Star Topology Types

Overview

The star topology is a topology with a central router node.

Hierarchical Star Topology

The hierarchical star topology is a hierarchical topology with a central router node that is only connected to router nodes, and the endpoint nodes are only connected to leaf routers. It is identical to a bidirectional tree topology with the exception that there are no endpoints connected to the root router. The channels are unidirectional or bidirectional. In practice, it is common that all channels of the network be bidirectional.

Figure Hierarchical_Star_example. A hierarchical star topology example with eight endpoint nodes and five router nodes.

Figure Hierarchical_Star_example shows a hierarchical star topology example with eight endpoint nodes and five router nodes. Router 8 is the central router that is only connected to router nodes 9, 10, 11 and 12. The endpoints [0, 1], [2, 3], [4, 5] and [6, 7] are connected to leaf routers 9, 10, 11 and 12 respectively. All the channels of the network are bidirectional.

Star Topology

The star topology is a topology with a single router: the central router node. All communication flows through the central router (all traffic traverses through the central router). The channels are bidirectional.

Figure Star_example. A star topology example with four endpoint nodes and the central router.

Figure Star_example shows a star topology example with four endpoint nodes and the central router.

Single Router Topology

The single router topology is the star topology with the channels being unidirectional. The single router topology has a single router: the central router node. All communication flows through the central router (all traffic traverses through the central router).

Figure Single_Router_example. A single router topology example with four endpoint nodes and the central router.

Figure Single_Router_example shows a single router topology example with four endpoint nodes and the central router. Compared to Figure Star_example, the channels are unidirectional.

Cheat Sheet

• The hierarchical star topology is a hierarchical topology with a central router node that is only connected to router nodes, and the endpoint nodes are only connected to leaf routers.
• The star topology is a topology with a single router: the central router node. All traffic traverses through the central router. The channels are bidirectional.
• The single router topology is a topology with a single router: the central router node. All traffic traverses through the central router. The channels are unidirectional.