Difference between a hub and a switch?

Answer 1

A hub forwards packets it receives through one port to every other port on the device. A switch will read packet headers and identify which machines are connected to which port based on the information they send. Any packets addressed to those machines will only get sent to that port of the switch. A router looks at packet headers to determine which port it needs to forward a packet through, and also will translate packets between different protocols if needed. A router can also define subnets and will filter traffic as needed. Routers usually include DHCP, port forwarding capabilities and a whole host of other things usually controlled by software and therefore user customizable.
Hubs, Switches, Routers A Hub is, in its simplest form, just like a mains multiplug unit. There is no intelligence or circuitry in it. More complex units may incorporate an amplifier or repeater. The network signal goes into one port and out of all the others. This is a Layer 1 device. A Switch has a small level of intelligence, in that it can open a message, check the IP address, and direct the message packets to the port on which the device with that IP address resides. It cannot modify IP addresses or see addresses outside of the range of the 'home' network. This is a Layer 2 device. A Router can read IP addresses, and direct the messages to another network with different IP addresses to the originating network. The Router software can build up an address table, so that it 'knows' where other devices are. This is a Layer 3 device. CT

Answer 2

A hub is typically the least expensive, least intelligent, and least complicated of the three. Its job is very simple: anything that comes in one port is sent out to the others. That's it. Every computer connected to the hub "sees" everything that every other computer on the hub sees. The hub itself is blissfully ignorant of the data being transmitted. For years, simple hubs have been quick and easy ways to connect computers in small networks.

A switch does essentially what a hub does but more efficiently. By paying attention to the traffic that comes across it, it can "learn" where particular addresses are. For example, if it sees traffic from machine A coming in on port 2, it now knows that machine A is connected to that port and that traffic to machine A needs to only be sent to that port and not any of the others. The net result of using a switch over a hub is that most of the network traffic only goes where it needs to rather than to every port. On busy networks this can make the network significantly faster.

Answer 3

hub is a device which simply acts an amplifier it does not divides the broadcast domain and the collision domain as well

switch on the other hand is a device which divides the collision domain but cannot divide the broadcast domain i.e a message sent from a server to a host A will be delivered to all the hosts connected in a network

router divides broadcast domain as well as collision domain

Answer 4

From http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=hub+vs+switch&i=44519,00.asp: Shared versus dedicated channels. In an Ethernet network, every client, server and network device is wired to a hub or switch. A hub shares the total bandwidth among all users, while a switch provides a dedicated line at full bandwidth between every two devices transmitting to each other.

Answer 5

Hubs support broadcasting and operate in a single collision domain. Also they send the package to all connected interfaces even if it wasn't addressed to that interface.

Switches break collision domains, and by default block broadcasting (but can be set otherwise). Also the package addressed to a certain recipient is delivered only to the recipient. Switches allow to lower load on your network. Capable of filtering traffic.

Routers are used to connect different networks together, also routers allow to filter traffic.

Answer 6

Hi,

I think you are very new to networking. Router is a L3 device used to connect different networks, where the HUB is L1 device (Not L2) connects all the devices in the same network.