What is Ring Topology?

In ring topology, all workstations are placed on a circle of cable called ring without any termination edge. Each device has a dedicated point to point connection. Every device has exactly two nodes for communication, all messages travel through a line in same direction either clockwise or anticlockwise until the message reaches its destination. In ring topology, each device incorporates a repeater. The repeater re transmits the message to another device until it reaches its destination.

Ring Topology

Advantages of Ring Topology

- A ring is easy to install and reconfigure. 

- Addition or deletion of any device requires changing only two connections

- In ring topology, data travels in a particular direction, so it reduces data collision.

- In ring topology, data can be transfer at high speed.

Disadvantages of Ring Topology

- Failure of any cable or workstation break the loop and entire network will shut down.

- In ring topology, the maximum ring length and numbers of nodes are limited.

- Establishment of ring topology is more expensive as compared to hubs and Ethernet cards.

- It is slower than star topology because packets has to travel through all computers until it reaches its destination.