Bus networks (not to be confused with the system bus of a computer) use a common backbone to connect all devices. A single cable, the backbone functions as a shared communication medium that devices attach or tap into with an interface connector. A device wanting to communicate with another device on the network sends a broadcast message onto the wire that all other devices see, but only the intended recipient actually accepts and processes the message.
Ethernet bus topologies are relatively easy to install and don't require much cabling compared to the alternatives. 10Base-2 ("ThinNet") and 10Base-5 ("ThickNet") both were popular Ethernet cabling options many years ago for bus topologies. However, bus networks work best with a limited number of devices. If more than a few dozen computers are added to a network bus, performance problems will likely result. In addition, if the backbone cable fails, the entire network effectively becomes unusable.
Advantages
▸ It is easy to set up, handle, and implement.
▸ It is best-suited for small networks.
▸ It costs very less.
Disadvantages
▸ The cable length is limited. This limits the number of network nodes that can be connected.
▸ This network topology can perform well only for a limited number of nodes. When the number of devices connected to the bus increases, the efficiency decreases.
▸ It is suitable for networks with low traffic. High traffic increases load on the bus, and the network efficiency drops.
▸ It is heavily dependent on the central bus. A fault in the bus leads to network failure.
▸ It is not easy to isolate faults in the network nodes.
▸ Each device on the network "sees" all the data being transmitted
Ring Topology
In a ring network, every device has exactly two neighbors for communication purposes. All messages travel through a ring in the same direction (either "clockwise" or "counterclockwise"). A failure in any cable or device breaks the loop and can take down the