesh or fully connected topology all the nodes are interconnected with each other without the use of a common media. In this blog post: Advantages of Mesh / Fully connected Topology Disadvantages of Mesh / Fully connected topology Usages of Mesh / Fully connected topology For example, as we discussed, in a star topology , all the networking devices were interconnected using a switch or a hub and in the bus topology , all the devices were interconnected using a bus line. More topologies to discover: Bus Topology Ring topology Star topology However, in mesh or fully connected topology, as the name implies, all the devices are inter
Post a Comment

Bus topology

In the last blog post , we discussed about a brief introduction to network topologies and focused particularly on the ">star topology . In this blog post we will discuss about the features, pros and cons and the usage of bus topology. In this blog post- Advantages of using bus topologies Disadvantages of using bus topologies Usage Bus topology -  In a bus topology, all the devices are connected to a central cable (called the bus), through interface connectors (BNC connectors), as shown below: More topologies to discover: Star Topology Mesh or Fully Connected topology Ring topology In a bus topology, terminators are added, as shown by the red squares in the above figure at the ends, to prevent reflection of signals. In a bus topology, only one device may communicate at a time. To avoid collision of packets, all other devices should wait until the bus line is free for them to communicate. A protocol called Distribute Access Protocol (DAP)
3 comments

Introduction and Star topology

Network topologies are all about how the networking devices are connected. Suppose you are provided with a switch and 4 computers, there are numerous ways that these can be connected. The following diagram illustrates some ways of connecting them : Therefore, network topologies is about studying and connecting such computers in different patterns. When we connect in different orientations,we have to particularly pay attention to the pros and cons of each method rather than just using a particular topology randomly. Therefore, this blog post will discuss about the different topologies, their pros and cons and where each of these topologies are typically used. Star topology- A star topology, as shown below, is a topology where all the computers are connected to one centralized hub or switch. Therefore, each of these equipment are given the same opportunity (direct) to contact the switch and all devices radially span out from the centralized hub or switch. In this
Post a Comment

How emails are sent [the action of the SMTP servers]

What is SMTP? SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and is used by email carriers to send and receive emails. SMTP uses the store and forward technique to send emails between two connections. [Actually, there are two different servers running on a server machine : the SMTP server and the POP3 or IMAP server. We will focus only on the SMTP and the functionality of the SMTP server in this blogpost]. How does SMTP work [or how emails use SMTP?] ? Consider the following expected communication between John and Brendon: Fig 1 : Expected communication between John and Brendon Suppose John is going to send his email using Outlook express. First, Outlook express should connect to John's network and then to the SMTP server using Port 25 (SMTP usually uses TCP port 25 for connections). Then Outlook express should notify the server the message to be sent, the address of the sender and that of the recipient. Suppose Brendon's address is Brendon@pqr.com. Fig 2
1 comment
DMCA.com Protection Status