“Hub” and “switch” are two terms that get thrown around a lot, oftentimes interchangeably. But while these two devices are similar, they are not quite the same. In a nutshell, switches are an upgrade to hubs. Both are used to connect multiple computers or other devices together in a network. The difference lies with how a hub or switch handles communications between devices on that network.

Ethernet Hubs

Hubs are an older technology that some electronics manufacturer do not even make anymore. They are less costly than switches, but also less effective. A hub is an “unintelligent” or “dumb” electronic. It does not have any components guiding the electrical signals to specific ports. Once a signal is received in one port, it comes out of all the other ports. This sends the data to any and all computers or other electronics connected to the hub. It is up to those electronics to decide whether to do anything upon receiving that data.

Any signal passing through a hub is sent out to the entire network.

While sending data this way works, it can create some issues. The main problem is bandwidth usage. With the hub constantly sending data to every machine connected to it, hubs use a lot of bandwidth compared to switches. The more devices that are connected, the more the network is flooded with all this data. This sheer amount of data will inevitably push the hub to its limits and start to slow down the Internet and other data transmissi

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