Page 19 - TP-Play_V-2.0_Book-8
P. 19
PAN (Personal Area Network)
These are privately owned networks. PAN is used to establish
the communication amongst the computers within the range
of 20 to 30 feet. It can be wired or wireless.
Personal Area Network
CAN (Campus Area Network)
CAN, also known as Cluster Area Network connects two Network
Campus
Area
or more LANs that are limited to specific geographical
areas, for example, college campus, office building etc.
A campus area network is larger than LAN since it may
span in multiple buildings within a specified area. Campus Area Network
TOPOLOGY
Topology refers to the geometric arrangement of computers or nodes in a network. The
factors that determine the type of topology are cost, flexibility and reliability. There are five
different types of topologies. Let us learn about these in detail.
Bus Topology
In this topology, all the nodes are connected to a single
common path. It is simple and easy to maintain. Additional
nodes can be connected at any point along its length. But
this topology suffers from a major disadvantage that fault
detection in the topology is very difficult. Bus Topology
Ring Topology
In this topology, all the nodes are connected in a circular path. The
messages are travelled in clockwise or anti clockwise direction. Any
damage to the cable of any node or device can result in breakdown of
the whole network.
Ring Topology
Star Topology
In this topology, central node acts as a hub to which all the other
nodes are connected. As compared to the bus topology, star topology
requires more devices and cables. The addition of a new node to a
star topology is difficult as it involves a connection all the way to the
central node.
Star Topology
Computer Networking 19

