Network Devices: does WiFi in a router always act as a hub or can it sometimes work as a switch as well?
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I have just finished watching the A+ Network Devices episode where at one point Ronnie you say that the wireless technology built into our routers work as a hub? For me this is something new as I always regarded WiFi as a separate technology and a hub as another technology that allows you to connect via cables only. Do all wireless technologies built into routers work the same way (as a hub), be it in SOHO or production networks?
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I'm not sure then I was clear then in the recording. The Wireless router is actually a combo device (Router, Switch and a Wireless Access Point). The only part of the Wireless Router that acts as a Layer 1 device is the Wireless Access Point. It operates using CSMA/CA and is half-duplex device.
All wireless access points act as a hub. If you device has one antenna, then only a single device accesses that antenna at any one time. Even if your device has antennae, only one connection per antenna at any one time, regardless of SOHO or production level devices.
