What type of hub remembers the ports that are connected to it and sends messages only to the designated port?

The concept of a hub that remembers the ports that are connected to it and sends messages only to the designated port aligns most accurately with the definition of a smart hub. A smart hub operates with more intelligence than a traditional hub, which simply broadcasts data to all connected devices regardless of the destination.

In contrast, a managed switch provides more advanced features like VLANs and traffic management, but it may not be categorized strictly as a hub. An unmanaged switch, on the other hand, does not have memory functions for individual ports; it forwards packets to all ports, similar to a traditional hub. A router serves a different purpose by directing traffic between networks and is not considered a hub at all.

Therefore, the characteristic of remembering connections and directing messages to specific ports highlights the operational capability of a smart hub, which differentiates it from other networking devices.