Difference between Switch and Hub in Networking

Nov 30 -0001

Differentiate, distinguish, compare and explain what is the main difference between Switch and Hub in Networking. Comparison and Differences.

Although a hub and a switch apparently look similar, they have significant differences. Both of them can be used to realize physical star topology, the hubs works like a logical bus, because the same signal is repeated on all the ports. On the other hand, a switch functions like a logical star with the possibility of the communication of separate signals between any pair of port lines. As a consequence, all the ports of a hub belong to the same collision domain, and in case of a switch each port operates on separate collision domain. Moreover, in case of a hub, the bandwidth is shared by all the stations connected to all the ports. On the other hand, in case of a switch, each port has dedicated bandwidth. Therefore, switches can be used to increase the bandwidth of a hub-based network by replacing the hubs by switches.

Difference between Hub and Switch in Networking

Although a hub and a switch apparently look similar, they have significant differences. Lets see some of the main comparisons and difference between switch and hub:

1. Both can be used to realize physical star topology, a switch functions like a logical star with the possibility of the communication of separate signals between any pair of port lines. On the other hand, the hubs works like a logical bus, because the same signal is repeated on all the ports.

2. Each port operates on separate collision domain in the switch and in case of a hub as a consequence, all the ports belong to the same collision domain.

3. In case of a switch, each port has dedicated bandwidth. Therefore, switches can be used to increase the bandwidth of a hub based network by replacing the hubs by switches. Moreover, in case of a hub, the bandwidth is shared by all the stations connected to all the ports.

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