How does a hub differ from a switch?

A hub differs from a switch in that a hub broadcasts data to all ports. This means that when a hub receives a data packet, it is sent out to all connected devices, regardless of the intended recipient. This is a key characteristic of hubs, as they operate at the physical layer of the OSI model and do not have the ability to intelligently direct data to specific devices.

In contrast, switches operate at the data link layer, allowing them to analyze incoming data packets and send them specifically to the intended recipient device. This results in better network efficiency and less unnecessary traffic compared to a hub's broadcasting nature.

The difference in data handling leads to significant implications for network performance. While hubs can lead to collisions and increased network congestion due to their indiscriminate data transmission, switches reduce these issues by only sending packets to their appropriate destinations, thus optimizing bandwidth usage and improving overall network speed.