Which statement best describes a Star topology and its advantage?

• A. The Bus Topology uses a single shared segment and is inexpensive to implement.
• B. The Star Topology uses a central switch; the primary advantage is easy fault isolation.
• C. The Mesh Topology uses multiple paths; the primary advantage is high redundancy and reliability.
• D. The Ring Topology uses a central hub; the primary advantage is scalable growth.

Answer: (B)

Star topology centers all devices around a single connection point. Because every node communicates through this central device, monitoring and testing individual links becomes straightforward, so you can quickly identify which cable or device is at fault. If a particular device or its cable goes down, only that one path is affected while the rest of the network continues to operate normally. This makes fault isolation much easier than in some other layouts, where a problem can cascade and be harder to pinpoint. Adding new devices is also simple—just run a new link to the central point without disturbing existing connections.

The other descriptions don’t fit the star model: a bus topology uses one shared cable segment, which isn’t the centralized distribution the star relies on; a mesh topology provides multiple paths between devices for redundancy, which is a different architecture; and a ring topology forms a closed loop with data circulating, not a central hub-based design.