Ethernet Hub

Ethernet Repeaters and Hubs

Ethernet hubs and repeaters operate at the Physical Layer of the OSI Reference model and are defined by IEEE 802.3c/d. They are used to connect together one or more Ethernet cable segments of any media type. If an Ethernet segment were allowed to exceed the maximum length or the maximum number of attached systems to the segment, the signal quality would deteriorate. (If unchecked this would ultimately lead to errors in the data.)

Hubs and repeaters may be used between a pair of segments (see below) to provide signal amplification and regeneration to restore a good signal level before sending it from one cable segment to another. By allowing two or more LAN segments to be connected, they allow the network to span a larger distance. They also provide electrical isolation from failures in the cable or attached systems, protecting equipment on other LAN segments from the effect of the fault.

A very important fact about hubs and repeaters is that they allow users to share an Ethernet LAN. A network of repeaters and hubs is therefore called a "Shared Ethernet" or a "Collision Domain". The various systems sharing the Ethernet all compete for access using the CSMA/CD access protocol. This means that only one system is allowed to proceed with a transmission of a frame within a Collision Domain at any one time. Each system has to share a proportion of the available network bandwidth.


Tip :
Definition: In computer networking, a hub is a small, simple, inexpensive device that joins multiple computers together. Many network hubs available today support the Ethernet standard. Other types including USB hubs also exist, but Ethernet is the type traditionally used in home networking.
Working With Ethernet Hubs
To network a group of computers using an Ethernet hub, first connect an Ethernet cable into the unit, then connect the other end of the cable to each computer's network interface card (NIC). All Ethernet hubs accept the RJ-45 connectors of standard Ethernet cables.

To expand a network to accommodate more devices, Ethernet hubs can also be connected to each other, to switches, or to routers.

When a hub receives a packet (chunk) of data (a frame in Ethernet lingo) at one of its ports from a PC on the network, it transmits (repeats) the packet to all of its ports and, thus, to all of the other PCs on the network. If two or more PCs on the network try to send packets at the same time a collision is said to occur. When that happens all of the PCs have to go though a routine to resolve the conflict. The process is prescribed in the Ethernet Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol. Each Ethernet Adapter has both a receiver and a transmitter. If the adapters didn't have to listen with their receivers for collisions they would be able to send data at the same time they are receiving it (full duplex). Because they have to operate at half duplex (data flows one way at a time) and a hub retransmits data from one PC to all of the PCs, the maximum bandwidth is 100 Mhz and that bandwidth is shared by all of the PC's connected to the hub. The result is when a person using a computer on a hub downloads a large file or group of files from another computer the network becomes congested. In a 10 Mhz 10Base-T network the affect is to slow the network to nearly a crawl.