The Primary Differences Between Hubs and Switches

Both hubs and switches are useful devices for expanding your network's capability. While they are quite similar, hubs and switches have a fundamental difference that makes switches more useful to optimize your network.

What is a switch?

A switch is a small hardware device that splits a local area network, or LAN connection into multiple LAN connections. Think of it as a power strip for broadband Internet since it turns one live connection into several. Switches cannot convert wide area network, or WAN connections into LAN connections. They are limited to operating within the LAN portion of the network. In addition, switches have internal processing that allows them to identify the sender and receiver of a data packet. Since switches can prioritize packets and send them only where needed, they improve the network's overall performance.

What is a hub?

A hub serves the exact same function as a network switch. Hubs take a LAN connection and convert it into multiple LAN connections. However, hubs lack the capability to identify and prioritize packets, hindering network performance when compared to switches.

How many Ethernet ports can be added through hubs and switches?

Each individual hub or switch often has from four to eight ports, depending on the price point. However, the maximal capability you can add through hubs and switches is limited only by the serving capacity of the router. You can "daisy-chain" switches and hubs to add as many ports as you require.

Which is more expensive, a hub or a switch?

Hubs are typically cheaper than switches since switches have the added capability of data packet management. For your network, choose a hub if you're on a budget and need only LAN-splitting capability. Choose a switch if you're looking to maintain your network's maximal speed over several LAN ports.

Hubs and switches provide an easy way to expand the LAN ports in your network. Switches are higher priced, but they provide a solid way to maintain your network's performance thanks to packet management. For those on a budget, hubs split your LAN in reliable fashion.