Where is mesh topology used

There are two types of mesh topology:. In a fully connected mesh, each node is directly connected to every other node. This enables a message to be sent along many individual routes.

In a partially connected mesh, not all nodes are connected directly to each other. A partially connected mesh therefore has fewer routes for a message to travel along than a fully connected mesh but is simpler to implement. Mesh Topology is a network topology in which additional networking components are used to provided redundant data paths. This topology provides fault tolerance — if a wire, hub, switch, or other component fails, data can travel along an alternate path.

A diagram of a mesh network might resemble a portion of a fishing net. A mesh topology is most often used in large backbone networks in which failure of a single switch or router can result in a large portion of the network going down. Wireless mesh radio networks were originally developed for military applications, such that every node could dynamically serve as a router for every other node.

In that way, even in the event of a failure of some nodes, the remaining nodes could continue to communicate with each other, and, if necessary, to serve as uplinks for the other nodes.

Mesh networks are becoming increasingly popular due to their efficiency. With a full mesh, each node is directly connected to every other node.

This enables a message to be sent along many individual routes. With a partial mesh, not all nodes are connected directly to each other. A partial mesh therefore has fewer routes for a message to travel along than a full mesh but is simpler to implement.