Difference Between Hub & Switch

While similar in appearance, a hub and a switch are two different pieces of networking equipment.

Network hubs and switches are two key components of local area networks. They facilitate the connection of multiple computers to one another, creating the LAN. Depending on your network's needs and size, the choice between hubs and switches will play a key role in network speeds and reliability.

Managed vs. Unmanaged

Managed traffic is much like giving all the traffic on your network a map to its destination. Rather than network traffic bouncing around until it finds the correct computer, managed traffic sends information directly to the computer intended to receive it.

Unmanaged traffic allows information to bounce around the network until it arrives where it belongs. Because of this, it is possible to end up with a congested and slow-moving network if there are a lot of unmanaged data being exchanged.

Hubs provide unmanaged connections, that is to say information comes in one port and is repeated out all the other ports.

Switches route incoming traffic directly to the port that connects to the computer the information is intended for. Thus switches create managed traffic.

Speed

Depending on the size and complexity of your network, speed optimizations can be made by intelligently using hubs, switches or a combination of both.

Hubs provide the quickest information throughput, as no analysis is performed on the information passing through the ports. Switches take longer to pass through information, as they analyze information packets and forward them to the appropriate port.

Speed is more than a measurement of hardware performance, however; network speed also needs to be accounted for. On networks with a lot of data being exchanged across multiple computers, switches provide a way to minimize garbage traffic, increasing overall network speed.

Cost

Switches are more expensive than hubs due to the extra computational power required to analyze information packets in real time.

Depending on the complexity and importance of your network, a cost-benefit analysis must be done to decide whether the speed gains realized from including switches in your network topography is worth the cost.

References

• Scott Granneman: What's the Difference Between a Hub and a Switch?