Ring

Ring topologies involve connecting all nodes in a ring fashion to ensure redundancy (see Figure 17.5 below). If one link between two nodes fails, traffic will still have a valid path to reach any devices on the other side of the ring.

Ring topologies were popular in LAN environments in the past, one solid example in this regard being Token Ring architectures. However, they are not really used much in modern networks on the LAN side.

Figure 17.5 – Ring Topology

However, you will still find Ring topologies in large-scale networks, and in MAN (Metro Area Network) and WAN (Wide Area Network) architectures, mainly because of their redundancy features, which are critical in a WAN environment.