NETWORK CONNECTING DEIVES

HUB

A hub is a physical layer networking device which is used to connect

multiple devices in a network. They are generally used to connect
computers in a LAN.
A hub has many ports in it. A computer which intends to be connected
to the network is plugged in to one of these ports. When a data frame
arrives at a port, it is broadcast to every other port, without
considering whether it is destined for a particular destination or not.
 Types of hub

Passive Hubs − Passive hubs connects nodes in a star configuration by collecting

wiring from nodes. They broadcast signals onto the network without amplifying
or regenerating them. As they cannot extend the distance between nodes, they
limit the size of the LAN.
Active Hubs − Active hubs amplify and regenerate the incoming electrical signals
before broadcasting them. They have their own power supply and serves both as
a repeater as well as connecting centre. Due to their regenerating capabilities,
they can extend the maximum distance between nodes, thus increasing the size
of LAN.
Intelligent Hubs − Intelligent hubs are active hubs that provide additional network
management facilities. They can perform a variety of functions of more intelligent
network devices like network management, switching, providing flexible data
rates etc.
 switches

A switch is a networking device which connects computers for

networking.
Switches are networking devices operating at layer 2 or a data link
layer of the OSI model. They connect devices in a network and use
packet switching to send, receive or forward data packets or data
frames over the network.
A switch has many ports, to which computers are plugged in. When a
data frame arrives at any port of a network switch, it examines the
destination address, performs necessary checks and sends the frame
to the corresponding device(s).It supports unicast, multicast as well
as broadcast communications.
Types of switches
1) Store and forward switch
2) cut through Switch

Store-and-Forward Switching:

Store-and-forward switching is a method of switching data packets

by the switching device that receives the data frame and then
checks for errors before forwarding the packets. It supports the
efficient transmission of non-corrupted frames. It is generally used
in telecommunication networks.
In store-and-forward switching, the switching device waits to receive
the entire frame and then stores the frame in the buffer memory.
Then the frame is checked for errors by using CRC(Cyclic
Redundancy Check) if the error is found then the packet is discarded
else it is forwarded to the next device.
 Cut-through Switching:

cut-through switching is a method of switching data packets by the switching device

that forwards the packets as soon as the destination address is available without
waiting for the rest of the data to arrive. it supports low latency and high-speed
transmission and requires less storage space. it is used in fiber channel transmission,
scsi traffic transmission, etc.
in cut−through switching, data transmission starts as soon as the destination address
field arrives at the switching device. then the device performs a lookup operation to
check whether the destination address is valid or not. if the address is found valid and
the link to the destination is available then the switching device starts to transmit the
packets to the destination without waiting for the rest of the frame to arrive.