What is Network Switch, hub and router

The difference between a hub a switch and a router.



Now all three of these devices are similar, but there is a difference in the way they handle data.

Now the purpose of a hub is to connect all of your network devices together on an internal network.

It's a device that has multiple ports that accepts Ethernet connections from Network Devices.

Now a hub is considered not to be intelligent.

Because it does not filter any data or has any intelligence as to where the data is supposed to be sent and that's because,

The only thing a hub knows is when a device is connected [to] one of its ports.

So when a data packet arrives at one of the ports it is copied to all of the other ports

So all the devices on that hub send that data packets.


So when this happens it not only creates security concerns, but it also creates unnecessary traffic on the Network Which Waste Bandwidth.


Switch is very similar to a hub

It's also a device that has multiple ports that accepts Ethernet connections from Network Devices.



 Switch can actually learn the physical addresses of the devices that are connected to it and it stores these physical addresses called Mac addresses in its table.


 When a data packet is sent to a switch. It's only directed to the intended destination port
unlike a hub where a hub will just rebroadcast the data to every ports.

So that's the major difference between a hub and a switch so as a result

Switches are far more preferred over hubs because they reduce any unnecessary traffic on the Network.





Now hubs and switches are used to exchange Data within a local area network.



For example such as in your home network or in a busines.

They are not used to exchange data outside their own network such as out on the internet.

Because to exchange or route data outside their own network to internet.

Device needs to be able to read ip addresses and hubs and switches do not read IP addresses, so that's where the router comes in.

Router does exactly what its name implies a router is a device that routes or forwards data
from one network to another.

Based on their IP address when a data packet is received from the router.

The router inspects the Datas IP address and determines if the packet was meant for its own network or if it's meant for another network.

If the router determines that the Data packet is meant for its own network it receives it.

But if it's not meant for its own network it sends it off to another network.

So a router is essentially the Gateway of a network.