hub In general, a unit that operates in some sense as the center of a star configuration. In the case of a network, a hub acts as a local concentrator that allows a number of devices, connected to the hub in a star configuration, to connect to a network with an arbitrary configuration. In the special case of an Ethernet network, a hub may refer to a device that provides connection for a number of end-user devices, each using a dedicated twisted-pair (CAT-3 or CAT-5 cables) local connection, to an Ethernet segment running on either a coaxial cable (thick or thin Ethernet) or an optical fiber.

hub / həb/ • n. the central part of a wheel, rotating on or with the axle, and from which the spokes radiate. ∎  a place or thing that forms the effective center of an activity, region, or network: the kitchen was the hub of family life.PHRASES: hub-and-spoke denoting a system of air transportation in which local airports offer flights to a central airport where international or long-distance flights are available.

hub nave of a wheel. XVII. of unkn. orig. cf. HOB2.