Ethernet Hub - Dual-speed Hub

Dual-speed Hub

In the early days of fast Ethernet, Ethernet switches were relatively expensive devices. Hubs suffered from the problem that if there were any 10BASE-T devices connected then the whole network needed to run at 10 Mbit/s. Therefore a compromise between a hub and a switch was developed, known as a dual-speed hub. These devices consist of an internal two-port switch, bridging the 10 Mbit/s and 100 Mbit/s segments. The device would typically consist of more than two physical ports. When a network device becomes active on any of the physical ports, the device attaches it to either the 10 Mbit/s segment or the 100 Mbit/s segment, as appropriate. This prevented the need for an all-or-nothing migration to fast Ethernet networks. These devices are considered hubs because the traffic between devices connected at the same speed is not switched.