| A | B |
|---|
| Star | connects all workstations to a central point, usually a hub or a switch |
| Ring | connects one host to the next and the last host to the first |
| Extended Star | links individual stars together by linking the hubs/switches |
| Hierarchical | the system is linked to a computer that controls the traffic on the topology |
| Bus | uses a single backbone segment (length of cable) that all the hosts connect to directly |
| Mesh | is used when there can be absolutely no break in communications |
| Broadcast | each host sends its data to all other hosts on the network medium |
| Token Passing | controls network access by passing an electronic token sequentially to each host |
