Uses of coaxial on a PC? and bus topology?

[waqasahmed]

Hey all, this got me quite baffled. Today, we were connecting PC's using a bus topology and using coaxial cable and then also connecting the network to a star topology via a hub with a coax port.

It got me thinking, what do we actually use bus topologies and coaxial cables for? I understand star topologies are a lot more popular than other topologies

[^^TommyTee]

taken from a url

Bus topology is the simplest way a network can be organised. In bus topology, all computers are linked to the same transmission line by using a cable, usually coaxial. The word "bus" refers to the physical line that joins all the machines on the network.

The bus is just the cable running between each computer.
Like an ethernet cable - it's called a bus when it's shared (like the original ethernet) it would be better drawn with the wire looping form one machine to the next

Called 10Base-2, or thinnet, the cabling was coax, and it ran a straight line, with terminators at either end. Tapping into the cable via T-connectors were leads which went to the coax cards in every computer.

That was truely the last true "bus" design in the business, as all others offer some sort of hub and spoke design, with 10Base-T being the first, basic hub, rebroadcasting data arriving at one port to all ports.

A switch simply applies some intelligence, figuring out from the packet whether to send it to a specifically intended receiver, to that receiver, or whether to rever to hub mode and broadcast. Layer 3 switches went a step further

[waqasahmed]

Well, I know that much but I dont know what we actually use bus topologies for. For that matter I dont know why we use ring and mesh topolgies either

[^^TommyTee]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p146NEDBovA]YouTube - Sick Freestyle Verse . Computer Networking Concepts Basics Rap . Flava In Ya Ear ~ WaLiTo ~[/ame]

[waqasahmed]

. Thats plain.... weird Ive found this one that explains it a bit better, at the bit where they talk about "hybrid topologies"

http://www.youtube.com/watch#v=D6ByM1_atPk&feature=related

The only real modern way of using a bus topology is connecting hubs and switches, then. Maybe coaxial is just plain out of date-Ive never seen a NIC with coax attached to it

[^^TommyTee]

nice vid m8

[shedder101]

Old Old Old tec

to slow for modern day use Ethernet now taken over

imagine only one computer that can talk on a network at one time the one with the token

A sends to E but has to be read by B and D before it gets to E

E sends reply to A same again

when A doesnt respond B C or D can then use the network

Ethernet

all shout at the same time but with MAC address code only the comp you want gets the message

[rajukasia]

THNX BRO GIVE MORE SCREEN SHOT

[waqasahmed]

heres an update. Apparently the only ever time it is used, is when connecting two switches together because no ethernet port is available, though this is very rare