Hubs and switches are devices that receive and transmit data across a network. With the popularity of wireless networks, many of the functions of hubs and switches have been replaced by wireless routers. In wired networks, hubs and switches still play a very important role by amplifying and forwarding network traffic to ensure that it arrives at the proper destination.

The main difference between a hub and a switch is a hub does not comprehend the final destination of the data, so it broadcasts it to all of its ports. A switch checks the address of each unit of network data and sends it to the appropriate port. Large networks will have multiple hubs and switches, and network engineers try to use these devices in the most appropriate configuration to optimize a network for performance, security, reliability and cost.