A token bus network is much like a token-ring network except that the ends of the network do not meet to form the ring. Instead, the network is still terminated at both ends.

A token is still required before a node can use the network. Like in a token-ring, it needs to include the address of the destination along with the data it needs to send. Although in the token bus, it implements a virtual ring on the coaxial cable.

Though both topologies use tokens, the similarities end there, as token bus uses a different topology and the token-passing protocol is different. In a token-ring network, the token and data is passed to the next physical node along the line, but in a token bus network, it does not matter where the nodes are physically located since token-passing is done via a numeric sequence of node addresses. The token or data is passed to the next sequential node address no matter if the physical location of that node is at the very end of the bus network. This is the virtual ring; the physical layout of the network will not change it.

Token bus networks are defined by the IEEE 802.4 protocol.