Layer-1 hubs versus higher-layer switches
A network hub, or repeater, is a fairly unsophisticated broadcast device, and rapidly becoming obsolete. Hubs do not manage any of the traffic that comes through them. Any packet entering a port is broadcast out or “repeated” on every other port, save the port of entry. Since every packet is repeated on every other port, packet collisions result, which slows down the network.Hubs have actually become hard to find, due to the widespread use of switches. There are specialized applications where a hub can be useful, such as copying traffic to multiple network sensors. High end switches have a feature which does the same thing called port mirroring. There is no longer any significant price difference between a hub and a low-end switch.