Collision Domains – Hubs vs Switches
Four PCs, identical wiring on both sides. On the switch side, think of the switch as a lightning-fast
telephone switchboard operator — each port is its own line, and the operator temporarily patches two
ports together only when a frame needs to cross between them. Press Send Simultaneously on each panel.
Hub · Shared Segment
One shared medium — one collision domain
PC1
PC2
PC3
PC4
Press Send Simultaneously to fire Frame A (PC1→PC3) and Frame B (PC2→PC4) at the exact same instant.
Switch · Separate Segments
One segment per port — no shared medium
PC1
PC2
PC3
PC4
Switch
1
2
3
4
CLICK!
Standing by…
Press Send Simultaneously to fire Frame A (PC1→PC3) and Frame B (PC2→PC4) at the exact same instant.
Frame A (PC1 → PC3)
Frame B (PC2 → PC4)