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Difficulty: MediumNetwork Types and Topologies

A network administrator is designing a high-availability infrastructure for four core switches in a corporate data center. To eliminate single points of failure, the design requires every core switch to have a direct, dedicated physical connection to every other core switch. Which physical network topology is being implemented?

  1. Mesh topologyAnswer
  2. B
    Star topology
  3. C
    Bus topology
  4. D
    Ring topology

Answer

Mesh topology
The correct answer is Mesh topology. In a full mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every other device in the network. For four switches, this requires six dedicated interconnect links. If any single cable fails, traffic is immediately rerouted across alternative direct links, satisfying the requirement for high availability and eliminating single points of failure.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the requirements stated in the scenario
The network layout requires four core switches where every switch has a direct physical link to every other switch to ensure full redundancy.
Identifying the specific connection pattern and redundancy goal determines the physical topology.
2
Calculate the number of links required for a full mesh topology
For n=4n = 4 nodes, a full mesh requires n(n−1)2=4(3)2=6\frac{n(n-1)}{2} = \frac{4(3)}{2} = 6 direct physical links.
Verifying point-to-point interconnections confirms the full mesh topology classification.
3
Compare against alternative physical topologies
Star, bus, and ring topologies do not feature direct interconnections between every pair of nodes.
Only a mesh topology provides point-to-point dedicated links across all nodes for maximum fault tolerance.

Key Concept

Full Mesh Network Topology and Fault Tolerance
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Topics

Network Types and Topologies

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