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Level 4 Diploma in Cyber Security

Network topologies: bus, star, ring and mesh; use cases, redundancy, performance and cost

CYB405 · Computer Networks — Week 9 of 16

CourseCYB405
Week9 of 16
SemesterII
TutorOnline in the course chat

This week’s topics

Network topologies: bus, star, ring and mesh; use cases, redundancy, performance and cost

  1. Network topologies: bus, star, ring and mesh
  2. Use cases, redundancy, performance and cost

What you will be able to do

  • 3.1 Decide on a network topology that is best suited to a given application and setting.
  • 3.2 Analyse different network topologies and their role in disparate communication settings.

Activity

Start with this week’s 4 videos, then: Seminar, guided reading and a short written task: decide on a network topology that is best suited to a given application and setting.

Study materials

Videos

  • Network topologies · Oak National Academy, Key Stage 4 (GCSE level) · for registered students
  • Types of network · Oak National Academy, Key Stage 4 (GCSE level) · for registered students
  • Client Server and Peer to Peer Networks · YouTube · MrBrownCS · 7 min · for registered students
  • 25. OCR GCSE (J277) 1.3 Client server, peer to peer · YouTube · Craig'n'Dave · 4 min · for registered students

Further resources

  • Computer Networking: Principles, Protocols and Practice, 2.6: Network topologies · PDF · Bonaventure, Computer Networking: Principles, Protocols and Practice (2021), 2.6 on full-mesh, bus, star, ring and tree topologies and their trade-offs, pp. 76–78 · for registered students
  • An Introduction to Computer Networks, 1.5: Topology · PDF · Dordal, An Introduction to Computer Networks, release 2.0.11, 1.5: network topology and redundancy (a step up), p. 18 · for registered students
  • An Introduction to Computer Networks, 2.1.8: Hubs and topology · PDF · Dordal, An Introduction to Computer Networks, release 2.0.11, 2.1.8 on bus and star layouts in Ethernet, p. 56 · for registered students
  • An Introduction to Computer Networks, 1.9: LANs and Ethernet · PDF · Dordal, An Introduction to Computer Networks, release 2.0.11, 1.9 on local area networks and Ethernet (a step up), pp. 22–23 · for registered students
Materials marked “for registered students” open in the student portal, which is set up as soon as you receive final acceptance.
MidtermWeek 10
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Course plan
  • Week 1: Network models: the OSI and TCP/IP models compared
  • Week 2: Protocols and protocol suites
  • Week 3: Protocols at each layer: HTTP, email, DNS, TCP and UDP, Eth…
  • Week 4: The Internet Protocol: IP addresses, subnets, IPv4 and IPv6
  • Week 5: Networking hardware: routers, switches and gateways; cablin…
  • Week 6: Securing network communication: firewalls, encryption and s…
  • Week 7: Wireless and mobile networks: from 2G to 5G, Wi-Fi, RFID an…
  • Midterm: Midterm evaluation
  • Week 9: Network topologies: bus, star, ring and mesh; use cases, re…
  • Week 10: Designing addressing schemes: IP allocation, subnetting, st…
  • Week 11: Network design project: selecting routers, switches, access…
  • Week 12: Applying Computer Networks in practice: case studies
  • Week 13: Assignment workshop: research, planning and referencing
  • Week 14: Assignment workshop: drafting, feedback and improvement
  • Week 15: Review and coursework completion
  • Final: Final assessment and submission
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