Hubs vs. Switches vs. Routers: Core Functions
📌 A hub connects devices on an internal network but is not intelligent; it simply copies incoming data packets to *all* connected ports, causing security concerns and wasting bandwidth.
💡 A switch is intelligent; it learns the physical addresses (MAC addresses) of connected devices and directs data packets only to the intended destination port.
📡 A router is essential for exchanging data between different networks (like the internet) by reading and forwarding data packets based on their IP addresses.

Data Handling and Network Scope
💾 Hubs and switches operate within a Local Area Network (LAN), such as a home or business network, and do not read IP addresses for external routing.
🚦 Routers act as the gateway for a network, inspecting IP addresses to determine if data packets belong to the local network or need to be forwarded to another network.
🛑 A router will reject data packets whose IP addresses are not destined for its specific network, as demonstrated by filtering red packets from yellow, blue, and green network packets.

Network Interconnection
🔄 When communication occurs between different networks (e.g., Red Network to Blue Network), data must travel from the source computer to its router, which then forwards it across the internet to the destination router and finally to the target computer.
🔗 In summary, hubs and switches are used to create a single network, whereas routers are used to connect multiple networks.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Hubs broadcast all data to every port, creating unnecessary traffic; Switches filter based on MAC addresses.
➡️ Routers utilize IP addresses to facilitate communication between separate networks (inter-network communication).
➡️ For local communication, switches are far more preferred than hubs due to their efficiency and traffic reduction capabilities.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Dec 03, 2025, 18:32 UTC