MEDIA

D T R A NS MISSION
S AN
I

TOPOLOGIE
• I

4/
10 4 CHAPTER . l determine the nature of a LAN

.1'11�-j. .....tt'·
ology ing redients l 1 ia or M
f\N
. key t chn s:
ii·�: �b,:as follow
�. l'. .
u1� . . -i ll

• T p l gy
medi um
• Trnnsmission nt r ol tee l rn
.
1 que
ss co
• Mediulll acce . . .
an d transm ss 1 on media that ar e
. po 1ogies
s the to
1 most c
This chapter survey MANs. The issue o f access contro1 1. s bne . fly ra ised b orn
s and Ut1:s
monly use d for LAN . m Chap ter 5 an d Part Three. Th e c h apt er b e gin s With an
covere. d m· more deta. il . The n ' one sec •
tion ·
1s d evote d to p ro vid in
opo 1 og1• es. g rn
overview of the principal t 1 gies (bus/tree, rin g, and star ) . p·maIIy, the concep ore
det ail for each of these top? ?ntroduced. t of
structured cabling systems is i

In the context of a communication network, the term topology _refers to the way in
which the end systems, or stations, attached to the network a�e mterconnected. Tiie
common topologies for LANs are bus, tree, ring, and star (Figure 4.1). The bus is a
special case of the tree, with only one trunk and no branches; we shall use the term
bus when the distinction is unimportant.

Bus and Tree Topologies

Both bus and tree topologies are characterized by the use of a multipoint medium.
For the bus, all stations attach, through appropriate hardware interfacing known as
a tap, directly to a linear transmission medium, or bus. Full-duplex operation
between the station and the tap allows data to be transmitted onto the bus and
received from the bus. A transmission from any station propagates the length of the
medium in both directions and can be received by all other stations. At each end of
the bus is a terminator, which absorbs any signal,
removing it from the bus . . .
us topology. The transmis51?�
T h� tree topo!ogy is a generalization of the b
.
medium is a branchmg cable with no
closed loops. The tree l ay out begins at a pom
known as the headend. One or
more cables start at the headend, an d each of these
m�y have branches. The bran
ches in turn may have additional branches to allow
qu· ite complex layouts. Ag . . . ugh·
out the medm . · a transm1ss1on
am, from any station propagates thro
m and can be received b
Two proble ms presen y all other stations.
t themse Ives 1n . .
this arrangement:
• Because a transmissio ·
· · n fram any one station b y a l l o th e r stati ons,
can be received . .
there needs to be so
m e w ay of
.
m dica m ss 1 0n i
· s i n tended ·
• A mechanis . ting for whom the trans 1
. 0
m is needed to reg
ula te re_a s� n s. F ir st if tW
stations on the bus a transmission, for two over·
tempt to transmit at r si g s iii
lap and beco e gar � the same time, th ei na l
tin·
�ed. Second, one station could decide to tra� sm� 1 con
uousl y for a 1:ng peno
d of time, shutting off access to other st ations.

J
 ..
Tap

--
Repeater
_flow.£Ldat!.._
- /
Terminating
.-
'
resistance
•• •
' il il
Station I /
I , , I

(a) Bus

..
(c) Ring
._ --
(\·111ral liuh, swird,,
or repeater

.,__ ___ -.

.,__ __ -..
(b) Tree

Figure 4.1 LANfMAN Topolo

gies (d) Star
lO6 CHAPTER 4 / TOPOLOGIES AND TR.ANSMISSION MEDIA

To olv th sc problems, stati�ns transmit data in small blo�ks, known

_ a
frames. Ench frnmc consists of n porllon of the data that a station wishes to tran s
s.
mit, plu, n frnm h ndcr thut contains control information. Each statio n on the bu
s
. "d n uniqu · nddrcss, or identifier, and the destination address for a frame
is assign
is in ludcd in its hender.
Figure 4.2 illustrntes the scheme. In this example, station C wishes to transmit
a frame of dnla to A. The frame l�eader in cludes A's address. As the frame propa.
_
gates along the bus, it passes B. B observes the address and ignores the frame. A
on the other hand, sees that the frame is addressed to itself and therefore copies th�
frame as it goes by.
So the frame structure solves the first problem mentioned previously: It pro­
vides a mechanism for indicating the intended recipient of data. It also provides t he
basic tool for solving the second problem, the regulation of access. In particular
the stations take iun�s sending frames in some, cooperative fashion. This involve�

-
B C

C transmits frame addressed to A

-
A B C

Fraine is not addressed to B; B ignores it

A D C

A copies frame as It goes by

Figure 4.2 Frame Transmission on a Bus LAN
 . . 4 . 1 / TO P
. .
utting add1t1onal cont rol in OLOGY OV
formatio n int h ERVIEW 107
0 t e fra
�f this regulation until Ch apter S. me header.
We defer a di
With the bus or tree, no spe scussion
. cial act·ion
n
from the· med.tum. When a signal reaches th eeds to be t a k_en to remo
e end of the ve frames
the terminator. ·
medmm, 1t· 1s absorbed by
Ring Topology
In the ring topology, the LAN or MAN cons
in.a c losed loop. The r ists of a set of/ . . .
to-point links
. . epe ater compa ra ep eat� rs om ed by
J _ p o m t-
. is a 1ve ly s1mpl e device capa
ble of � ece1v1ng dat a o� one hn k �nd tra�smitting th -
as fast as they are recei ved. !he hnks are em , bit by bi t, on the oth�r link
unidirectional; data are
directi(?n only. Thus data circulate around tra ns mitted
the ring in one direction (clo in one
· counterc}ockwise). ckwise or
Each station attaches to the network a
t a repeater and can transmit data
_ - the network through the fepeater. As with the bus onto
and tree, data are transmitted in
- frames. As a frame circulates past all the other stations, the destination station
ognizes its address arid copies the frame into a local buff rec-
er as it goes by. The frame
continues to circulate until it returns to the source station, wher
e it is removed (Fig-
- ure 4.3). Because multiple stations share the ring, medi�m access contr
ol is needed
to determine wh en each station may insert frames.
..
Star To-pology
In the star LAN topology, each station is directly conn�cted to a_ commo� ce?tral
node. Typically, each station a!tac�es to a central node via two po t-to-pomt links,
one for transmission in each direction. ; m
In general, th ere are t wo alternatives for the operati·on of the central node.
One approach is for the central node to op er�te. a broadcast fashion. A transmis-
. m
s1on of a frame from one station · to th. e node 1s retransmi·tted on all of the outgoing
links. In this case, although t�e a�ran g t. s hysically a star, it is logically a bus:
�:� �ll other stations, and only one sta-
A transmission from any statton 1s rec_ �Y
tion at a tim e may successfully transmit.
hing device.
Another approach 1s . for the centra1 node -to act as a frame-switc
. . tted on one outgomg .
mmg frame 1s buffere d in the nod e and then retransmi
An mco .
link to the d estination station.•

Choice of Topology
ility, expand-
The choice of topology dcpends on_ a va. riety of factors, including reliab. nm . g a LAN
ability and performance. This choice is art of the over all task of destgtransm1. ss1. n
and thus cannot ·be made in isolation p dependent of the choice of �
; :r ec hnique. A few general remats ct�r:.
medium , wiring layout, and a ccess con r t d for a us
made at this point. There are fo· ur a 1 ternative media that can be use
A N deve lop . -grade tw1s
ment, v01ce . ted pair
• Twisted pair: · In the earl� da s of L of
1nexypen si ve ' ea sily installed bus AN.. A number to
plemented . s calingL. t·w1sted pair
was used to prov1'd e a n up
systems operati· ng at 1 Mbp s were im
 EDIA
TO PO LO GI ES AND TRANSMISSION M
10 8 CHAPTER 4 /

■
n
(n) C trnnsmlts frnmc
addressed to A

· (b) Frame is not addressed

to B; B Ignores It

(c) A' copies frame

as it goes by

(d) C absorbs
returning frame

Figure 4.3 Frame Transmission on a Ring LAN

higher data rates in a shar·ed-medium bus configuration is not practical, so this

approach was dropped long ago.
• Baseband coaxial cable: A baseband coaxial cable is one that makes use of dig-
ital signaling. The original Ethernet scheme makes use of baseban d coaxial cable.
r
• • Broadband coaxia l cable: Broadband coaxial cable is the type of cable used in
cable television systems. Analog signaling is used at radio and television fre­
quenci�s. 1:his type of system is more expensive and more difficul� to ins:I�
�.-· t� j ;·
"'
and ma mtam than baseband coaxial cable. This approach never achieved P p
ularity and is no longer made.
e
Jft::'f b:: J•,i • Optical fiber: There has been considerable research relating to this altern _ _auv f
i c. �· .'. -· ov�r the years, but the expense of the optical fiber taps and the avai·1 ab1hty 0
1 1 ::)q ·· · ·better alternatives have resulted in the demise of this o ption as w ell
01 .
 4·1 I TOpOL
OGy OVER.VIE
Thus, for a bus topology Iy W 109
base ba d coaxi . b
use, primarily for Ethernet s��t: s o n al ca l e a ac i v
i e r ins t all tio n t h u m . C m pared to a tar-thops h e ed wide s ead
optical f b a e b s topol ogy ol ogy twisted �;
th v n s
usi.ng base�an d
c o P r or
to work wi . E e im;le chan ges may requ axi al �ab le is difficul
ue access t t t
ment o f taps, <1nd rerouting of cab! eg e .hr:: � a ial cable_, m v ­
x
� _nts: Accord ing�y o e
tioils are being attempted. Despit: � s hm1tatto ns, if_ any new m st al la­
ther e i c
base of baseband coaxial cable bus LANs, and so it is ��
Slderable inst al l e
d
te istics, which w e do w o:t � w I t um m ariz
charac r subsequen_tly. e o s e i ts
Very-high-speed links ov er c ons1derabl e
. d'1stances can be se d for th e rin
topo l ogy. Hence, the ring has the poten.tial u g
. of provi'd'mg the best thr h t o an
topol ogy. O ne d'1sadvantage of the nn g is that a sin le link or repeat: g u
g ruf a1_Plure cou
f ldy
disable the entire network ·
The. star topology takes ad vantage of the natura11ayout of wirin
. as we w1·n explore in Sec g in a build-
mg, tion 4.4. It is generally best for short distances and can
. er. of devic.es at h'igh data rates.
support a small -numb

, Choice of Transmission Medium

The choice of transmisSion medium is determined by a number
. - of f�ctors. I t is, we shall
_ · O ther factors come mto play, including
see,. constrained by the topology .of the LAN
_ .
• Capacity: to SUpport the expected network· traffic
• Reliability: to meet requirements for availability·
• Types of data supported: tailored to the application
nments required
• Environmental scope: to provide service over the range of enviro
ng a local network, which is
The choice is par t of the overall task of designi eral observations.
addressed in later chapters. Here we can make a few gen ensive , well-understood
) is an inexp
Voice-grade unshielded twisted pair (UTP Chapter 2 Typically, office build­
P referred to in .
?1edium; this is the Category 3 UT ep ho n y t m d e mand p lus a healthy
ings are wi red to meet the anticipated tel
e s s e

ll a tion costs in the us

e of Category 3 UTP.
margin; thus, there ar e no c ab le in sta d, w ith the
te th at ca n be su pp or ted is generally quite limite st ffective
How ever, the data ra P i s likely t o be the most co e
exception of very small LAN. Ca te go ry 3 UT
fic LAN in stallation. C at -
for a single-building, lo w-trafd baseband c oaxial c able are m�re expensive than _
Shielded twisted pair an nd b 1 v en more expensive
it y. B r oa?b a ca le s e
egory 3 UTP bu t provide greater ca pac w e ver, m recent year s, the trend has been
c it y. Ho Cat ego y 5
but provides even great er capa nc e UTP, especiall y C� te gor y 5 UTP._ allat 1�0ns
f rm a mst
toward the use of high-per os fo a small n umber of dev ic es, _but lar gerectton of the
t ate r
UTP suppo rts highbda tla r u se of the star topolog. y and• the w mterconn · ·
t d . e d · us s .
t h.1s poi nt to
can. be suppor e y 1e isc
ogy con f1gur auo ns
s witching element s in mu lt iple star-t opol . . -
p art Three. , c h s ele c t rom� gnettc iso
featur a
ber of att ract ive att rac t ed a great deal of interest. As
es su
t ical fi be h as a n um
Op r
hich ha e h igh
lation high apaci.1 y, an d small size wLAN s is low· this is primarily due t o th
ve

yet t h'e � ar� et penet rat 10 . 11 f fib;r k k l to inst all and mai t
n ain
� of s d � er son ne
cost o f 1f b er componen t s an the lac
ille
 IE AND Tl AN MIS I N MEDIA

Table 4.1 and MAN

Topology

Mctllum Rlng Bu Tree Star

1\vi t d pnir ✓ ✓ ✓
8 bnnd n inl cable ✓ ✓
B ndbnnd oaxial cable ✓ ✓
Optical fiber ✓ ✓ I
Wireless ✓ ✓ ✓

fiber systems. Thi� situation is beginning to change rapidly as more products using fiber
are introduced.

Relationship between Medium and Topology

The choices of transmission medium and topology are not independent. Table 4.1
shows the preferred combinations. The ring topology requires point-to-point links
between repeaters. Twisted pair wire, baseband coaxial cable, and optical fiber
can all be used to provide the links. However, broadband coaxial cable would not
work well in this topology. Each repeater would have to be capable of receiving
and transmitting data ·simultane·ously on multiple channels. It is doubtful that the
expense of such devices could be justified.
For the bus topology, twisted pair and both baseband and broadband coaxial
cable are appropriate, and a numerous products exist for each of these media. Until
recently, optical fiber cable has not been considered feasible; the multipoint con­
figuration was considered not- cost effective, due to the difficulty in constructing
low-loss optical taps. However, recent advances have made the optical fiber bus
practical, even at quite high data rates.
The tree topology can be employed with broadband coaxial cable. The uni­
directional nature of broadband ·signaling allows the construction of a tree archi­
tecture. On the other hand, the bidirectional nature of baseband signaling, on either
twisted pair or coaxial cable, is not suited to the tree topology.
The star topology requires a point-to-point link between each device and the
central node. Most recent activity for this topology has focused on the use of twisted
pair over short distances; optical fiber can also be used.

. ·.. \ .: �� ' �. :':

#
. � �: :! : i, �� .� }'·· �:

As was mentione d, bus and tree topology LANs have been supplanted by 5 lar a:�
/
ring topology LANs. However, there is a considerable installed base 0� bus t�e
LANS, so it is worth examining this approach further. This section_ provid � s s:ith
tec hnical details on bus/tree topology LANs and MANs. The sect�o n ber n; e
an overview o f the genera l characteristics of this topology. The remainder O t
e s c­
tion examines the use of coaxial cable for implementing this topology.
r
4.2 / DUS/TltEE
T P LOGY 111
r cteristics of tho Bus/Tree T opo 1 o
Cha' a gy
rf'he bus/tree topology is a multipoint config urat1.
. on That !\ . t h er�
devices connected t o ti 1_� medmm and capable of tr. are more than two
i
ansmitting on the me
to several design issues. dium . Th'J
gt·ves rise .
If more than one device at a time o n a bu
. . . . s or tree netw ork transm
ame ume, tl1 e s1gnals . w1·11 inter fere. T hus ' t 1ere .ts a requirement
i its at the
S .
. m may transmit at a to regulate which·
station on ·th ·
e medm ny po10 · t .m tim
. e: Histonc · � 11Y, t·h e most com-
.
mon multipomt access scheme has been the mu It'd I r op Im , m which access is
� dete r-
mined by polling. from a· controlli . ng station · T he c ontr oll mg stati o_n may send data
· eci. fic ah. on, askmg for an imme- /
to any other station, or 1t may issue a p oll to sp
diate response. T his metho d, ho wever negat:s o e O tt he advantages of a dis_trib-
uted system and is a wkward for comm�nication � � wee_ n two non �ontroller stati ons.
· �
A variety of distributed strategies, referred to as istnbuted medmm access control
(MAC) protocols, h ave been developed f or bus and tree topoIogies. · .
These are dis-
cussed in Part Three.
Anothe r design i_ssue has _to d o with signal balancing. When two stations
exc han�e ?ata o v�r � h?k_, the s1gnal_strength of the transmitter must be adjusted
t�. be �1th1� certam 1 �r�uts._ T�e sign�l must b� �trong enough so that, after attenu­
ation across the me dium, it meets the receiver's minimum signal strength require­
ments. I t must.also be stro n,g_ e_n ough to maintain an adequate signal-to-n oise ratio .
On the ot��r-�and, th� sig�al must not_ be so-strong that it overloads the circuitry
of the transmitter, which distorts the signal. Although easily done for a point-to­
point link, signal balancing is ·no eas:r task for· a multip oint line. If any station
c.,an transmit to any other station, then the signal balancing must be performed for
all permutations of stati ons tak en two at a time. For n stations, that works out to
n X (n - 1) ·permutations. S o , for a· 200-station netw ork (not a particularly large
system), 39,800 signal strength constraints must be satisfied simultane ously. With
interdevice distances ranging from tens to thousands of meters, this would be an
extremely difficult task for any but small net�orks. In systems that use radio­
frequency (RF) sign als, the problem is compounded because of the possibility of
de the
RF si gnal interference across f requencies. A common solution is to divi
is p ssible, using
medium into smaller segments within which pairwise balancing o

amplifiers or repeaters between segments.

Baseband Coaxial Cable

For bus/tree LAN s, the m o st popular medium is c o_ax
ial cable. The two common
and,
s ission tec hniq ue s tha t are use d on c oaxia� ca�le are baseba�d and broadb s,
tra� m on 1s devoted to baseband sys tem
wh�ch are compared in Table 4.2. This subsectt Ns.
LA
while the n e xt subsectio n discusses broadbands one that uses d1g .
. .1tal s1g .
nalmg; that
is defin ed a
.is A baseband LAN or MAN d are inse�ted on�o the cable as a seq�ence of
, the binary data to be transqlitte
nchester encodmg (see
Vo. ltage pulses, usua 11y us1·ng Ma. nc heste · r or differential Ma re frequ nc y sp ectru
Figure 2.S). The nature of digital signals is such th�t the enti �
tlp
1 e1 ch anne s
�
is no t po ssi bl to hav e mu
of the c abl • consu m e d • H e nce ' itthe cable. Transm1ss
e
, e 1s • bid!' rec t'! ona I·, that
• 1• o_ n 1s
(. equ e n cy-division multiplexing) on
fr direct10ns to the
is, a signal inserted at any point on the medium propagates m both
112 CHAPTER 4 / TOPOLOGIES AND TRANSMISSION MEDIA

Table 4.2 Transmission Techniques for Coaxial Cable Busffree LANs

Broadband
Digital signaling Analog signaling (requires RF modem)
Entire bandwidth consumed by signal-no FDM possible-multiple channels for data
frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) video, audio
Bidirectional Unidirectional
Bus topology Bus or tree topology
Distance: up to a few kilometers Distance: up to tens of kilometers

ends, where-it is absorbed (Figure 4.4a). The digi_tal signaling requires a bus topol­
ogy. Unlike analog signals, digital signals cannot easily be propagated through the
branching points required for a tree topology. Baseband bus LAN systems can

Packet .. Packet travels in both directions Packet

absorbed: absorbed

•
(a) Baseband

Receive onft - - - ►

Passive
headend

◄ Transmit onft
(b) Dual cable broadband
Headend Receive onfl - - ►
frequency
converter - --- Transmit onft
◄

,. I • I
(c} Split broadband
' ,._
Figure 4.4 Baseband and Broadband Transmission Techniq
ues
-- ' , t '
 4. 2 / D U S
n y a limited. distance, abou k /TREE TOPOLOGY
te d onl t1 m t 113
e�f tl1e sign w al, h i ch i s most pronoun ced a m t. This is b cc os
o pu . at h' h e f ause the att
a nd a we akening of t he en
th e l ses signa 1 to t tg r re qu en cie s causes a b uation
h e extent tha l ur
tar
ger distances
. .
is impractical · t c' 0 m municaf ring of
The ongmal use of baseband coax·ta 1 10 n over
which operates at 10 Mbps. Ethern c a b le for a b us L
te m11 1 , et b e came th e ba . AN was the Ethernet sys-
Mo st ba seband coaxial cable syste
•
s1s of the IEEE 8
m s u se a specia . 02 • 3 stan·dard
the sta n d a rd C A TV 75- 11 ca ble. These value l 50 -!1 cabl e rath er th
· s re fer to th e an.
o u g hl y sp ea k.1 ng , im pe·dance is a im
· pe d an ce of the cable.
R . · measure of how much
h ab l to ac h 1 ev a give n sign vol tage m us t be
t ec e e al strength ( A . applied to 1 '
cable su e rs le ss intense reflectio n:�; Pih:". x � ) F d1 4 . o r di _ ital signals,
the 50-.0. ff
0m
r

d ms ert ion cap ac1

taps an provides b etter immuniry against-low�{reque�c t�nce of the
As with any transmission system' there are y-el _
e Gt ro mag net ic n.ois� ,✓
engmeenng trade-offs involvin
data rate, cable 1 ength,· nu· mber of taps, and the electrical chara g
c t en . st'1cs of the cab
and the transmit · / receive components· For example, t le
he 1 ower the_ data rate the
long·er the cable can be. That statement is true for the following reason· Wh
. . , . . en a' sig-
·
nal 1s propagat�d a lon� a transm1ss1on med ium, the integrity of the signal suffers
. due to attenuati o n, noise, and other impairments. The longer the length of propa­
gation, the greater the effect, increasing the probability of error. However, at a
lower data rate, the individual-pulses of a digital signal last longer and can be recov­
ered in the presence of impairments more easily than higher-rate, shorter pulses.
Here is one example tha t illustra tes some of the trade-offs. The Ethernet spec­
ification and the original IEEE 80�.3 standard specified the use of 50-fi cable with
a 1-cm diameter ' and a data rate of 10 Mbps. With these parameters, the maximum
length of the cable is set at 500 m. S tations attach to_ the cable by m�a�s of a tap,
with the distance between any two taps being a multiple of 2.5 m; this ts t? ensure
that reflections fr o m adjacent taps do not add in �h ase [YEN83]. A maximum of
100 taps is allowed. In IEEE jargon, th is_ s_ystem 1s referred to as 10_BASE5 (10
Mbps, baseband, 500-m cable leng th ). ·
.
To provide a lower-c · for personal computer LANs, IEEE 802 3 later
oSt sys tem
added a 10BASE2 spec1f'1cah• on.. Table
. 4 · 3 compares th ts ' scheme, dubbed Cheaper-
. er (0 . 5 cm) cable of the type
net, w.ith l0BASES.. The ke y c hang.e t s the use of a th. t'nn thinner cable is more flex-
s. The
employed in products such as pubhc address system g to a workstation rather than
rin
'bl
1. e; thus 1t • 1s• eas ier • to ben d around c. orners and b drop cable between the mam
1'de a
installing a cable in the wa11 ·a� d having to prov

d
02. 3 S peci . att. ons for 10-Mbps Baseban
f1c
Table 4.3 IE EE 8
LANs
Coaxial Cable Bus
toBASES 10BASE2
10 Mbps
10 Mbps
185 m
Data rate ng t h
500m
1000m
Maximum segment le 2500m
30
Network span 100
Nodes per segme nt 2.5m 0.5m
0.5 cm
Node spacing tern
Cable diameter
114 CHAPTER 4 / TOPOLOGIES AND TRANSMISSION MEDIA

•
Segment

Repeater
.,

• • ••
Figure 4.5 Baseband Configuration

cabl e and the workstation. The cable is easier to install and uses cheaper electron­
ics than the thicker cable. On the other hand, the thinner cable suffers greater atten­
uation and lower noise resistance than the thicker cable. Thus it supports fewer taps
over a shorter distance.
To extend the length of the network, repeaters may be used. This device works
in a fashion somewhat different from the repeater on the ring. The bus repeateris
not used as a device a ttachment point and is capable of transmitting in both direc­
tions. A repeater joins two segments of cable and passes digital signals in both direc­
tions between the two segm ents. A repeater is transparen t to the rest of the syst em;
as it does n o bufferin g, it does not logically isolate on e s egment from another. So,
for exampl e, if two sta tions on different segments attempt to transmit at the same
time, their frames will in terfere with each other (collide). To avoid multipath inter­
ference, only one path of segmen ts and repeaters is allowed between any two ts a·
tions. Figure 4.5 illustrates a multiple-segment baseband bus LAN.

Broadband Coaxial Cable

. n which
In the local network conte xt, the term broadband re fers to coaxiaI cable o db nd
analog signaling is used. Table 4.2 summarizes the key charact_erist!cs of��\ ;os·
lin g
systems. As men tion ed, broadband implies the use of analog signa . o :ctions
to ann lF s ­
sible: The frequency spectrum of the cable can be divided in �� : �d �:dio ig
of ba ndwidth. Separate chan nels can suppor t data tra ffic, tele�ision, US
. . . . . operat10ns· he nce bo th b
ng
n als. Broadband component� allow sphttmg and J�1m s of kil
are
ometers-nals
n es t en
and tree topologies are possible. Much greater d1st� � - se 1he analog is g
b
with broad and c om a ed to baseband. This 1s becau
p r I
possible I

j
 4.2 / BUS/
TREE TOP
that carry the digital data. can pro pa. gat OLOGY 115
e grea ter dista
attenuation damage t he data. n ces before t
he n o.ise and
Dual and Split Configurations
As with baseband, stations on
a br adb
of a tap. Unlike baseband, however � ��d LA� attach to the cable by
me
medium; the taps that are used allow ' rlo� and is inherently a unidire i ans
. . s ig na s inserted ont ct onal
in only one duec tion. The primary reason . o th. e �ed'mm to pr
fo r t h_ is .ts that t opa gate
amplifiers that will pass signals of one fre i 1s unfeasible t o build
quency m both direct'
sional property means that only those stat tons. Th·1s urn· d1m
•
en-
. . i ons "downstream from a t,, · •
st ation can rec .
eiv e 1ts
. signals. How ' then to . ra nsmittm g
ch' .
. Clearly' two data paths are neede , ieve fu11 connectivity?
a
d These paths are Jom . .
n etwor k k no wn as the headend. For a bus · ed at a. pomt .
on the
topology, the hea'dend ts · • ply one end
sim
of the bus. For a tree topology , the headend
. . _ is the_ root of the branch'mg tree. All
stations transmit on one p�th toward the headend
(inbound). Signals arriving at the
headend are then propagated a l ong a second data path awa
y from the headend ( out­
bound). All stations receive on the outbo und path.
Physically, two different configurations are used to implement
the inbound
and outbound paths (Figure s 4.4b and c). On a dual-cable configuration, the
in­
bou nd and outbound paths are separate cables, with the headend simply a passive
connector between the two. Station s send and receive on the same frequency.
By contrast, on a split configuration, the inbound and outbound paths are dif­
ferent frequency bands on the same cable. Bidirectional amplifiers 1 pass lower fre­
quencies inbound and higher freq uencies outbound Between the inbound and
.
outbound frequency bands is a guardband, which_ carries no si�nal� and serve s
merely as a separator. The headend contains a device for convertmg mbound fre-
quencies to outbou nd freq uencies.
The frequency-conversion device at the headend can either be an analog or
d.1g1ta ·
· l dev1ce. An anal og devi·ce , known as a frequency transla tor, converts a block
· .
of frequenc1es f rom one range to another · A digital devic e, known as a remoduI a-
· .
tor, recovers the d'1g1ta · l data from the inbound analog s1gna 1 and then retransm1t· s
the data on the outbound freq uency. Thus a remodulator provides better signal
quality by re moving all of the accumuI ated nm ' •se and attenuation and transmitting
a cleaned-up signal.
. The differences b_etween sprrt d dual
configurations are minor. The split sys-
in a building. If a large
tern 1s use fu l when a single-cable :;nt is already installed
cipated then a dual-cable system
amount of bandw1'dth .ts needed : orPthe. need is anti
. . . matter of a trade-off between cost
1s md1cated. Be yond these cons1derat10n s, t•t is a
cost of the headend remodulator or
and size. The single -cable system has th f xed
makes use of more cable, taps, splitters,
frequency translator. The dual-c� bl sys; � smaller systems, where the fixed cost
and amplifiers. Thus, dual cable c_� e :r for is cheaper for larger systems, where
ble
of the headend ls noticea ble, an� sang�� ca
increme ntal costs dom inate.
. u se we have said that broadband is inherently � uni-
. ology is · con f usi n g, b eca . . . •
'Unfortunately this termm
c y broadband
1s u mdirect1ona1 • l-1 owever, th ere is no d1ff1culty
i At a g ive n {req uen tions on the cabl e.
d• rectio nal m d
e ium • nc • y bands traveling in opposite direc
in have signals in nonover1 app ·tng freque
 TRANSMISSION MEDIA
116 CHAPTER 4 / TOPOLOGIES AND

Description
to two others by unidirec­
A ring consists of a number of repeaters, each connecte�
lc ). Data are trans­
ti nnl transmission links to form a single closed path (Figure 4.
ferred sequentially, bit by bit, around the ring from one repeater to the next. Each
repeater regenerates and retransmits each bit. ·
For a ring to operate- as a communication s network, three fun�t1ons are re­
quired: data insertion, data reception, and data removal. These functions are pr0-
vided by the repeaters. Each repeater, in addition to serving as an active element on
the ring, serves as a device attachment point for data insertion. Data are transmit­
ted in frames, each of which contains a destination address field; As a frame circu-
. lates past a repeater, the address field is copied to the attached station. If the station
· recognizes the address, the· remainder of the frame is copied.
Repeaters perform the data in�ertion and reception functions in a manner not
unlike that of taps, which serve as device attachment points on a bus or tree. Data
removal, however, is more difficult on a ring. For a· bus or tree, signals inserted
onto the line propagate to the end points and are absorbed by terrninato"rs. Hence,
shortly after transmission ceases, the bus or tree is clear of data. However, because
the ring ·is ·a closed loop, data will circulate indefinitely unless removed. A frame
may be removed by the addressed· repeater. Alternatively, each frame could be
removed by the transmitting repeater after it has made one trip around the loop�
The latter approach is more desirable because (1) it permits automatic acknowledg-
-
ment, and (2) it permits multicast addressing: one frame sent simultaneously to mul­
tiple stations.
A variety of strategies can be used for determining how and when frames are
added to and removed from the ring. The strategy can be viewed, ·at least concep­
tually, as residing in a medium access control layer, discussed in Chapter 5.
The repeater, then, can be seen to have two main purposes: (1) to contribute
to the proper functioning of the ring by passing on all the data that come its way,
and (2) to provide an access point for attached stations to send and receive data.
Corresponding-to these two purposes are two states (Figure 4.6): the listen state and
the transmit state.

I-bit delay

■
To station To From
station station
te
(b) Transmit state (c) Bypass sta
(a) Listen state

· Figure 4.6 Ring- Repeater States

 4·3 I RlNG
In the listen state, each bit th . T O P O t ocv 1
at is recei. ve . 17
reqm. red to a 11ow the r epeate d Is retra nsm
r to p er for itted w ith a sm
be on t h e or m' necessary fu all delay
s h o uld
.
der of 1 bit time (ti1e t1m . n ctions. Ideally, t
e tt takes for a he de
complete b1t onto t h e outgoing line) . Tl . repeater to tra ns . lay
· · 1ese fu nctions mit one
are as fo11ows:
• Scan passing bit stre am for pe
rt' n
address ·or addresses of attached m� t patter ns. Chief a mon g these i
dev1ces · Another s the
contro I strategy explained later ' . pa ttern , us ed in the token
indica
' tes permiss
perform the scanning function, ion t O transm1t. Note tha
·th e repeater must h t to
frame format' . av e so m e k no wl edge of
• Copy each incoming bit and send it
to the attache. d stati. on wm . . .
' le contm
retransmit each bit. This will be ·cton umg to
. e for each bit of each frame ad
th1s sta t'10n. dressed to
• Modi_f y_ a_bit as itya�s�� by. Iri, certain con
trol strategies, bits may be modified
to, for example, md1cate that the frame has been
copied. This would serve as
an acknowledgment.

When a repeater's station has data to s'end and·when the repeater, based on
the control strategy, has permission to send, the repeater enters the transmit state.
In this state, the repeater receives bits from the station and retransmits them on its
outgoing link. During the period of transmission, bits may appear on the incoming
ring link. There are two possibilities; and they are treated differently:

1. The bits could be from the same frame that the repeater ,is still sending. This
will occur if the bit length of the ring is shorter than the frame. In this case, the
repeater .passes the bits back. to the station, which can check them as a form of
acknowledgment. . ·
2• For some cont ro l strat egies, more than one frame .could. be on- the rmg at the
a 1
·
same time. If th e repeate r., while transmitting, re. ceives bits from frame it
· d'd
. . tted later.
not ongmate, 1·t must buffer them to be transmi
. sufficient for proper ring operation.
These two sta tes, hsten a d t �ns�it are
. fu'l. In this state, a bypass relay is activated,
A thud state, the bypass state., : al;o use other than medium prop-
. - e r epeater w1' th no delay
so that sign a ls pro pag at e Past th
. en efits. (1) It provides a partial solution to
agahon. The bypass relay. affords two b. d (2)· it improves performance by e1·1m1-.
the reliability proble m, discussed 1� ter ,
not active on the network.
nating repea�er delay for those statwns ::at are

Ring Benefits
:r
. ·
. g 15 . st d access or multiaccess network (although
Like the bus and tree, the n� ����- -point links). Hence the ring shares the
the medium it.self is a collectJO� P . tobility to broadcast and incremental cost
a
same benefits as the bus/tr..,�e ' mcl udmg d by the ring ·that are not shared bY the
de
growth. There are o ther bene fit s provt'
bus/ tree topology. . int
• ortant be n e f '
it or strength of the ring is that it uses point-to-pouse
The most imp . First, beca
. . lmks. Tl 1 ere are a n urnl' er of implications of. this factcan
commumcatJOn be covered
. ch node, greater distance s
the transmitted signal is r eg ene rated at ea
 11 iS CHAPTER 4 / TOPOLOGIES AND TRANSMISSION MEDIA

than with baseband bus. Broadband bus/tree can cover a similar rang
e,
amplifiers can result in loss of data integrity at high data rates. Seco but ca ade_ d
�
accommo�at� optical fiber links that provi?e_very _high data rates nd, the ri
and excellent����
tromagnellc mterference (EMI) characteristics. Finally, the electro
nics and mainte
nance of point-to-point lines are simpler than for multipoint lines.
Another benefit of the ring is that fault isolation and recovery are
for bus/tree. This is discussed in more detail later in this section. simple r tha
With the ring, th:
duplicate address problem is easily solved. If, on a bus or tree,
two stations are by
accident assig�ed the same �ddress, there _is no easy way to
sort this out. A relatively
complex algorithm must be incorporated into the LAN prot
ocol. On a ring, the first
station with an address match that is encountered by a fram
e can modify a bit in the
frame to acknowledge reception. Subsequent stations
with the same address will
easily recognize the problem.
Finally, there is the potential throughput of the ring Und
. er certain conditions,
the ring has greater throughput than a compara
ble bus or tree LAN. This topic is
explored in Chapter 15.

Potential Ring Problems

. . .
The potential problems of a ring are,, at first blush, more obvious than the benefits:
1. Cable vulnerability. A break on any of the links between repeaters disabl
es
the entire network until the problem can be isolated and a new cable installed
.
The ring may range widely throughout a building and is vulnerable at every
point to accidents.
2. Repeater failure. A s with the links, a failu re of a single repeater disables the
enti re network. In ma ny networks , it will be common for m a ny of the sta•
tion s not to be i n opera tion at any time; yet all repeaters must always oper­
ate properly.
3. Perambulation. When either a repeater or a link f ail s, locating the failure
re quires per ambulation of t he ri ng , a nd t hus a ccess to a ll r ooms containing
repeaters and cable . This i s known as the "pocket full of keys " problem .
.
4. Installation headaches. Inst allat ion of a new repeater to support new devtc;s
requires the ident ificat ion of two nearby, topologically adj acent re peaters. t
must be verified that they are in fact adjacent (documentation could be f�u I �!
or out of dat e) ' and cable must be run from t he new rep eater t o both 0
f
old rep eater s . There are several u nfortu na te consequences · Th . . e len g th\
uning.
cable driven by the sou rce repea ter may change, possi"bl Y r eqmnng ret ing
o f the r
Old cabl e ' if not removed ' accumulates . I n addition, the g eometryb m ·
may become hig hly irregular, exacerbatmg · the p erambul ation pro le
epeater s o
n a ring,
s. Size limitations. There is a practical hm1t . . .
t o t h e
�um b er of r
b l em s cite d
ear-
This limit is s uggested by the reliability and mam ten a� ce
unt:.
y o f large n
ting �:�
lier, the timing jit ter discussed later, and the accumula
a
b le.
-: s rea sona
bers of repeaters . A limit of a few hu ndr.ed r p ntroller
rs eem
e eate � a s a c o
de
liz atio n and recovery. To avo1'd des1gnat'ng t on e nng no ired to assure
6 In itia is r equ e
ben fi of di tribu t d con r l), a str t g y o v erY ar
ti" n g t he t o � re c
• · ( nega d
e t e
s
ation a n
can cooperate
. smoothlY when i nitta 1�iz
that aII stations
 4·3 I RING T
OPOLOGY 119
required. Thi s need arises' for exa
mple, w
. e error; .tn that cas
hn e, no repeater ma h e n a frame is bled by a transient
y wish to assumeg:�
removing the circulating frame. e responsibility of
7. T1nun. g Jitte. r. This is a subtle problem h. av·
. . .. .
. � n g to .
do with the cl o� k'mg or .
o f a s1gna I 1n a distribute
, d network . It is discuss ed m t1mmg
. . t he followin g subsection.

Problems 1 and 2 are reliability prob] e s . However, these tw

with problems 3 through 5 ' can be am e 11:1 o .problems , togeth
. er
, 10r ated by a r efmem ent m the ring architec-
· d sub sequently. Problem 6 t. s a s oftware
ture, expla1ne . problem, to be dealt with by
the MAC protocols d1sc1:1ssed in Chapter 8 · problem 7 1s . .
discussed next.

Timing Jitter
On a twisted pair-or coaxial cable rin LAN . .
M ' digital . 5 igna1mg
. 1�. generally used
with biphase· encoding,. typically differenti;l . anchester. As d at� circ�late around
the ring, each receiver-must recover the b'mary d ata f rom the received signal To do
. . · · · •
th1s, the receiver must know the starting and . end'mg times of each bit, so that it can
. .
sample the receive _ d signal properly. This requires that all the repeaters on the ring
be synchr?mzed, 0� cloc�ed_, together. Recall f rom Chapter 2 that biphase codes are
self-clocking; the signal includ es a transition in the middle of each bit time. Thus
each repea�er re:ove:s clocking as well as data from the received signal. This clock
r�covery will d�viate in_ a rand om fashion from the midbit transitions of the received
signal fo_r sev�ral _reasons, including noise during transmission and imperfections in
t�e rece1v�r cucmtry. The predominant reason, however, is delay distortion. Delay
_
d1st�rt10n 1s ca1:1sed by the fact that the velocity of propagation of a signal through
aries with frequency. The effect is that some of the signal com­
, a gmded medium v this is known as inter­
ponents of one pulse will spill over into other pulse positions;
known as timing jitter.
symbol interference. The deviation of clock recovery is
s the clockm g for two purposes: first
As each repeater receives data, itrecover
recover the data, and second, to use
to know when to sample the incoming signal to
chester signal to the next repeater.
the clocking for transmitting the differential Man
distortion. However, because the clock­
The repeater issues a clean signal with no
timing error is not eliminated. Thus
ing is recovered from the incoming signal, the
tract in a random fashion as the signal
the digital pulse width will expand and con
er accumulates. The cumulative effect of
travels around the ring and the timing jitt
length, of the ring to vary. However, un less
the jitter is to cause the bit latency, or bit )
nt, bits will be drop�ed (not retransmitted as
the latency of the ring remains consta ed as the latency mcreases.
add
the latency of the ring decreases or ti on on th e number o f repeaters in a ring.
g jitter pla tes a lim ita _
Thus timin s can be
be entirely <;>ve�come, sev�ral measure
Alth ough this limitation cannot re illustrated m _Figure 4.7. First, each repeater can
taken to improve matters; these a This is a device that uses feedback to minimize
inciude a ph ase- locke d loop (PLL). ne Although the use of pbase-locked loops
the deviation fro m one bit timean to the ntary
reduces t e jitter , t 1ere s sti ll accumulation around the ring. A supplememo n-
1 th e
in one of �he repeaters, usually designated
as
measure is to inclu de a buffesr are a
written in using the recovered clock number of nd are rea d
•,itor repeater or station. Bit a cer t ai n
k. Th e buffer is initialized to hold
..
out using a crystal m-----aster cl.9.c
 4.3 I RING TOP
. OLOGY
11. 9
reqmred. This .
need arises, for exa
mple, w hen a fram
. e i· s garbled bY a �rans .
lme err. or; in that.
case ' no repeater
may wis. rent
oving the ctrcul h t o assu me t h e re
rem ating frame. spons1bilitY 0 f
..
. .1ng Jitter. .
7. T1m . This is a subtle pro blem
. . hav�n
. g to d o with the clo . .
of a s1gnal m a distributed networ k . It is . k'mg
discuss ed i n th e foJJow�mg or t1mmg
subsection.
Problems 1 and 2 are reliabil ity pro blems. However, th ese two
. . problems, togeth er
with ,probl ems.
3 through 5 , can be ame 110 rate d b Ya re f'mement in the ring arch i'tec-
ture• , explained subseque .
ntly · Problem 6 1s
. a software �r o�lem, to be dealt with by
the MAC protocols discussed in Chapter 8 · problem 7 1s discussed next
.
Timing Jitter

. <?n a twisted pair or coaxial cable rin LAN ' d1.g1. tal s1.gnalmg
. •�
. generally use d
with biphase encoding, typically different'i!l M nches ter. As data circula te around
�
the ring, each receiver must recover th b ry � ta f�om the receiv� d signa l. To do
���
this, the receiver must know the starti:g I . endmg tim es o f each bit, so that it can
. .
sample the r_eceived signal properly. This requires that all the repeaters on the rin
b e s nchr?m ed, 0� cloc�ed, together. R�c�ll from Chapter 2 that biphase codes ar!
! �
self cloc�mg,. the signal mcl�des_ a tra nsi ti on in the m iddle of ea ch bit time. Thus
each repea�er re':ove�s clo�kmg as well as da ta from the received signal. This clock
��covery will deviate i� a random fashion from the midbit tra nsitions of the received
signal fo_r sev:ra� :easons, including n oise during transm ission and imperfections in
t�e rece1v�r circuitry. The predominant rea son, however, is delay distorti on. Delay
_ al through
d1st�rhon 1s caused by the fact that the velocity of propagation of a sign
e of the signal com ­
a guided medium varies with frequency. The effect is that som
, tions; this is known as inter­
ponents of one pulse will spill over into other pulse posi
very is known as timing jitter.
symbol interference. The deviation of clock reco
e�s the clockmg for two purposes: first
As each repeater receives data, itrecov
to recover the data, and second, to use
to know when to sample the incomiqg signal
l Manchester signal to the next repeater.
the clocking for transmitting the differentia tortion. However, because the clock­
no dis
The repeater issues a clean signal with
g sig nal, the timing error is not eliminated. Thus
ing is recovered from the incomin
contract in a random fashion as the signal
the digital pulse width will expand and
jitter accumulates. The cumulative effect of
travels around the ring and the timing ,
se the bit l ate ncy , or bit length, of the ring to vary. However unless
the jitter s i to c au
g re ma ins con sta nt , b its will be drop�ed (not retransmitted) as
. the latency of the rin r ses
ate y o f t e rin g de cre ase s or added as the latency mc ea . i ring.
he
t l nc h
in g jitter p l ace s a lim ita tion on the number of repeaters n a be
Thus tim e ral measures can
t be entirely �ve�com , sev�
Although this limit ation cannoare illustr ated m Figure 4 7. First, each repeater can
taken to improve matters; these L). Th is is a device that uses . fe�dback to minimize
w c ked l oo p (PL ps
inciude a p hase lo
on e bit tim e t o the ne ._Although the use of pbase-locked loory
fr
the deviation om accumulation around the ring. A suppleme nta
reduces t e jitter. t ere 1 s still aqne of he repeaters, usually designated as the mon­
measure is to include a buffer in owritten �
. Bit s are in using the recovered clock and are read
,itor repeater or station tialized to hold a certain number of
out using a cry--- ----
sta l ma ster clg.ck. The buffer is ini

nth 7?:
.1.L. u CHAPTER 4 / TOPULOGJh� ANU TRANSMISSION MEDIA

Moni1or stalion

PLL 1 PLL.,_1

PLL1

Figure 4.7· Ring Synchronization

bits and expands and contracts as needed. For example, the IEEE standard speci­
fies a 6-bit buffer, which is initialized to hold 3 bits.That is, as bits come in, they are
placed in the buffer for 3 bit times before being retransmitted.If the received signal
at the monitor station is slightly faster than the mast�r clock, the buffer will expand,
as required, to 4, 5, or 6 bits to avoid dropping bits.If the received signal is slow, the
buffer will contract to 2, 1, or o•bits to avoid adding bits to the repeated bit stream.
Thus the cleaned-up signals that are retransmitted are p1:1rged of the timing jitter.
This combination of PLLs and � buffer significantly increases maximum feasible
ring size. The actual limit will depend on the characteris�ics of the transmission
medium, which determine the amount of delay distortion and therefore the amount
of accumulated jitter.For example, the IBM ring product specifies a maximum of
72 repeaters in a ring using unshielded twisted pair, and a maximum of 260 repe aters
in a ring using shielded twisted pair.

Star-Ring Architecture
Two observations can be made about the basic ring architecture described previ­
ously. First, there is a practical limit to' the number of repeaters on a ring. As was
mentioned, a number of factors combine to limit the practical size of a ring LAN to
a few hundred repeaters.Second, the cited benefits of the ring do not depend on the
actual routing of the cables that link the repeaters.
These observations have led to the development of a refin ed ring archit. ecture
. ws the con-
the star ring , which overcomes some of the problems ·of the rmg and allo
of larg e l ocal networ ks.
.
This ar
.
chitectu re uses th e st ar wi ring strategy dis-
struction
cussed in Section 4.5. · ·
. mto a star.This is a chieved
nng .
As a first step, consi der the rearra emen t of a . e site F i.gure 4.B).This
.QYJJ,aving the interrepeater link all threads through a smge caus_e there is access to
s a number of advan a t g es . B
. ring wiring concentrator ha
I
 4·3 I RING
Top OLOGY
121

Node

Node

Node
Node

• •

Nod�
Node

Figure 4.8 Ring Wiri ng·Concentrator

the signal on every ·link, it is a simple m·atter to i_solate a fault. A message can be
launched into the ring and tracked to see how far it gets without mishap. A faulty
segment can .be disconnected-no pocket full of keys needed-and repaired at a
later time. New repeaters can easily be added to the ring: Simply run two cables from
the new repeater to the site of ring wiring concentration and splice into the ring.
The bypass relay associated with each repeater can be moved into the ring
wiring concentrator. The relay can automatically bypass its repeater and two links
for any malfunction. A nice effe-cf ofthis ·reaf�re i sJllat.the__trnnsmi�sion path from
..... one working repeater to the next is approxim�t�f const��!; thus the ran-ge of signal
_
levels fo which the transmission system must automatically adapt is much smaller ..
The ring wiring concentrator greatly alleviates the ·per���ulation and instal­
lation problems mentioned ea rlier. It also permits rapid recovery from a cable or
repeater failure. Nevertheless, a single failure could, at least tempor arily, disable the
entire network. Furthermore, throughput and jitter considerations still place a prac ­
tical upper limit on the num ber of repeaters i n a ring. Finally, in a spread-out net­
work, a single wire concent .ration site dictates a lot of cable.
To attack these remaining pro blems, consider a local network consisting of
multiple rings. Each ring co_�_sis_ ts of a co�nected sequence of wiring concentrators,
and the set of rings is connected by a bndge (Figure 4.9). The bridge routes data
frames from one ring subnetwork to another., based on addressing informati on in
the frame so routed. From n physicnl point of view, each ring operates indepen.
dently of th oth r rings nttu he I to the bridge. From a logical point of view, the
bridg pr vid "trnnspnr nt routing nmong the rings.
Th bridg '.\ must l 'rf< rm five functions:
1. Input filtering. 1 -- or "l\ h ring, the bridge monitors the traffic on the ring and
opi s nil frnm \s aJ tr 'Sscd to other rings on the bridge. This function can be
p "rform d by a bridge programmed to recognize a family of addresses rather
thnn a single address.
2. Input buffering. Received frames may need to be buffered, either because the
int rring traffic is peaking or because the target output buff er is temporarily full.
3. Switching. Each frame must be routed through the bridge to its appropriate
destination ring.

....
Bridge

n ri

Node

Ring
wiring
concentnton Node

Nodt

Lobe
bypassed

Node