Hubs and switches are all devices that allowed you to connect one or more computers to other computers, networked devices, or even other networks.
A hub is a device that is used to connect a PC to the network. The purpose of a hub is to direct information around the network, facilitating communication between all connected devices.
However, in new installations switches should be used instead of hubs as they are more efficient and provide better performance. A switch, which is usually termed a “smart hub”. Switches and hubs are technologies or “boxes” to which computers, printers, and other networking devices are connected.
Switches are the more modern technology and the accepted way of building today’s networks. With switching, each connection receives “dedicated bandwidth” and can run at full speed. In contrast, a hub shares bandwidth across multiple connections such that activity from one computer or server can slow down the efficient speed of other connections on the hub.
Dual-speed 10/100 autosensing switches are recommended for all school networks. Organizations may need to consider upgrading any hub based networks with switches to increase network performance – ie speed of data on the network.
Shortly, a hub glues together an Ethernet network segment, and switch can connect multiple Ethernet segments more efficiently.