| A | B |
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| star topology | all devices are connected to a common central location, typically a hub or a switch. |
| In a star topology when a node sends data to the central location, | the central device retransmits the information and sends it to the destination. |
| In a star topology if one link fails, | only that portion of the network will fail |
| In a star topology if the central device fails, | the entire network will also fail. |
| A star topology can have a maximum of | 1,024 nodes on a LAN |
| Advantages of star topologies include reliability | along with the ease of maintenance and installation |
| Star topologies allow for greater reliability because | each node is connected to the central device by a segment. |
| A disadvantage of this topology is | cost because more cabling is required than other topologies |
| A bus topology connects multiple devices onto | one main cable |
| A bus topology's one main cable is sometimes referred to as | a backbone |
| In a bus topology terminators must be connected at each end of the topology to | absorb any reflected signals |
| In a bus topology if coaxial cable is used, without terminators, reflected signals will | echo across the network, causing the entire network to be unusable. |
| An advantage of a bus topology is | cost and ease of installation |
| A disadvantage of a bus topology is that if a cable segment or the backbone fails, | the network will fail |
| A disadvantage of a bus topology is that only one node | can transmit data onto the network at a time |
| . CSMA/CD is a process where each node | waits its "turn" to retransmit data |
| a mesh topology connects every device on the network together and | provides a path to and from each device |
| An advantage of a mesh topology is that because all the devices are connected to each other, | the network has a higher fault tolerance and reliability |
| Disadvantages of a mesh topology are | cost and difficulty in management. |
| Maintaining a mesh network can be | very complex |
| Ring topologies consist of each device on the network | being connected with two other devices. |
| The devices on a ring network use a transceiver to | communicate with their neighbors |
| Transceivers also act like | repeaters to regenerate each signal as it is passed through the device. |
| Advantages of a ring topology include better performance because | each device receives a "turn" to transmit signals and has equal access to the network. |
| A disadvantage of using a ring topology is that if one device on the cable fails, | the entire network will also fail |
| Locating the failure on a ring topology can | sometimes be difficult |
