What is Network Topology?
Simply put, a network topology is an overview of a computer network. Topology charts and dashboards make it easy to see all your connected devices in one place. But the word “simple” is probably an understatement of it. Even small businesses have highly complex network needs.
Importance of Network Topology in your Business
- Cost savings
Perhaps one of the most important side effects of topology is cost efficiency. A clear roadmap helps spot network operations that aren’t efficient enough. You may be able to remove some items from the cycle entirely!
- Diagnostics for Network Health
Network topology management can be used to find weak spots in the chain. A real-time monitoring solution allows you to identify problems and take immediate action.
Diagnosis time may be shortened. Again, this increases productivity and keeps your network running at peak efficiency.
Types of Network Topology
- Star Network Topology
In a star topology, all devices are connected to one hub via cables. This hub is the central node, and all other nodes are connected to the central node. Hubs can be passive in nature. Hubs can be intelligent, called active hubs. Active hubs contain repeaters. Computer connections use coaxial or RJ-45 cables. Star topology uses many common Ethernet LAN protocols, such as CD (Collision Detection) and CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access).
- Bus Network Topology
A bus topology is a type of network in which each computer and network device is connected by a single cable. It’s bi-directional. This is a non-resilient topology as it is a multipoint connection, and any backbone failure will crash the topology. Bus topologies include various MAC (Media Access Control) protocols followed by LAN Ethernet connections such as TDMA, Pure Aloha, CDMA, and Slotted Aloha.
- Ring Network Topology
This topology forms a ring that connects devices with exactly two adjacent devices.
For ring topologies with many nodes, multiple repeaters are used. This is because if someone wants to send data to the last node in his 100-node ring topology, the data has to pass through 99 nodes to reach the 100th node. Repeaters are therefore used in networks to prevent data loss.
Why choose Infraon for Network Topology
Enhancing a network topology is often seen as a tedious process with various teams working in silos. However, it is important to understand how network devices are mapped to optimize traffic flow.
Infraon Infinity provides automated network topology capabilities to give you a clear view of all your IT and non-IT devices. It gains insight into network device mapping while monitoring network device performance.
Conclusion
Choosing the right network topology depends on several factors, including the number of nodes in the network, geographic distance between nodes, financial, maintenance, operational flexibility, etc.
The key to creating and configuring a good network model is subjective. It’s very important for any business to first gather all requirements and needs before adopting a particular network topology.
Automatic discovery of network topology is important for network management and network analysis in ITSM systems. Problems such as configuring the network environment, performance testing, and error detection all require accurate information about the network topology.