Mesh Topology

Mesh Topology

In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every other device. The term dedicated means that the link carries traffic only between the two devices it connects. In a mesh topology, Node1 must be connected to n-1 nodes, node2 must be connected to (n – 1) nodes, and finally node n must be connected to (n – 1) nodes. We need n (n - 1) physical links. In other words, we can say that in a mesh topology, we need n (n – 1)/2.
To accommodate many links, every device on the network must have (n – 1) input/output (I/O) ports to be connected to the (n – 1) stations as shown in Figure above. For these reasons a mesh topology is usually implemented in a limited fashion, as a backbone connecting the main computers of a hybrid network that can include several other topologies. One practical example of a mesh topology is the connection of telephone regional offices in which each regional office needs to be connected to every other regional office.

Mesh Topology

Advantages of Mesh topology

1. Data can be transmitted from different devices simultaneously. This topology can withstand high traffic.
2. Even if one of the components fails there is always an alternative present. So data transfer doesn’t get affected.
3. Expansion and modification in topology can be done without disrupting other nodes.

Disadvantages of Mesh topology

1. There are high chances of redundancy in many of the network connections.
2. Overall cost of this network is way too high as compared to other network topologies.
3. Set-up and maintenance of this topology is very difficult. Even administration of the network is tough.