Question

What is the difference between the physical topology of a network and the logical topology of a network?

Answer 1

The physical topology is the way the network gets wired at Layer 1-2 of the OSI stack. The logical topology is the way information is passed along those wires. For example, a token ring network physically consists of individual cables that terminate at a computer on one end and a token ring hum on the other, in a star formation. Logically, however, information is passed in a ring from host to host.