There are a few different types of backbones that are used for an enterprise-wide network. When organizations are looking for a very strong and trustworthy backbone they should chose a parallel backbone. This backbone is a variation of a collapsed backbone

Collapsed Backbone

A collapsed backbone is a type of backbone network architecture.The traditional backbone network goes over the globe to provide interconnectivity to the remote hubs. In most cases, the backbones are the links while the switching or routing functions are done by the equipments at each hub...

 in that it uses a central node

Node (networking)

In communication networks, a node is a connection point, either a redistribution point or a communication endpoint . The definition of a node depends on the network and protocol layer referred to...

 (connection point). Although, with a parallel backbone, it allows for duplicate connections when there is more than one router or switch

Network switch

A network switch or switching hub is a computer networking device that connects network segments.The term commonly refers to a multi-port network bridge that processes and routes data at the data link layer of the OSI model...

. Each switch and router are connected by two cables. By having more than one cable connecting each device, it ensures network connectivity to any area of the enterprise-wide network.

Parallel backbones are more expensive than other backbone networks because they require more cabling than the other network topologies

Network topology

Network topology is the layout pattern of interconnections of the various elements of a computer or biological network....

. Although this can be a major factor when deciding which enterprise-wide topology to use, the expense of it makes up for the efficiency it creates by adding increased performance and fault tolerance

Fault-tolerant design

In engineering, fault-tolerant design is a design that enables a system to continue operation, possibly at a reduced level , rather than failing completely, when some part of the system fails...

. Most organizations use parallel backbones when there are critical devices on the network. For example, if there is important data, such as payroll

Payroll

In a company, payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries for an employee, wages, bonuses and deductions. In accounting, payroll refers to the amount paid to employees for services they provided during a certain period of time. Payroll plays a major role in a company for several reasons...

, that should be accessed at all times by multiple departments, then your organization should choose to implement a Parallel Backbone to make sure that the connectivity is never lost.

See also

• Enterprise-Wide Topologies
  
• CO233:Network+ Chapter 5: Topologies and Ethernet Standards
• Backbone network
  Backbone network
  A backbone network or network backbone is a part of computer network infrastructure that interconnects various pieces of network, providing a path for the exchange of information between different LANs or subnetworks. A backbone can tie together diverse networks in the same building, in different...
  
  
• Backhaul
  Backhaul (telecommunications)
  In a hierarchical telecommunications network the backhaul portion of the network comprises the intermediate links between the core network, or backbone, of the network and the small subnetworks at the "edge" of the entire hierarchical network...
  
  
• Internet backbone
  Internet backbone
  The Internet backbone refers to the principal data routes between large, strategically interconnected networks and core routers in the Internet...
  
  
• Collapsed backbone
  Collapsed Backbone
  A collapsed backbone is a type of backbone network architecture.The traditional backbone network goes over the globe to provide interconnectivity to the remote hubs. In most cases, the backbones are the links while the switching or routing functions are done by the equipments at each hub...
  
  
• Distributed backbone
  Distributed backbone
  A distributed backbone is a backbone network that consists of a number of connectivity devices connected to a series of central connectivity devices, such as hubs, switches, or routers, in a hierarchy...
  
  
• Serial backbone
  Serial backbone
  A serial backbone is the simplest kind of backbone network. Serial backbones consist of two or more internet working devices connected to each other by a single cable in a daisy-chain fashion. A daisy chain is a group of connectivity devices linked together in a serial fashion. Hubs are often...