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hub - technical definition

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A central point of interconnection for devices on a local area network (LAN) or LAN segment. Hubs act as passive LAN concentrators and repeaters, with a single internal collapsed backbone bus typically running at a signaling rate of 10/100 Mbps. LAN-attached devices such as workstations, peripherals, and servers typically connect to a hub via either unshielded twisted pair (UTP) or shielded twisted pair (STP). Hubs operate at Layer 1, the Physical Layer of the OSI Reference Model. Filtering hubs also operate at a portion of Layer 2, the Data Link Layer. See also 10Base-T, 100Base-T, concentrator, Data Link Layer, LAN, OSI Reference Model, Physical Layer, repeater, STP, and UTP.

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(1) See Web hub, digital media hub and intelligent hub.

(2) In an Ethernet network, a device to which all clients and servers are wired. Most Ethernet hubs are active hubs and regenerate the data bits on the output side in order to maintain a strong signal. Ethernet hubs have mostly given way to Ethernet switches. See Ethernet, hub vs. switch and LAN.

(3) In a Token Ring network, a device to which all clients and servers are wired. It is officially known as a "Multi-station Access Unit" (MAU). See Token Ring and LAN.