An efficient network cabling system is one of the most essential parts of any business and the most necessary for sharing files and other valuable data over the Internet. In large commercial companies where there are several departments, numerous computers and large files to share; a smooth, fast and secure network system is a must. Therefore, the installation of an effective network topology system is necessary to meet the overall communication need of today’s business.
The term network topology defines the physical layout of the cabling network that is the location of computer systems and how the service cable is laid between them. Basically, the cabling installation is done on the basis of four topology systems, BUS, STAR, RING and MESH. Since each of these has its own merits and demerits, selecting the right networks is important. Things to consider when setting up a computer network are the performance of the system, the number of nodes, the reliability, and the geographic distribution of the system.
Among the above, the bus topology is easy to use and install. The system requires the least amount of network cabling to connect the computers. It is less expensive and easy to expand, allowing more computers to join the network. But the big drawback of this cabling structure is that the whole setup slows down due to heavy network traffic. Troubleshooting is also difficult in case the cable malfunctions or the wiring breaks.
The main benefit of the star topology system is that it is easy to modify and new computers are easily added without disturbing the network. Additionally, any of the troubleshooting or maintenance tasks can be performed from the center of the star network. Therefore, the failure of a single computer does not bring down the entire star network. But the main disadvantage of this system is that the entire network breaks down as soon as the central monitoring device fails. Since the installation of star networks requires more cable, the entire system is expensive.
Like the bus and the star, the ring topology is also easy to configure, except that in this each node of the computer has the same accessibility, which allows data and files to be transferred at a very high speed. But like the ring bus, the failure of one computer affects the entire network and is difficult to fix.
In the mesh topology, computing devices are connected with many redundant interconnections between nodes on the network. In a full mesh network, each PC node has a connection to all other nodes in the cabling. Therefore, the failure of one computer node does not affect the entire network, and therefore the problem can be easily solved.
A proper high-speed cable structure is the backbone of any organization and plays a key role in establishing a personalized communication system. With efficient network topologies, companies can have a fast and secure data transfer facility that ultimately leads to increased business productivity.