Bus topology

In a bus topology, there is a main cable or central cable which connects all devices in the network. The central cable is also known as the backbone. It is mostly used in LAN networks. Some of the advantages of bus topology include cost-effectiveness, less use of cable, easy to connect device, easy to expand by joining another cable, and efficient for small networks. There are also some disadvantages of bus topology such as whole network dependency on central cable, slower than ring topology, and low performance in case of high traffic.

Star topology

In star topology, all devices are connected to central server or hub instead of each other, which is why all information that is passing between the devices have to go through the server or hub. Some of the advantages of star topology include a dedicated connection to a server, fast performance, one node failure do not affect others, and handy modification and troubleshooting service. Some of the disadvantages include dependency on a central server or hub and high cost of installation.

Mesh topology

Mesh topology is based on P2P (point-to-point) connection. In P2P connection every node is attached with each other through separate channel or cable. The links between ‘n’ nodes in mesh topology are calculated through ‘n(n-1)/2’ formula.
Some of the advantages of mesh topology are independence, good security and privacy, and easier fault diagnosis. Some of the disadvantages are more cable, difficult configuration, costly, and difficult installation.
There are two types of mesh topology full and partial mesh topologies. Full mesh topology has all the nodes connected with each other, with a separate link. In a partial mesh topology, some of the nodes are configured as full mesh but others which do not need all links are connected to just one or two necessary nodes.

Ring topology

Ring topology, as the name suggests, form a shape of a ring in which all devices are connected with each other through a single line and that line ends from where it started, and thus form a ring. In ring topology, every node has two neighbours. When any information needs to pass from one device to another, it has to go through all the middle nodes that come between its destinations. Ring topology is usually one way but it can be made two ways by adding an extra connection to each node, which is known as a dual ring topology. Some of the advantages of ring topology are no effect of high traffic, and less costly. Some of the disadvantages are a failure of one node disrupt the whole network; difficult troubleshooting; and adding a node also disrupt the whole network.

Tree topology

It consists of a root node, which is also known as a parent node, with which all the other nodes are connected and form a hierarchal structure. It is also known as hierarchal topology. In case to deploy tree topology, it should have at least three levels of hierarchy. Some of the advantages of tree topology are easy detection of an error, feasible for large networks, and easy expansion. Some of the disadvantages of tree topology include high cost, the difficulty of managing in case of large networks, and dependency on a parent or root node.