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In this article, the editor introduces "what is the wireless network topology" in detail, the content is detailed, the steps are clear, and the details are handled properly. I hope this article "what is the wireless network topology" can help you solve your doubts. Let's follow the editor's ideas to learn new knowledge.

Choosing the most appropriate network layout is very important for the efficient operation of any system. For wireless networks, this is highly relevant because it is closely related to factors such as delay, power, speed and redundancy.

The modern network consists of many different types of devices, such as routers, smartphones, Bluetooth headsets and smart light bulbs. Each device on the network is called a "node".

The network topology describes how different nodes in the network connect and communicate with each other.

Simple network topology

There are many kinds of network topologies in the industry, each of which has different advantages and disadvantages.

The simplest network is peer-to-peer. This is a single network connection between two nodes. In fact, with the exception of some critical or special applications, it is rarely necessary to connect only two nodes. A modern example is an impromptu ad-hoc connection via Bluetooth for remote control of items such as Apple's Airdrop file sharing service or model airplanes.

The easiest way to add more nodes to the network is to use daisy links, which come in two forms: linear and circular.

A linear daisy chain connects the third node to one of the existing nodes, the fourth node to the third node, and so on. This is a simple method, but as more nodes are added, it quickly becomes impractical.

In a ring network, a third node is connected to two existing nodes at the same time, and each other node is added between the two existing nodes to create a loop. Each node happens to be connected to the other two nodes. The data travels around the ring in one or both directions, and each node examines the data and operates on it, or retransmits it until it reaches its destination.

Daisy chains can be used to create networks for connected devices, such as smart light bulbs, but for most use cases, there are other better solutions.

Solutions for scaling up

Once we add a large number of nodes to the network, peer-to-peer and daisy chains become inefficient. If the two nodes on either side of the 1000 node ring want to communicate, their data must first pass through the other 500 nodes. Daisy chains are also prone to errors because a single failed node can cause a large number of interruptions and, in the worst case, make messages impossible to pass at all.

In a bus topology, we connect all devices to a central backbone (called a bus), which is similar to a linear topology, but has a single line with multiple single branches. This is a common topology in wired networks, but there is no really similar topology in the wireless world.

While it is important to understand these topologies, none of these topologies are common in modern wireless ecosystems. Now, we will look at the more common architectures.

Star Topology of Wireless Network

Currently the most useful topology for wireless networks is the star topology, where each node is connected to a central hub that distributes data to any location that needs to be reached.

The most obvious example is a home network, where all nodes (phones, printers, tablets, and so on) are connected to wireless access points (hubs), which is usually both a router for the local network and a bridge to the Internet. Star networks are ideal for seamlessly connecting wired and wireless nodes at the same time.

This is a simple way to implement a wireless network, but it has two main problems. The hub at the center of the system is a single point of failure. If the hub fails, the entire network will no longer exist, leaving the device unable to communicate at all. In addition, the devices in the star topology must be within a certain distance of the hub.

In order to increase flexibility and communication range, we need smarter ideas.

Mesh network

There are two types of Mesh networks, complete and partial. In a complete Mesh network, each node is directly connected to every other node, which helps with resilience, but does not increase the range of communication. These networks are implemented only in applications such as military networks where 100% redundancy is essential.

On the other hand, each node of a partial Mesh network is connected to one or more other nodes. Connecting to multiple other nodes increases resilience because there is no single point of transmission failure. At the same time, it also improves the communication range, because node A may not be in direct communication with node C, but messages can still be transmitted through node B.

Mesh networks are the largest development area of the Internet of things, they theoretically allow unlimited devices to connect across unlimited distances. With Mesh networks, resilient smart homes, smart businesses, and smart cities become a reality.

Hybrid network

Nowadays, there are actually fewer and fewer examples of using a single network topology. Most networks are a mixture of one or more different topologies.

A tree network connects multiple star networks on a single bus network. This method is usually used when there are multiple node clusters, such as in a WAN network. In this case, each node connects to the router to form a star network, and then connects the routers together to create a bus connection between them. This can also be done through the Snowflake network, which connects multiple star networks to a single central node, like a star star (Star of Stars).

The Internet is the ultimate hybrid network, which includes many separate networks of each type, in which bus, star, ring, and Mesh networks are all combined.

Standardization

The key to increasing the adoption of Mesh networks is standardization. As the participating vendors in the Mesh field are eager to profit from the industry's demand for Mesh networks, there are usually a variety of standards. Although we may see a de facto standard in the market, many different standards will coexist in this market segment.

Current smart homes may have Mesh network light bulbs from one supplier and heating control Mesh networks from other suppliers, both of which are connected to regular star networks, allowing users to control them through their smartphones. Obviously, this scheme is inefficient and will not benefit everyone in the long run.

The main goal of the industry is to build a standard Mesh network in which all nodes, whether smartphones, laptops, light bulbs or sensors, can join. There is still a long way to go before this goal is achieved, but once achieved, the Internet of things will be able to realize its real potential.

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