How to Selecting the Right Topology

From a practical standpoint, which topology to use has been decided for you. Because of its
clear-cut advantages, the star topology is the only recognized physical layout in ANSI/TIA/
EIA-568-B. Unless you insist that your installation defy the Standard, this will be the topology
selected by your cabling-system designer.
If you choose not to go with the star topology, the bus topology is usually the most efficient
choice if you’re creating a simple network for a handful of computers in a single room because
it is simple and easy to install. Because MACs are managed better in a star topology, a bus
topology is generally not used in a larger environment. If uptime
is your primary definition of fault resistant (that is, 99 percent uptime, or less than eight hours total downtime per year), you should seriously consider a mesh layout. However, while you are thinking about how fault tolerant a mesh network is, let the word maintenance enter your thoughts. Remember, you will
haven(n - 1)/2 connections to maintain, and this can quickly become a nightmare and exceed your
maintenance budget.
If you decide not to automatically go with a star topology and instead consider all the topologies,
be sure to keep in mind cost, ease of installation, ease of maintenance, and fault tolerance