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A hub is a multiport repeater. It copies every electrical signal it receives out to all of its other ports, so every connected device shares one segment. A switch reads the Ethernet frame, learns which device sits behind which port, and sends known traffic only to the port that leads to its destination. That difference in what happens to a frame is the whole distinction, and it explains why switches replaced hubs for nearly all wired networking.
What happens to a frame in a hub
A hub works at Layer 1, the physical layer of the OSI model. It does not look at the frame’s addressing at all. When a signal arrives on one port, the hub repeats it to every other port, whether or not the device on each port is the intended recipient.
Cisco’s technical documentation puts it simply: “A hub allows multiple devices to be connected to the same network segment.” Because all attached devices sit on that one segment, they share its bandwidth. Two devices transmitting at the same time collide, and every device on the segment sees the traffic. That exposure and contention is why hubs are now treated as legacy equipment.
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What a switch does with the same frame
A basic Ethernet switch works at Layer 2, the data-link layer, where it reads the source and destination MAC addresses in each frame. It handles a frame in three steps.
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- Learn. The switch records the source MAC address of each incoming frame and the port it arrived on in its MAC address table.
- Forward. If the destination MAC address is in that table, the switch sends the frame out only the associated port.
- Flood when unsure. If the destination MAC address is unknown, the switch floods the frame to its other ports so the destination can answer and be learned. Broadcast frames are also delivered across the relevant broadcast domain, which is typically the VLAN.
So the common statement that a switch “never broadcasts” is wrong. A switch sends most known unicast traffic to one port, but it still floods unknown destinations and passes broadcasts. Once it has learned the MAC addresses on its ports, ordinary unicast traffic is directed rather than repeated everywhere.
Shared bandwidth versus a separate link per port
On a hub, all connected devices divide one segment’s capacity. On a switch, each port has its own link to the switch, so each device gets its own path to the switch rather than competing with every other device on a shared medium.
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Cisco illustrates this with a legacy example: “Six devices connected to six different ports on a 10Mb switch each have 10Mb of bandwidth to work with, instead of shared bandwidth with the other devices.” That figure describes 10 Mb Ethernet in Cisco’s troubleshooting document, where the publication year is not stated. It is an illustration of the design principle, not a measurement of modern hardware.
Separate links do not guarantee faster networking in every case. Real throughput still depends on the port speed of each device, the traffic load, and the rest of the network, including any uplink that several ports share. A switch removes the shared-segment bottleneck; it does not remove every bottleneck.
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Hub and switch compared
| Comparison point | Hub | Switch |
|---|---|---|
| OSI layer | Layer 1, physical repeater | Basic switch: Layer 2, frame forwarding; some managed or multilayer switches add routing functions |
| How it forwards | Repeats the signal to all other ports | Learns MAC addresses and sends known unicast frames to the destination port |
| Unknown destination | Not applicable; every frame goes to every port | Floods the frame to other ports |
| Broadcasts | Repeated to all ports | Delivered across the broadcast domain (typically the VLAN) |
| Bandwidth | Shared by all devices on the segment | Separate link per port, limited by port speed and overall network capacity |
| Traffic visibility to other devices | Every frame reaches every port | Known unicast goes only to the destination port |
| Current use | Legacy; Cisco’s documentation does not describe a home-network advantage | The usual choice for adding wired Ethernet connections |
Cisco describes unmanaged switches as plug-and-play devices for small networks and managed switches as configurable devices for networks that need more security, capacity, flexibility, and control.
Where a router fits
A switch connects devices within one LAN using MAC addresses. A router connects networks to each other, using IP addresses, and forwards traffic between a local network and another network such as the internet.
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In a basic small network, a switch plugs into a router port to supply more wired connections. A home gateway often combines a router, a switch, and wireless access in one box, so the question to ask is which function a given device is performing, not what it is called.
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For a home or small office that needs more Ethernet ports, an unmanaged switch is the common fit. Cisco identifies home networks and situations needing a few more ports as typical uses. Before buying, check:
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- The number of ports you need now, plus room for growth.
- The Ethernet speed of each port. Confirm that your router and devices support it.
- Whether any device needs Power over Ethernet (PoE). PoE is an optional feature and only matters for powered devices such as some cameras or access points.
- Whether you need managed features such as VLANs, port configuration, or traffic control. If you do, choose a managed switch; if you only need more plug-in ports, an unmanaged switch is simpler.
A hub is rarely the right choice for new equipment. Replacing one with a switch usually requires no change to your devices, only a cable moved from the hub to the switch.
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