A tree network connects multiple star networks via a bus, creating a trunk with branches. Each star network is autonomous, but can be added or removed from the tree network easily. However, if the central computer or its connection to the bus fails, the entire star cluster will crash.
A tree network acts to combine at least two star networks together as a single interconnected system of computers. The interconnection of the star networks takes place via a bus, which is a main cable that connects the central computers of each of the star networks with each other. This places each workstation computer on each star network in indirect communication with each other, resulting in a network that, on paper, looks like a trunk with branches growing on all sides, hence the aptly named “tree network.”
The star networks comprising the different nodes of the tree network are all autonomous local area networks (LANs) which are fully capable of standing on their own. The topography of the tree network begins when each central computer of each star network is brought together on the same system via physical cables, such as optical fibers or traditional cables, or a global wireless network that wraps around the entire area where the networks are located. star . The ideal time and place to use a tree network configuration is where workstations are located in close-knit groups, such as on a college campus where computers are clustered in different college buildings. Connecting the computers into star networks and then combining the star networks into a larger tree network provides flexibility in network design, allowing entire clusters of computers to be added or removed from the tree network without too much hassle by simply by connecting or disconnecting the central computer of the star network to the bus.
This flexibility, however, is one of the major weaknesses of tree networks. The computers on the different star networks are only loosely and indirectly connected through a central computer in each star network, so any network problem involving that computer or that computer’s connection to the tree network bus will cause the entire star cluster to crash from the network. This can cause large-scale network outages quite easily, making a tree network a fragile thing in the event of common network problems such as signal strength degradation for wireless tree networks or physical damage to the cabling for tree networks wired. The computers on that “branch” of the tree network will still be able to communicate with each other for now, but they will be isolated from the rest of the network until connection to the central bus is restored.
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