Types of Hybrid Topologies

1. Star-Ring Hybrid Topology

The combination of star and ring topology forms a star-ring topology. Two or more than two star topologies are connected together through a ring topology using a wired connection. The flow of data in star-ring topology is bidirectional or unidirectional. If any node of the original ring topology gets fail the bidirectional data flow provides with the surety that there will be no effect on the rest of the data in network flow.

2. Star-Bus Hybrid Topology

The combination of star and bus topology is known as star-bus hybrid topology. Two or more star topologies are connected together with the help of bus topology through a wired connection. The bus topology can interrelate different star topologies and offers with a backbone structure. The entire network is not affected in case of any node failure. The failed node can be then easily replaced and offers with a easy way for adding or deleting the nodes. The overall network can be easily modified according to the need.

3. Hierarchical Network Topology

Hierarchical network topology is designed like a hierarchical tree and also known as network tree topology. Hierarchical network topology is a combination of star-ring hybrid topology and star-bus hybrid topology. The maximum level of hierarchical network topology is known as root node or parent node. The sub-nodes of parent node are known as child nodes. The last nodes that does does not have any child are known as leaf nodes.

A hybrid topology is defined as a network topology that combines two or more different network topologies. A hybrid topology can be a combination of bus topology, ring topology and mesh topology. The selection of different types of network topologies combined together depends upon the number of computers, their location, and the required performance. In the hybrid topology network sections consist of a configuration of different types of network topologies. The structure of hybrid topology is more complex but offers various advantages such as flexibility and fault tolerance.