What is Bus Network? – Definition from Techopedia

A bus network is a local area network (LAN) topology in which all the nodes are connected to a shared bus. Bus networks are the simplest way to connect multiple clients, but issues can occur when two clients want to transmit on the same bus at the same time. A true bus network is passive.

Techopedia Explains Bus Network

A bus network is comprised of endpoint terminals and a main cable. All nodes in a local area network – the file server, workstations and peripherals – connect to the main cable (bus).

Bus networks allow easy terminal connections to the bus. However, collision handling issues occur when two clients use one bus to transmit data simultaneously. This issue can be resolved with Carrier Sense Multiple Access, a media access control protocol that verifies network/node traffic absence prior to shared transmission medium communication.

Bus networks are passive, which is rare in wired networks. Most wireless networks are passive bus networks.