Token Ring

A ring topology for a local area network (LAN) in which a supervisory frame, or token, must be received by an attached terminal or workstation before that terminal or workstation can start transmitting. The workstation with the token then transmits and uses the entire bandwidth of whatever communications media the token ring network is using. The most common wiring scheme is called a star-wired ring. Only one data packet can be passed along the ring at a time. If the data packet goes around the ring without being claimed, it eventually makes its way back to the sender. The IEEE standard for Token Ring is 802.5.