Topologies

there are 3 fundamental simple physical topologie shapes:

• Bus
• Ring
• Star

Bus
Single cable connects all the systems together.
There are terminators at the ends to bounce the signal back and forth.

Advantages: small, inexpensive and easy to expand.
Disadvantages: high maintenance costs.

Ring
each node is connected to the two nearest nodes to create a ring.

Advantages: easier to manage and find defective nodes, reliable communication, handles high network traffic, well suited for transmitting over long distance on a LAN.
Disadvantages: expensive, uses a lot of cable, not as widely used so there are fewer setup options.

Star
Every node is connected through a central device.
Any single cable only connects two devices.
Requires the most cable.
Easy to expand the network.

Advantages: low start up costs, easy to manage, scale able, most common.
Disadvantaged: uses the most cable out of the three.