There never seem to be enough USB ports when you need them. Fortunately, when you need more USB ports, you can quickly add them by plugging a USB hub into your computer system. A USB hub allows you to greatly expand your PC’s USB universe.
A typical expansion hub, as shown in this figure, connects to your PC’s USB port. But then it turns around and instantly provides even more USB ports for the devices that need them.
USB hubs are either powered or unpowered:
Powered: A hub that also plugs into the wall socket is known as a powered USB hub. (The console itself is also a powered USB hub.)
This type of hub is necessary for some USB devices to operate.
Unpowered: An example of an unpowered hub is a keyboard that has USB ports on it. Those ports are designed to connect non-USB powered devices, such as mice.
If one hub isn’t enough, buy another! You can connect hubs to hubs, if you like. As long as the cables fan out from the PC and nothing loops back on itself, it all works.
