These days there are no advantages to using a Ring network. It is a very simple model, but it would be more complicated to set up these days as things have moved on and the kit just isn't available out of the box any more.
You could say that the advantages are:
- Because the traffic goes in one direction a segment at a time there are no collisions as on the bus
- It can carry a heavier load than a bus network with the same number of computers
- It does not depend on a central computer like the star
1 & 2 are void now because bus networks are also redundant. For 3, a network switch costs from £5 up depending on capability - not quite the investment it once was. Star networks have become completely dominant (extending to stars of stars or trees) and even the single point of failure of the central switch can be got around with multiple network connections.
Disadvantages are:
- Resiliance - any breakdown on any machine kills the network, similarly adding machines needs a shutdown
- Security - all your comminications get picked up by all machines between yours and the destinatio
- The bigger the network the longer your messages take to get round.
