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Network topology is the interconnected pattern of network elements. A network topology may be physical, mapping hardware configuration, or logical, mapping the path that the data must take in order to travel around the network.
There are many identified topologies but they are not strict, which means that any of them can be combined. However, each topology has a different standard and may use different hardware methods so they are not interchangeable.
Techopedia Explains Topology
Physical topology refers to the physical design of the network, while logical topology refers to how data is handled within the network regardless of its physical topology.
A local area network (LAN) is a good example of a network that shows both a logical and physical topology. All the terminals in the LAN are linked together; the mapping of this interconnection is the physical topology, while data flow determines the logical topology of the network.
There are seven basic types of physical topology:
- Point-to-point topology
- Bus (point-to-multipoint) topology
- Star topology
- Ring topology
- Tree topology
- Mesh topology
- Hybrid topology
