What happens to broadcast packets sent by a device connected to a hub?

Broadcast packets are designed to be sent to all devices on a network segment, and when a device connected to a hub sends out a broadcast packet, it is processed by all devices connected to that hub. This occurs because a hub operates at the physical layer of the OSI model and does not have the capability to filter or manage the traffic based on destination addresses. Instead, it simply forwards whatever data it receives to all ports, which means that every device connected to the hub will receive and process the broadcast packet simultaneously.

In a hub-based network, this can lead to congestion, especially as the number of devices increases, since each device must individually handle every broadcast packet. This characteristic of hubs highlights a fundamental limitation of shared networking environments in terms of efficiency and traffic management. Understanding this behavior is crucial for data center technicians when designing and optimizing network topology.