Its Web Services Network, which is itself a Web service, works on the hub-and-spoke principle. Grand Central’s hub is both a service registry and a message switch.

Ron Nutter helps a user who wants to share his DSL connection between two computers. Can I use a hub to share a single DSL line between two computers or is it better to buy a router? How does the ...

The second is a network of several of these hub-and-spoke networks with their hubs connected. The third is a network where every computer is connected to several others, forming a kind of mesh.

Currently I have an ethernet-USB adaptor plugged into my monitor's on-board USB3 hub, and from there network connectivity goes via USB3 to my computer.