A local area network consists of a number of devices connected to
on a single site, usually connected by cables. This is in order for
computers to communicate with each other and share resources like data and hardware, like printers.
Physical bus topology
In bus networks, all nodes are connected to one single cable, with a terminator on either side. The main aidvantage of thisis that it is cheap and requires little wires. However, if the main cable fails everything fails, performance degrades with heavy traffic and there is very low security.
Physical star topology
A star network cas a node in the centre, known as a switch which transfers messages to other computers and directs traffic. A switch does this using a MAC address of every node in the network. This means that if one cable fails, only one station is affected so it can be easily found and doesn't disturb other users. Its performance is also very consistent. With MAC addresses, the information being transferred is far more secure. A new system can also be added with little to no discturbance. However, it is more expensive than bus networks and if the central node goes down, the entire system fails.