Network Topologies (Star, Bus, Ring, Mesh, Ad hoc, Infrastructure, & Wireless Mesh Topology)

Wired Network Topologies
📌 The Star Topology is the most common wired setup, where all devices connect to a central hub or switch.
❌ A major drawback of the Star Topology is the single point of failure: if the central hub fails, the entire network goes down.
🔄 The Ring Topology connects devices in a closed loop, but is rarely used today due to complete data flow disruption if one computer or cable segment fails.
➕ The Bus Topology, an older technology, connects all devices to a single backbone cable (coaxial) using T connectors (BNC), requiring terminators at both ends to prevent signal reflection.

Mesh and Wireless Topologies
🌐 The Mesh Topology connects every computer to every other computer, providing high redundancy and excellent failure handling, which is why it is used for Wide Area Networks (WANs) like the Internet.
⚙️ Infrastructure Wireless Topology combines wired and wireless devices, using a wireless access point connected to a switch to bridge wireless devices (laptops, phones) to the wired network.
📡 Ad hoc Topology is a simple, infrastructure-less peer-to-peer network where devices connect directly to each other without a central router or server, meaning each device manages its own security.
📶 Wireless Mesh Topology involves interconnected wireless access points that communicate amongst themselves to relay connections back to the modem, offering high redundancy without extensive cabling.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Network topology defines the layout of communication between different devices and is categorized as wired or wireless.
⚠️ The Star Topology is efficient but highly vulnerable to failure at the central connection point.
🔗 The Mesh Topology excels in redundancy, as seen in the Internet, where data reroutes around failed nodes.
💨 Ad hoc setup is ideal for quick, temporary data sharing between devices without requiring existing infrastructure.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Jan 26, 2026, 06:52 UTC