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What does Hub mean? And what is the use of Hub Architecture?

In this article, we will discuss the topic of Hub in detail and what Hub means. To define Hub, it can be said that Hub  Architecture is one of the hardware equipment used to create computer networks. Although switches are used in most computer networks today, hubs are still used in many ways. Using a hub in computer networks is usually one of the cheap ways to connect two or more computers.

In the OSI model, the Hub is classified as a physical layer of equipment, therefore, unlike the switch, it does not need a physical address or MAC address to transfer data packets from the source to the destination. When one of the network nodes wants to send data to another node, it first sends it to the Hub and reaches the receiver through it. The Hub receives the signals from the port connected to the destination node, but it cannot identify to which of the nodes it should transmit the received signal; therefore, the signal is sent to other ports in general, except the port that received the signal from it, sends it until finally, the destination node receives the signal.

Therefore, this practice is one of the disadvantages of using hubs in computer networks, and multiplying and sending signals to irrelevant ports is both a safe method and causes unnecessary traffic in the network and ultimately leads to signal collisions or accidents. Leads to The hub architecture supports control between a Memory Control Center (MCH), which supports memory and AGP, and an I/O Control Center (ICH), which supports PCI, USB, audio, IDE, and LAN.

Types of hubs

Technically, the types of hubs are as follows:

• Passive Hub: This type of Hub only connects the cables leading to the nodes of a local network, reproduces the received signals on each of its ports, and sends them to all other ports. It should be noted that the passive Hub does not react to the received signals, so it cannot reproduce or amplify them.
• Active Hub: In addition to having the characteristics of a passive hub, this type of Hub can reproduce or amplify received signals. In other words, the active Hub can reproduce and amplify damaged signals before multiplying and sending them to other ports to reach the correct destination node. Therefore, active hubs are very similar to network repeaters and many hubs today are active hubs.
• Smart Hub: In addition to having the features of an active hub, these types of hubs are equipped with some management software that makes it possible to identify several network faults and to be aware of some events in the network.

Advantages of using hubs

Some of the advantages of using hubs in computer networks are as follows:

• As mentioned earlier, hubs are like switch devices for creating computer networks that connect local network nodes at a common point.
  Usually, hubs are cheaper and more affordable than switches.
• Hubs are easy to work with and do not require special settings.

Disadvantages of using hubs

Among the disadvantages of using hubs, the following can be mentioned:

• The most important disadvantage of using hubs is that instead of directly transferring data packets from the source to the destination, it duplicates each packet and then sends it to other ports, which causes unnecessary traffic and increases bandwidth consumption. The band becomes a network.
• The propagation of the signal by the source node causes collision or collision of signals. Still, when using switches, such a problem does not occur, and the possibility of collision error or collision in the switches is almost zero.
• Since the Hub sends the signal received from the source device not only to the real destination but also to other ports, it also causes network security attacks. Hub ports are usually semi-bidirectional, meaning two ports cannot send signals to each other at the same time. When one of the ports sends data, the other can only be a receiver, but in the switch device, the ports are fully bi-directional. That is, all the ports can be a transmitter or a receiver at the same time.

Hub, what does Hub mean, hub architecture, hub definition

How hubs work

The computers connected to the hub use UTP cables, and any computer can be connected to any hub port. For example, using an 8-port hub, it is possible to connect eight computers. It is necessary to know that the operation of hubs becomes very simple, and when a computer connected to the Hub sends data to other computers, other ports of the Hub also receive that data. All operations related to Hub are done through the network card in the computer that checks the Mac Address of the destination of the sent data.

The network card performs the necessary checks, and if the Mac Address in the data frame does not match the network card’s Mac Address, the sent frame is discarded. It should be noted that connecting one Hub to another through a normal port can increase the number of ports, and more nodes can be added to the network. This method is one of the cheapest ways to increase the number of computers in the network, but this method makes the network more crowded, and there is always a large amount of unnecessary data moving in the network.

Hub, what does Hub mean, hub architecture, hub definition

Frequently Asked Questions

Define Hub?

A hub is one of the hardware equipments that is used to create computer networks and is the cheapest way to connect two or more computers to each other in computer networks.

Name the types of hubs?

The types of hubs are: passive Hub, active Hub, and Smart Hub

What is the difference between a switch and a hub?

Among the differences between a switch and a hub, the following can be mentioned:

• Hub ports are usually semi-bidirectional, meaning two ports cannot send signals to each other at the same time, but switch ports are full-bidirectional, meaning all ports can send signals simultaneously.
• There is no possibility of collision error or accident in switches, but there is a possibility of collision or accident in hubs due to signal propagation by the source node.
• Hubs are usually cheaper than switches.
• Unlike switches, hubs do not need a physical address or MAC address to transfer data packets from the source to the destination.