Hubs & Switches

The original Ethernet LANs relied on certain physical characteristics of the cable carrying the network data (usually coaxial cable). New Ethernet technologies introduced new cable types that we unable to fulfill the original physical requirements. New devices - hubs - were introduced to simulate those characteristics. Simply put, the hub's major function is to replicate data it receives from one device attached to it to all others.

Hub & Switches Characteristics

Hubs come in many flavors. They differ in the amount of devices that can connect to them, the length of wire that it can transmit on, and the type of media they support. Hubs that connect a small number of devices are usually referred to as mini-hubs.