configure switch as hub

[genti84]

Hi,

Is it possible to configure 2 cisco switches cbs-350 as 2 hubs connected to each other?

If yes , can somebody please tell me what do I have to disable or enable in order to achieve this type of config.

Thanks!

[Martin L]

probably not -I don't have experience with cbs-350; but generally speaking I do not believe you can convert any switch into a hub.  why would u ? 

Regards, ML
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[liviu.gheorghe]

Hello @genti84 ,

The short answer is no, you cannot configure a switch to function as a hub.

A hub is a network device that implements a single CSMA/CD collision domain and a single broadcast domain, which means that all devices connected to the hub compete for accessing the transmission medium. This is why it doesn't scale well and hubs have been replaced by bridges/switches.

A bridge/switch is also a single broadcast domain, meaning that all that all devices connected to the switch in the same vlan "hear" broadcasts from other devices. At the same time, each port in a bridge/switch represents a collision domain implementing the rules of CSMA/CD - if you have a PC connected to the switch port, the only ones competing for access to the medium is the PC and the switch port itself - in this way the scalability issue is resolved and a switched network can scale up to thousands of users as opposed to hubs where scalability goes up to 20-30 users.

Hope this helps.

[genti84]

Well, for the moment I am using the 2 switches just like  umanaged switches. I set up the default configuration on both switches, but I can see lots of port flapping on both switches and I thought probably the default configuration is not good for using the switches as unmanaged switches.

[liviu.gheorghe]

Well, I can tell you that switches are way better than hubs which do not have any kind of "intelligence". You should think of hubs like being the same thing as an ethernet patch to which you can connect more than two devices. It operates at the physical layer.

Switches on the other hand have a great deal of "intelligence" and you can do a lot of interesting things with them. 

Messages is one part of that "intelligence" and, depending on the switch model, you have a choice to enable or disable certain events.

[Leo Laohoo]

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@genti84 wrote:
but I can see lots of port flapping on both switches and I thought probably the default configuration is not good for using the switches as unmanaged switches.

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How is a hub going to make any difference?