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Software Engineering vocabulary · APIs, Networking and Security

Topology

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/təˈpɒlədʒi/nounCommon term

In software engineering, topology means: The layout of a network: how its devices and links are arranged and connected, for example in a star, ring or mesh shape.

In Turkish: topoloji, ağ topolojisi

How it is used

Used in design documents, diagrams and change plans. Engineers draw, document and redesign the network topology. Physical topology shows the actual cables; logical topology shows how traffic flows. Most office LANs use a star topology built around switches.

Example sentences

  1. Please update the topology diagram after you add the new firewall.

  2. The operator uses a ring topology, so traffic can go the other way round if one fibre is cut.

Common collocations

  • network topology
  • star topology
  • ring topology
  • mesh topology
  • topology diagram
  • networkA group of computers, phones and other devices that are connected by cables or radio signals so that they can exchange data and share resources.
  • LANShort for local area network: a network that connects devices in a limited area such as a home, an office floor or a single building.
  • redundancyHaving extra copies of servers, network links, disks or data, so that the system keeps working if one of them fails.
  • switchA device with many ports that connects computers, phones, printers and other equipment inside the same local network and forwards each frame only to the port where its destination is.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: APIs, Networking and Security

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