Patton-Fuller Network Topology

Current Hospital Topology

Currently at Patton-Fuller Community hospital the cabling system is build off a Cat 6 foundation except in areas where a Fiber network is used. The networks are using a bus topology (Patton-Fuller, 2012). A bus topology is a simpler network; setup up with ease and has a simple layout. In a bus topology there is essentially one backbone that the computers are connected to in a line, a single cable connecting all computers together. There are downfalls to having this network in place the biggest being the way data is transmitted. For example, if there are 6 computers in a department and the first computer sends data to computer six down the backbone. The data would touch each computer down the backbone line until it reaches the computer that is listening for the data. The biggest issues is locating issues on the bus topology can be very time consuming and difficult problems could be anywhere on the network. (Barrett & King, 2005).

Recommended Hospital Topology

The use of a star topology at Patton-Fuller Community Hospital is a better choice and more commonly used in hospitals.(Designing, 2011) The design of a star topology is that each computer is connected to a central hub directly with their own cable, thus eliminating the issue of error control as with a bus topology. These hubs are typically routers, which isn’t prone to issues but an easy fix simply replace and reconnect cables. One of the key benefits of a star topology over a bus topology is the number of connections needed can been hundreds, even though it is a large number it will be manageable. The max number of workstations a single star topology can handle is 1024. In the case of Patton-Fuller Community Hospital each department grouping would be its own star network. For example, the Finance Account network could grow to have 1024 workstations connected it needed.

References

Designing a Reliable Cabling Infrastructure of Healthcare Facilities. (2011, January 5)....