api: YAML JSON TOON Database
version: 1.0.0
format: toon
dataset:
  id: 2859
  slug: network-topologies
  title: Network Topologies
  description: Common physical and logical network layouts.
  summary: "The classic ways to wire a network, from bus and ring to star and mesh, with the trade-offs of each, plus point-to-point, hub-and-spoke, spine-leaf and daisy-chain layouts that appear in modern WANs and data centers."
  use_when[2]: You are comparing physical or logical layouts for a design or an exam answer.,You need the failure characteristics of a layout in one line.
  caveats[2]: "Physical and logical topology can differ: a switched Ethernet network is wired as a star but behaves as a shared segment for broadcast purposes.",Bus and ring layouts are mostly historical for LANs; modern wired networks are switched stars or spine-leaf fabrics.
  related[2]: osi-model-layers,routing-protocols
  entry_count: 10
  fields[3]{section,field,type,example}:
    data,topology,string,Bus
    data,description,string,All devices share a single central cable.
    data,pros_cons,string,Cheap but hard to troubleshoot.
  category: Networking
  category_slug: networking
  tags: "networking,topology,architecture"
  view_count: 63
  created_at: 1793403093
  updated_at: 1793403093
data[10]{topology,description,pros_cons}:
  Bus,All devices share a single central cable.,Cheap but hard to troubleshoot.
  Star,All devices connect to a central hub or switch.,Easy to manage; central point of failure.
  Ring,Devices connect in a circular fashion.,Predictable performance; single break can disrupt.
  Mesh,Devices connect to many other devices.,High redundancy; expensive.
  Tree,Hierarchical star topology.,Scalable; root failure affects branches.
  Hybrid,Combination of two or more topologies.,Flexible but complex.
  Point-to-Point,A dedicated link between exactly two nodes.,Simple and predictable; does not scale to many nodes.
  Hub-and-Spoke,Branch sites connect to a central site rather than to each other.,Few links and central control; the hub is a bottleneck and single point of failure.
  Spine-Leaf,Every leaf switch connects to every spine switch in a data-center fabric.,"Predictable, low-latency paths and easy horizontal scaling; needs many cables and ports."
  Daisy Chain,Devices are connected one after another in a line.,Minimal cabling; a failure in the middle splits the chain.