Difference between Ring Topology and Mesh Topology

Prerequisite – Network Topologies

Mesh Topology:

In Mesh topology the nodes are connected to each other completely via dedicated link in which the information is travel from nodes to nodes and There are N(N-1)/2 links in Mesh topology, if there are N nodes. 

Ring Topology:

In Ring topology, every node is connected to it’s left and right side nodes in which the information is travel from nodes to nodes in ring manner in one direction.There are also n links in ring topology like star topology, if there are n nodes present. In ring topology, to add a new node the entire connection must be broken down. 

Difference between Ring Topology and Mesh Topology:

S. No.	Ring Topology	Mesh Topology
1.	In ring topology, every node is connected to it’s left and right side nodes.	In mesh topology, the nodes are connected to each other completely via dedicated link.
2.	The cost of ring topology is low.	The cost of Mesh topology is expensive.
3.	There are N links in ring topology, if there are N nodes present.	There are N(N-1)/2 links in Mesh topology, if there are N nodes.
4.	In ring topology, the information is travel from nodes to nodes in ring manner in one direction.	In mesh topology, the information is travel from nodes to nodes.
5.	Ring topology is poor extensible.	Mesh topology is also poor extensible.
6.	Ring topology is used in LAN.	Mesh topology is generally suited for WAN.
7.	Less cable is required compared to mesh topology.	Heavy cabling is required in mesh topology.
8.	Easy to install.	Installation is difficult because of the fact that each node is interconnected with each other.
9.	It is easy to reconfigure.	It is difficult to reconfigure.
10.	The ring topology implementation is easy compared to mesh topology.	The mesh topology is complicated to implement.
11.	Token passing mechanism is used in ring topology to transfer the information from one system to another in a network.	No such mechanism is used for passing information.
12.	Examples-  Used in WAN (Wide Area Network)  Used in MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) and more.	Examples- Zigbee Z-wave Google Home Networks in military devices and more.