Does Network Topology Matter?
Fortunately, the average application programmer has little need to know the topology details of the network his software will run on. Most of these details are hidden fromthe application program by a networking application programming interface (such as WinSock). The application programmer will need to be concerned with these nittygritty details if the application being developed has any special requirements, such as fault tolerance or guaranteed response times. The programmer may also be concerned about the underlying network hardware. Ethernet was listed earlier as an example of a bus network. Some networks may not be as simple as Figure 1.6 appears. As several local area networks are interconnected, and as wide area network links, such as those provided by satellites, are added, network topology becomes an issue with the network application programmer. You can’t assume that data will reach its destination in less than 100 milliseconds, for example. The best advice is to make your ne
