A star network is an implementation of a spoke–hub distribution paradigm in

computer network A computer network is a collection of communicating computers and other devices, such as printers and smart phones. In order to communicate, the computers and devices must be connected by wired media like copper cables, optical fibers, or b ...

s. In a star network, every host is connected to a central hub. In its simplest form, one central hub acts as a conduit to transmit messages. The star network is one of the most common computer network topologies.

Network

The hub and hosts, and the transmission lines between them, form a

graph Graph may refer to: Mathematics *Graph (discrete mathematics), a structure made of vertices and edges **Graph theory, the study of such graphs and their properties *Graph (topology), a topological space resembling a graph in the sense of discret ...

with the topology of a star. Data on a star network passes through the hub before continuing to its destination. The hub manages and controls all functions of the network. It also acts as a

repeater In telecommunications, a repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it. Repeaters are used to extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances or be received on the other side of an obstruction. Some ...

for the data flow. In a typical network the hub can be a

network switch A network switch (also called switching hub, bridging hub, Ethernet switch, and, by the IEEE, MAC bridge) is networking hardware that connects devices on a computer network by using packet switching to receive and forward data to the destinat ...

Ethernet hub An Ethernet hub, active hub, network hub, repeater hub, multiport repeater, or simply hub is a network hardware device for connecting multiple Ethernet devices together and making them act as a single network segment. It has multiple input/out ...

wireless access point In Computer networking device, computer networking, a wireless access point (WAP) (also just access point (AP)) is a networking hardware device that allows other Wi-Fi devices to connect to a wired network or wireless network. As a standalone ...

or a router The star topology reduces the impact of a transmission line failure by independently connecting each host to the hub. Each host may thus communicate with all others by transmitting to, and receiving from, the hub. The failure of a transmission line linking any host to the hub will result in the isolation of that host from all others, but the rest of the network will be unaffected. The star configuration is commonly used with twisted pair cable and

optical fiber An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

cable. However, it can also be used with

coaxial cable Coaxial cable, or coax (pronounced ), is a type of electrical cable consisting of an inner Electrical conductor, conductor surrounded by a concentric conducting Electromagnetic shielding, shield, with the two separated by a dielectric (Insulat ...

as in, for example, a

video router A video router, also known as a video matrix switch or SDI router, is an electronic switch designed to route video signals from multiple input sources such as cameras, VT/DDR, computers and DVD players, to one or more display devices, such as ...

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

* If one node or its connection fails, it does not affect the other nodes. * Devices can be added or removed without disturbing the network. *Works well under heavy load. *Appropriate for a large network.

Disadvantages

* Expensive due to the number and length of cables needed to wire each host to the central hub. * The central hub is a

single point of failure A single point of failure (SPOF) is a part of a system that would Cascading failure, stop the entire system from working if it were to fail. The term single point of failure implies that there is not a backup or redundant option that would enab ...

for the network. * Each device needs a separate cable connection to the central hub, leading to higher cable usage. * The number of devices is limited by the capacity of the central hub.

References

{{Network topologies Network topology