Network Topologies

Ethernet Network

In a standard Ethernet network, computer nodes are connected to a backbone called an ethernet. When systems on the ethernet wish to communicate with one another, a message is broadcast to all of the machines on the backbone. Although every machine hears the request, only the one that was sent the message should reply.

Set of Nodes

Ethernet Network

Since only one user can broadcast to the backbone at any specific instant, when two machines try to send a message at the same time, the resulting interference is called a "collision". If a collision occurs, both systems will wait a random amount of time and will then try broadcasting their messages again.

On small networks that are not too busy, ethernet works well. However, if a network contains many nodes and there is much traffic, collisions are very likely and performace of the network can degrade significantly.