[cbale2000]

We ran our robots CAN in Star Topology last year and didn't have any issues with it. The only problems we did run into were related to wiring and not the network itself (and the wiring issue was fixed when we went through and properly soldered all the connections).

Having previously had a robot where a single faulty CAN connection disabled the entire robot for the match on several occasions (courtesy of ineffective quick-disconnects) I can say I definitely don't mind the redundancy in the system. I'd much rather loose a collector or a single drive motor than have the entire machine parked in the middle of the field for a whole match.