When it refers to the Gigabit switch, an 8 port Gigabit switch is a structured wiring solution designed to satisfy this need. For small-sized families, a hub is the least expensive way to construct a network connecting personal computers together.Application comparisons between Ethernet hub vs switch have been listed as below: Anyhow, they are still useful in special circumstances. Hub was initially popular due to the high price of Gigabit switch. However, a switch is not so expensive these days. And hubs are gradually becoming obsolete in some occasions. Thus, when a packet arrives at one port, it is just copied to the other ports and seen by all segments of the LAN.Įthernet Hub vs Switch: Which One Should I Buy? Then making all these devices work together as a single network. The hub does not examine the data it receives or sends. It connects multiple Ethernet devices on one network.
It has the capability to spot and distinguish specific addresses by accessing them from a CAM table. Besides, the switch can do everything a hub does with higher efficiency, including recognizing the intended destination of the source information that they receive.Ĭonventionally, a hub works on the physical layer or layer 1 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model.
As an intelligent device, the Ethernet Gigabit switch transmits data to specific MAC addresses within the LAN. That’s because it processes and routes data on a data link layer (layer 2) and sometimes network layer (layer 3) of the OSI model. The Basics of an Ethernet SwitchĪn Ethernet switch is commonly regarded as a multi-port network bridge. In order to differentiate them, we will introduce some basics and applications of Ethernet hub vs switch. Actually, there are great differences between hub vs switch. In other cases, some people prefer to use these two terms to refer to a box for their similar appearance. For an Ethernet switch, it is sometimes called a hub. They are both able to transmit data from one computer to another. In most cases, a network switch performs the same as a hub.