While hubs and bridges are largely obsolete in modern networks, they still appear on the Network Plus exam and are worth understanding for historical context and comparison. In this episode, we explain how hubs operate as basic Layer 1 repeaters, sending signals to all connected devices without any form of filtering or intelligence. You'll learn why this caused collision domains to expand and why performance and scalability were severely limited.

We then introduce bridges, which marked an improvement by operating at Layer 2 and separating collision domains. You’ll learn how they forward frames based on MAC addresses, and how they paved the way for modern switches. By understanding these older technologies, you’ll better appreciate how far networking has come—and you’ll be able to answer legacy-focused questions on the exam with confidence.