Network Topologies

Correct Answer: Mesh topology

A mesh topology is the best choice for a film production company connecting editing suites and special effects workstations that require large data transfers without compromising performance. In a mesh topology, each device is connected to every other device, providing multiple paths for data to travel. This redundancy ensures high bandwidth and low latency, as data can take the shortest path between devices. If one link fails, data can still flow through alternative paths, maintaining performance. A star topology is centralized, potentially creating a bottleneck for large data transfers. A bus topology shares bandwidth among all devices, which can degrade performance with heavy traffic. A ring topology, where data travels in one direction around the ring, is susceptible to a single point of failure breaking the entire network.

Correct Answer: Ring

The ring topology connects all devices in a loop, providing fault tolerance and equal access to the network. Star, bus, tree, and hybrid topologies are not organized in a loop and offer different levels of fault tolerance.

Correct Answer: Bus topology

The best network topology for a startup company with a limited budget and a small number of devices would be the Bus topology. This is because the Bus topology is simple, easy to understand, and relatively cheap to implement, requiring the minimal amount of cables compared to other topologies. The devices in a bus network are connected by a single cable which acts as a backbone for the network. This simplicity brings considerable cost benefits for smaller networks. The Mesh topology, although very reliable, involves substantial cabling and is therefore more expensive, making it unsuitable for a startup on a limited budget. The Ring topology, while less expensive than Mesh, is more complex than the Bus and requires more cabling. The Star topology, although beneficial in larger networks due to its reliability, requires more cabling than Bus making it a less affordable choice for a startup.