Star Topology-

                The star topology is the most prevalent network topology; implemented in networks today.  The chief advantage of the star topology over the bus topology is that, if a cable segment is broken, only the host connected to the hub on that cable segment is affected.  The following other benefits of using a star topology:

·         It is easy to stake hubs to increase the number of ports that a host can link into the hub stake.  This helps star based networks to grow in size.

·         Different cable types can be used to connect to the hubs.

When implementing a star network, you use different cabling types than in a bus network.  The most common wiring standard used with star-based networks is 10BASED-T wiring, which carries  Ethernet signals on inexpensive twisted-pair wiring.  The following 5 categories of unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable can be used:

·         Category 1  (Cat 1)-  Used in traditional UTP telephone cable. It can carry only voice traffic, not data.

·         Category2   (Cat2) -   Certified for data transmissions of up to 4 Megabits per second (Mbps)(early token ring).

·         Category3 (Cat3) -    Certified for the data transmissions of up to 10Mbps (Ethernet).

·         Category4 (Cat4) -    Certified for the data transmissions of up to 16Mbps (token rind).

·         Category5 (Cat5)-      Certified for data transmissions of up to 100Mbps(fast Ethernet).