_________ SWAT MAGAZINE ISSUE EIGHTEEN: JUNE 1999 __________ / \___________________________________________/ \ / Topology \ / By Unknown Guest \ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ICQ: 16735367 I am going to be writing a number of articles about the design of a small LAN and how it SHOULD be designed and how the network devices actually work. In this article i will be talking about the need for cabling in a network. This article will go into depth so be prepared to think. I will slowly make some more articles progressing further on so you are able to recognize certain aspects of a network and how it works. CABLES:::::::::::::::: Everything electrical will emit electronic signals. The signals that it emits can conflict with each other if allowed to coexist on the same plane. Thus two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. It is thus important for network cable to have the resiliency to thwart such interference from other devices. If it didnt there could be a high possibility of the data being carried to become corrupt or damaged. If the cables didnt have this resistance devices could EASILY intercept the valuable information travelling in these cables. Which of course would be very bad :-) TOPOLOGY:::::::::::::: Now to organise a network there are threee main formats that are recognized and can be obtained easily. The big difference between network cabling layout in pcs and in telephones is that in computer networks layouts have been designed to make fault finding easy. LINEAR BUS:::::::::::: The linear bus arrangement is a simple bus or trunk running down the network, a bit like a backbone. The cable is terminated at each node of the network. Another common name for this method is daisy chaining. PC1 PC2 - - - - - - >----------------------------------------< : TRUNK - - - - - - PC3 PC4 The hardware required for this network is fairly simple obviously the NIC (network interface card) about £15 and some BNC cable and some T-Connectors. Unfortunately with this method of networking error finding is hard. T-Connectors::::::::: ------------------ TRUNK ------------------ --- --- --- --- PC1 STAR-SHAPED TOPOLOGY:: Here all the wires are connected to a central location (a hub) which completes all the connections. PC1-------------///////--------------PC4 / / PC2-------------/ HUB /--------------PC5 / / PC3-------------///////--------------PC6 This is a good layout for a network bcause if a cable was to fail the entire network would not go down only the PC connected to it. And it would deserve the PC user right since in my experience it is normally due to the user tripping on the cable or knocking it out the wall anyway. TOKEN RING:::::::::::: This is where the cable is laid in a circle. These networks are typically configured with a specialized star-shape topology. PC1 - - - ---- - - PC3------- --------PC4 - - ---- - - - PC2 Any more stuff you want to know contact me (addresses at on header). There might be another article included in this issue containing informatin on cabling.