Difference between Hub and Switch

Hi friends,
Today I am going to share some knowledge about the Hub and Switch

What is Hub ?

A network hub or repeater hub is a device for connecting multiple twisted pair or fiber optic Ethernet devices together and thus making them act as a single network segment. Hubs work at the physical layer (layer 1) of the OSI model. The device is thus a form of multiport repeater. Repeater hubs also participate in collision detection, forwarding a jam signal to all ports if it detects a collision. Hubs also often come with a BNC and/or AUI connector to allow connection to legacy 10BASE2 or 10BASE5 network segments. The availability of low-priced network switches has largely rendered hubs obsolete but they are still seen in older installations and more specialized applications.
In a simple terms, A network hub is a networking device that connects to one or more computer equipments. For example, a computer can connect to a server, printer and another computer through a network hub. It is useful in sharing of resources and broadcasting data it receives. It helps connects these devices together without having to connect to each other directly.

Types Of Hub :-
1. Passive Hubs - One of the types of a network hub is the so-called passive hub. It's a pass-through that does not do anything more than just broadcast signals it receives through its input port, then sends it out through the output port. It does not do anything to regenerate or process the signals because it only functions as a connector of different wires in a topology.

2. Active Hubs - An active hub works more than just a connector but also regenerates the data bits to ensure the signals are strong. Another name for an active hub is a multiport repeater. It provides an active participation in the network aside from acting as an interface. It participates in the data communication, such as storing signals received through the input ports, before forwarding them. It can monitor the data it is forwarding and sometimes help improve signals before forwarding them to other connections. Such a feature makes troubleshooting of network problems easier.

3. Intelligent Hubs - An intelligent hub can perform everything that the passive hub and active hub do, and help manage the network resources effectively to ensure that the performance of the network is highly efficient. An intelligent hub can help in troubleshooting by pinpointing the actual location of the problem and help identify the root cause and resolution. It is very adaptable to different technologies without any need to change its configuration. The intelligent hub performs different functions such as bridging, routing, switching and network management.

Speed of Hub - Network hubs come in different speeds, also known as network data rate or bandwidth. There are older network hubs that offer 10 Mbps speeds, then later in 100 Mbps. In bigger networks, it may be necessary to use a dual speed network hub, which comes in both 10 and 100 Mbps in order to provide connection points for computers or printers that are running 10/100 Mbps.

 What is Switch ?

A network switch is a computer networking device that connects network segments. The term commonly refers to a network bridge that processes and routes data at the data link layer (layer 2) of the OSI model. Switches that additionally process data at the network layer (layer 3 and above) are often referred to as Layer 3 switches or multilayer switches. The term network switch does not generally encompass unintelligent or passive network devices such as hubs and repeaters.

A network switch is a small hardware device that joins multiple computers together within one local area network (LAN). Technically, network switches operate at layer two (Data Link Layer) of the OSI model.

Types Of Switch :-
1. Unmanageable Switches - This is typically the least expensive type of switch, most often found in homes or small offices. They are very simple, employing plug and play technology, lacking any specific configuration options.

2. Managed Switches - These switches have one or more methods to modify the operation of the switch. Common management methods include: a serial console or command line interface accessed via telnet or Secure Shell, an embedded Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent allowing management from a remote console or management station, or a web interface for management from a web browser. Examples of configuration changes that one can do from a managed switch include: enable features such as Spanning Tree Protocol, set port speed, create or modify Virtual LANs (VLANs), etc. Two sub-classes of managed switches are marketed today:

(A) Smart (or Intelligent) Switches — These are managed switches with a limited set of management features. Likewise "web-managed" switches are switches which fall in a market niche between unmanageable and managed. For a price much lower than a fully managed switch they provide a web interface (and usually no CLI access) and allow configuration of basic settings, such as VLANs, port-speed and duplex.

(B) Enterprise Managed (or fully managed) Switches — These have a full set of management features, including Command Line Interface, SNMP agent, and web interface. They may have additional features to manipulate configurations, such as the ability to display, modify, backup and restore configurations. Compared with smart switches, enterprise switches have more features that can be customized or optimized, and are generally more expensive than "smart" switches. Enterprise switches are typically found in networks with larger number of switches and connections, where centralized management is a significant savings in administrative time and effort. A stackable switch is a version of enterprise-managed switch.

Speed of Switch - As the switch comes over the hub, the speed of the switch is higher than the hub. It works on 10MBPS, 100MBPS and 1000MNPS also. Now a days, it is mostly used by the small/big companies, enterprises, institutions, corporate offices, productive offices, etc.

Difference between Hub and Switch :-

HUB	SWITCH
The information sent of a PC towards another (or a printer) is sent to all the PC which decode information to know if they are intended.	The information sent of a PC towards another forwards only towards the recipient. If another PC sends information towards the printer, the two communications can thus be done simultaneously.
The total band-width is limited at the speed of the hub. A hub 100 bases-T 100Mbps offer of band-width divided between all the PC, some is the number of ports	The total band-width is determined by the number of ports on Switch. i.e. Switch 100 Mbps 8 ports can manage until 800Mbps of band-width.
Support only the transfers in "half-duplex" what limits the connections has the speed of the port. A port 10Mbps offers a connection has 10Mbps.	Switch which manages the transfers in mode "full-duplex" gives the possibility of doubling the speed of each bond, of 100Mbps with 200Mbps for example.
Cheaper by port.	The performances/prix report/ratio increased, is worth the additional charge.

A Switch has a chip say managed or unmanaged  in which it stores the data of the network devices connected to it and this is not in hub.

When any divide connected to the hub sent any data to another device connected to the same hub, the hub receives the data at its own and broadcasts to the all devices connected to it and deliver to the device from whom it receives the reply. Thus, it makes a lot of traffic on the network. While in the switch, it receives the data and sent to the recipient as per its managed or unmanaged chip in which it stored the data of the network devices connected to it.