This document discusses and compares several common network topologies: bus, ring, star, mesh, and tree. The bus topology connects all devices to a central backbone cable. The ring topology connects all devices in a closed loop. The star topology connects each device to a central hub using a point-to-point connection. The mesh topology connects each device to every other device, providing redundancy. The tree topology combines multiple star topologies connected by a central bus, allowing expansion while managing complexity. Each topology has advantages like ease of use or expansion, and disadvantages like single points of failure or management difficulties.