hybrid topology
termnetworking
Any real network: a mix of topologies stitched together, chosen per layer for what that layer needs.
Nobody designs a pure anything. A typical enterprise is star at the access layer, meshed between core switches, ring in the metro carrier that connects the sites, and logically point-to-point across every VPN tunnel. The textbook topologies are worth knowing precisely so you can name the pieces of the hybrid you are actually looking at.
Also known as: mixed topology