Components of the CAN bus

The CAN bus typically consists of three component

• Bus line
  The data line consists of a twisted twin-wire line. All CAN stations are connected to this line with short branch lines.
• Load resistors
  Both ends of the bus line must be "terminated", each with its own load resistor. In this manner the signal quality is increased which allows for a higher transmission speed.
• CAN stations
  The individual CAN stations are connected to the main line with branch lines. They continually monitor the bus and independently detect which data is relevant and which is not.

In practise the three components are placed entirely or partially on one microchip. This saves space and costs.