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	HARDWARE: Topologies bus All nodes are connected to a single wire or cable (the bus) which has two endpoints. Each communications device on the network transmits electronic messages to other devices. If some of those messages collide, the sending device will wait and then try to transmit again. The advantage of bus network is that it is can be organized as a peer-to-peer network or client/server network. It is also relatively inexpensive to install. The disadvantage is that if the bus network fails, the whole system network fails. The wider the bus the better! ring The ring network is a network in which all communications devices and microprocessors are connected in a continuous loop. Electronic messages pass around the ring until they reach the correct destination; there is no central server. The advantage of a ring network is that messages only flow in one direction. The disadvantage is that if a single connection is broken, the whole network stops working. The distributed star or tree topology can provide many of the advantages of the bus and the star topologies. It connects workstations to a central point, called a hub. This hub can support several workstations or hubs which, in turn, can support other workstations. Distributed star topologies can be easily adapted to the physical arrangement of the facility site. (Integrated Publishing) star A network that links all microcomputer and other communication devices through a central server. The advantages of this hub is that it prevents impact between messages. The network forms a star shape having the central server in the middle with a single branch outward, the branch will not branch to another device. Other Advantages Include: * Good performance. * Scalable, Easy to set up and to expand. * Any non-centralised failure will have very little effect on the network, whereas on a ring network it would all fail with one fault. * Easy to detect faults * Data Packets are sent quickly as they do not have to travel through any unnecessary nodes. * It is used for centralised control. NETWORKING Networking is a Department under the School of Computer Science. Courses focus on the interconnection of computing systems to share resources, and ultimately should provide an ever-increasing level of complexity in subject material, much as advancing classes in a traditional university do. Networking is the practice of enabling and harnessing the transmission of data from one computer system to another. A crude analogy of a data network is pictured at right: two tin cans connected by a simple string. Note that what this basic analogy suggests holds true for actual implementations of data networks: The network exists merely as a medium for communications of some kind, across it A protocol of some form is needed to initiate and carry on conversations (this is not intrinsic to the network itself) The same protocol (a spoken language) can also be used with different media for the same purpose; different networks have different advantages and uses A network may require one engineer to design it, another engineer to build it, and another engineer entirely to administer it. The skills needed for each stage in the process are related but not necessarily dependent; hence, Networking is interdisciplinary. The distinction between Networking and Computer Science in general is difficult to precisely define; it is better perhaps to consider that Networking grew out of Computer Science, because of a need to extend the existing capabilities of a computer (which includes data transmission) across large distances and with other unlike systems. However, an extensive background in Computer Science is not necessary to study or even practice Networking. A Network Engineer is a qualified individual who works with networks of some form, but the scope of that work and the skills required may be as diverse - even from one job to the next - as those of any scientist. Networking is the practice of enabling and harnessing the transmission of data from one computer system to another, and can be divided into three categories: Connectivity Concepts - The principles and methods devices use to communicate over a network Mediums - The actual, physical method used to communicate. Administration - The process of maintaining a network.