Local area network (LAN). Computer and Network Examples

"Logical topology, or signal topology, is the arrangement of devices on a computer network and how they communicate with one another. How devices are connected to the network through the actual cables that transmit data, or the physical structure of the network, is called the physical topology. Physical topology defines how the systems are physically connected. It represents the physical layout of the devices on the network. The logical topology defines how the systems communicate across the physical topologies.
Logical topologies are bound to network protocols and describe how data is moved across the network. ...
EXAMPLE : twisted pair Ethernet is a logical bus topology in a physical star topology layout. while IBM's token ring is a logical ring topology, it is physically set up in star topology." [Logical topology. Wikipedia]
This Cisco logical computer network diagram example was created using the ConceptDraw PRO diagramming and vector drawing software extended with the Cisco Network Diagrams solution from the Computer and Networks area of ConceptDraw Solution Park.

"A computer network or data network is a telecommunications network that allows computers to exchange data. In computer networks, networked computing devices pass data to each other along data connections. The connections (network links) between nodes are established using either cable media or wireless media. ...
Network computer devices that originate, route and terminate the data are called network nodes. Nodes can include hosts such as personal computers, phones, servers as well as networking hardware. Two such devices are said to be networked together when one device is able to exchange information with the other device, whether or not they have a direct connection to each other. ...
Users and network administrators typically have different views of their networks. Users can share printers and some servers from a workgroup, which usually means they are in the same geographic location and are on the same LAN, whereas a Network Administrator is responsible to keep that network up and running. A community of interest has less of a connection of being in a local area, and should be thought of as a set of arbitrarily located users who share a set of servers, and possibly also communicate via peer-to-peer technologies.
Network administrators can see networks from both physical and logical perspectives. The physical perspective involves geographic locations, physical cabling, and the network elements (e.g., routers, bridges and application layer gateways) that interconnect the physical media. Logical networks, called, in the TCP/ IP architecture, subnets, map onto one or more physical media. For example, a common practice in a campus of buildings is to make a set of LAN cables in each building appear to be a common subnet, using virtual LAN (VLAN) technology." [Computer network. Wikipedia]
The network layout floorplan template for the ConceptDraw PRO diagramming and vector drawing software is included in the Network Layout Floor Plans solution from the Computer and Networks area of ConceptDraw Solution Park.

"... logical topology shows how data flows within a network, regardless of its physical design. ...
... mapping the data flow between the components determines the logical topology of the network." [Network topology. Wikipedia]
"In a shared media topology, all the systems have the ability to access the physical layout whenever they need it. The main advantage in a shared media topology is that the systems have unrestricted access to the physical media. Of course, the main disadvantage to this topology is collisions. If two systems send information out on the wire at the same time, the packets collide and kill both packets. Ethernet is an example of a shared media topology. ...
The token-based topology works by using a token to provide access to the physical media. In a token-based network, there is a token that travels around the network. When a system needs to send out packets, it grabs the token off of the wire, attaches it to the packets that are sent, and sends it back out on the wire. As the token travels around the network, each system examines the token. When the packets arrive at the destination systems, those systems copy the information off of the wire and the token continues its journey until it gets back to the sender. When the sender receives the token back, it pulls the token off of the wire and sends out a new empty token to be used by the next machine." [Logical topology. Wikipedia]
This Cisco logical computer network diagram example was created using the ConceptDraw PRO diagramming and vector drawing software extended with the Cisco Network Diagrams solution from the Computer and Networks area of ConceptDraw Solution Park.