Mesh Topology

Mesh topologies involve the concept of routes. Unlike each of the previous topologies, messages sent on a mesh network can take any of several possible paths from source to destination. (Recall that even in a ring, although two cable paths exist, messages can only travel in one direction.) Some WANs, most notably the Internet, employ mesh routing. A mesh network in which every device connects to every other is called a full mesh. As shown in the illustration below, partial mesh networks also exist in which some devices connect only indirectly to others.
Illustration - Mesh Topology Diagram

Summary

Topologies remain an important part of network design theory. You can probably build a home or small business computer network without understanding the difference between a bus design and a star design, but becoming familiar with the standard topologies gives you a better understanding of important networking concepts like hubs, broadcasts, and routes. Next page > Network Design and the OSI Model > Page 1, 2

Suggested Reading

• Introduction to Area Networks
• Network Bandwidth and Latency
• Network Topology Diagrams

Network Topology - Related Topics

• The OSI Model
• Network Protocols
• Spanning Trees

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