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What are Hub and Switch in Computer Network?
Hubs
A hub is a physical layer networking device which is used to connect multiple devices in a network. They are generally used to connect computers in a LAN.
A hub has many ports in it. A computer which intends to be connected to the network is plugged in to one of these ports. When a data frame arrives at a port, it is broadcast to every other port, without considering whether it is destined for a particular destination or not.
Switches
A switch is a data link layer networking device which connects devices in a network and uses packet switching to send and receive data over the network.
Like a hub, a switch also has many ports, to which computers are plugged in. However, when a data frame arrives at any port of a network switch, it examines the destination address and sends the frame to the corresponding device(s). Thus, it supports both unicast and multicast communications.
Differences between Hub and Switch
| Hub | Switch |
|---|---|
| They operate in the physical layer of the OSI model. | They operate in the data link layer of the OSI model. |
| It is a non-intelligent network device that sends message to all ports. | It is an intelligent network device that sends message to selected destination ports. |
| It primarily broadcasts messages. | It is supports unicast, multicast and broadcast. |
| Transmission mode is half duplex. | Transmission mode is full duplex. |
| Collisions may occurs during setup of transmission when more than one computers place data simultaneously in the corresponding ports. | Collisions do not occur since the communication is full duplex. |
| They are passive devices, they don’t have any software associated with it. | They are active devices, equipped with network software. |
| They generally have fewer ports of 4/12. | The number of ports is higher – 24/48. |
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