Hubs,+Switches,+and+Routers

**Hub:** A common connection point for [|devices] in a [|network]. Hubs are commonly used to connect [|segments] of a [|LAN]. A [|hub] contains multiple [|ports]. When a [|packet] arrives at one port, it is copied to the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see all packets. **Switch:** In [|networks], a device that [|filters] and forwards [|packets] between LAN segments. Switches operate at the [|data] link layer (layer 2) and sometimes the [|network layer] (layer 3) of the [|OSI Reference Model] and therefore [|support] any packet protocol. LANs that use switches to join [|segments] are called switched LANs or, in the case of Ethernet networks, switched Ethernet LANs. **Router:** A [|device] that forwards [|data] [|packets] along [|networks]. A router is connected to at least two networks, commonly two [|LANs] or [|WANs] or a LAN and its [|ISP.s] network. Routers are located at [|gateways], the places where two or more networks connect. Routers use [|headers] and forwarding tables to determine the best path for forwarding the packets, and they use [|protocols] such as [|ICMP] to communicate with each other and configure the best route between any two hosts.



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Pros and Cons of Hubs, Switches, and Routers

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