• Bus
• Ring
• Star
• Tree
• Mesh

• The physical topology is the pattern generated by the interconnection of cables and hardware devices in the network. To decide which physical topology you need, you will need to take into consideration your company's physical location, the possibility of moving locations, the number of people you may eventually employ, cost, and other physical considerations.
• The logical topology is the pattern of the flow of messages, independent of physical layout. To find the best logical topology, you will need to weigh the importance of stability, fault tolerance, security and amount of data to be shared.

Choosing one of the five configurations or topologies in use today is a fundamental decision in setting up your network. The topology you choose will lead you to the cabling and hardware connections optimized for your configuration. The following overview section will introduce you to bus, star, ring, tree and mesh topologies. To discuss your specific configuration with a Bloom MicroTech network solutions specialist, give your sales representative a call.