How different nodes in a network are connected to each other and how they communicate are determined by the network's topology. The specific physical, i.e., real, or logical, i.e., virtual, arrangement of the elements of a network. Two networks have the same topology if the connection configuration is the same, although the networks may differ in physical interconnections, distances between nodes, transmission rates, and/or signal types. The common types of network topology are: 

• Mesh: Devices are connected with many redundant interconnections between network nodes. In a true mesh topology every node has a connection to every other node in the network 

• Star: All devices are connected to a central hub. Nodes communicate across the network by passing data through the hub 

• Bus: All devices are connected to a central cable, called the bus or backbone 

• Ring: All devices are connected to one another in the shape of a closed loop, so that each device is connected directly to two other devices, one on either side of it 

• Tree: A hybrid topology. Groups of star-configured networks are connected to a linear bus backbone