14 June 2020

Difference Between Bus and Star Topology

Both bus and star topologies have their own significance in the communicating network. The crucial difference between bus and star topology is that star topology makes use of central hub or switch that broadcasts information to all the devices in the network while in bus topology uses a single cable through which various peripheral devices are connected. Here this article give the information about the main key difference between star and bus topology are listed below.


What is a star topology?


In star topology, the node is connected to the central hub or router. In which the information is travel from a central hub or router to all the nodes. There are n link in a star topology If there are n nodes.

What is a bus topology?


In bus topology configuration in which multiple devices are connected one after the other. In a linear manner to a common communication, the cable is known as bus configuration. The common cable or link can be either coaxial cable or twisted pair cable.


The main key difference between star and bus topology:


  • In star topology, if the central hub fails then the whole network fails, In a bus topology, the failure of the network cable will cause the whole network to fail.
  • Star topology is a topology in which all the devices are connected to a central hub, Bus topology is a topology where each device is connected to a single cable which is known as the backbone.
  • Management of high traffic and performance of the network is highly dependent on the capacity of the central hub, Bus topology can not effectively manage a high amount of traffic as if there is high traffic then the performance of the network is affected.
  • Star topology does not have any terminator, Bus topology has terminators at both ends of the network.
  • Data transmission is faster in a star topology, In a bus topology, the data is transmitted slower as compared to a star topology.
  • In bus topology signal is transmitted unidirectionally from one end to another. While the star topology does not follow the same.
  • Star network is expensive in comparison to the bus network.
  • Star topology has a high implementation cost because of a central hub and extra wires require for connection but on the bus, topology is less expensive than a star topology.
  • Star topology the communication between nodes is done through a central hub, a message from the sender node reaches the central hub first then it is transmitted to the receiver node, But in a bus topology, the data from the sender device to the receiver device is sent directly.
  • Star topology fault detection is comparatively easy. While in bus topology offer difficult troubleshooting because one has to check all the device of the linear network to detect the fault.
  • The structure of bus topology is linear as various devices are connected through a straight cable, while the orientation of the star network is non-linear.