Communications Media - An introduction to Network

All of the components described so far won,t do any good until they,re hooked together. That,s where the communications medium comes in. Many different types of wiring are available. These are referred to as topologies.

Different topologies use different systems and types of wiring to communicate. A few of the topologies supported by Net ware 4.1 include

ARC net - using coaxial cable

Ethernet 10 Base2 - using thin coaxial cable

Ethernet 10 BaseT - using twisted pair cable

FDDI - using high speed, fiber optic cable

Different topologies don,t just use different types of wire, the overall structure of the network is also different. The two most common structures are

Abus structure, where rach workstation is connect to the next workstation in the line. This is shown in figure 1.2. In some ways, this method works like a cheap string of Christmas lights, if the cable to one workstation is disconnected, the entire network can go down. Ethernet 10 Base2 networks use this system.

A structure, which connects each workstation to a central device called a network hub. This structure, shown in figure 1.3, will keep the network going even if a single workstation is disconnected, and thus is much safer for your network than a bus structure.

Communications Media - An introduction to Network

Communications Media - An introduction to Network