Ring Network

A ring network is a network topology in which each node connects to exactly two other nodes, forming a circular pathway for signals: a ring. Data travels from node to node, with each node handling every packet. Because a ring topology provides only one pathway between any two nodes, ring networks may be disrupted by the failure of a single link. A node failure or cable break might isolate every node attached to the ring. FDDI networks overcome this vulnerability by sending data on a clockwise and a counterclockwise ring: in the event of a break data is wrapped back onto the complementary ring before it reaches the end of the cable, maintaining a path to every node along the resulting "C-Ring". 802.5 networks -- also known as IBM Token Ring networks -- avoid the weakness of a ring topology altogether: they actually use a star topology at the physical layer and a Multistation Access Unit to imitate a ring at the datalink layer.
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See network topology.

<networking, topology> A network topology in which all nodes are connected to a single wire in a ring or point-to-point. There are no endpoints. This topology is used by token ring networks.
Compare: bus network, star network.
(2000-11-16)