star topology
termnetworking
Every node connects to a central device, and nothing connects directly to anything else.
The topology that won. A switch at the center gives each station its own collision domain and turns a cable fault into a one-port problem instead of a network outage, which is why structured cabling standardized on home runs to a wiring closet. The obvious objection is the center as a single point of failure, answered in practice by stacking, chassis redundancy, or dual-homing to two switches.
Also known as: hub-and-spoke