Signal topology
The mapping of the actual connections between the nodes of a network, as evidenced by the path that the signals take when propagating between the nodes.
Note: The term 'signal topology' is often used synonymously with the term 'logical topology', however, some confusion may result from this practice in certain situations since, by definition, the term 'logical topology' refers to the apparent path that the data takes between nodes in a network while the term 'signal topology' generally refers to the actual path that the signals (e.g., optical, electrical, electromagnetic, etc.) take when propagating between nodes.
Logical topology
The logical topology, in contrast to the "physical", is the way that the signals act on the network media, or the way that the data passes through the network from one device to the next without regard to the physical interconnection of the devices. A network's logical topology is not necessarily the same as its physical topology. For example, twisted pair Ethernet is a logical bus topology in a physical star topology layout. While IBM's Token Ring is a logical ring topology, it is physically set up in a star topology.
Classification of logical topologies
The logical classification of network topologies generally follows the same classifications as those in the physical classifications of network topologies, the path that the data takes between nodes being used to determine the topology as opposed to the actual physical connections being used to determine the topology
Aug 30, 2010
