What is the difference between Point to Point Link and Star Topology Network?


Let us begin by learning about Point to Point Link.

Point to Point Link

Point to Point topology is the easiest topology that links two nodes directly together with a common link. The whole bandwidth of the common link is constrained for transmission between those two nodes. The point-to-point connections use a real length of wire or cable to link the two ends, but other options, including satellite connection, or microwaves are also possible.

In a point-to-point topology, two nodes in a network connect directly using a LAN cable or some other channel for data transmission. This is the easiest and economical option for generating a computer network. Because only two parties are using the basic network, the whole bandwidth of the connecting link is constrained between two nodes. The limitation is that there can be a maximum of two nodes in the network.

Different networks also use point-to-point topologies, including WAN or satellite connection. In a classic WAN, the two distance routers start a tunnel utilizing a point-to-point protocol (PPP). The connection operates at the data link layer level as per the OSI model. Frames are directly moved from source to destination.

Star Topology

It contains several devices or computers connected to one centralized computer. This central mainframe is defined as a server, and other computers connected to the server are referred to as clients or workstations.

During connection or data transmission, the message first goes through the centralized device to control connection or data transmission services. The server allows the message to go to the destination or receiver and allocate resources to several computers in the network. In this topology, the remote terminals can be geographically extensive.

Advantages of Star Topology

The advantages of a star topology are as follows −

  • Star topology needs minimal line cost because connecting n nodes requires (n – 1) lines.

  • If for some reason, the work stations fail, it creates no effect on communication of the work stations. Therefore, the remaining portion of the web is straightforward.

  • If new nodes are added into the network, it requires only a link to the server. Hence transmission delay between two nodes does not boost.

  • The software, fault isolation, and traffic flow everything is simple.

Disadvantages of Star Topology

The disadvantages of a star topology are as follows −

  • The whole network is based on a central computer, therefore if the server fails, the whole network’s working fails.

  • The distributed processing capability is limited.

Updated on: 18-Nov-2021

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