Network Topologies

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Ring topology

Can be developed fairly easily from a peer-to-peer network by adding one transmission facility and an extra port on two routers
A ring-shaped WAN constructed with point-to-point transmission facilities can be used to interconnect a small number of sites and provide route redundancy at a potentially minimal incremental cost
Can use dynamic routing protocols

Depending on the geographic dispersion of the locations, adding an extra transmission facility to complete the ring may be cost prohibitive
Rings are not very scalable

constructed by homing all locations into a common location
The star topology can be constructed using almost any dedicated transmission facility including frame relay and point-to-point private lines

This topology features the ultimate reliability and fault tolerance
Every networked node is directly connected to every other networked node
Redundant routes to each location are plentiful, hence static routing impractical.
Use dynamic routing protocols
One application would be to provide interconnectivity for a limited number of routers that require high network availability
Another potential application is to fully mesh just parts of the WAN, such as the backbone of a multitiered WAN or tightly coupled work centers

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