Difference between routers , switches and hubs?

[SuprA]

refer to topic, help please. Thank you

[Xanex]

Originally posted by SuprA
refer to topic, help please. Thank you

As I understand It,

Router/Gateway: used to "route" internet traffic from the modem to the rest of the network

Hub: connects severl pc's together, like a NIC card with several inputs, when data is sent from one machine the hub repeats the data to ALL machines and thus if data is sent at the same time from 2 machines the data collides and dissaperes and has to be resent "collsions". the hub sees each other destination machine as the same machine.

Switch: Same as a hub but is able to distinguish the desination machines as seperate machines and thus can deliver data quicker as it only needs to send it to one machine


Switch/Hub: http://duxcw.com/faq/network/hubsw.htm

Routers: http://www.duxcw.com/faq/ics/diffrout.htm

[DMC]

That is almost correct, in simple terms . However there is a BIG difference when it comes to performance issues between routers and hubs.

Hubs-Tend to have more collison packets which means that your perforamance as well as speed will be affected. But however they are cheaper

Switch-More expsenive more relaible and most of the time more ports aviable.

[SuprA]

Thank you for the reply.. could you guyz gimme some advices on which ones to buy? I used to have a link sys befsr41 router .. it brakes every year for some reason.. so i would like to know if switches were better or not? or even hubs.. do they act the same? or is hubs and switches worse? comments please thank you

[DMC]

Well I really like Linksys or Network Everywhere for an offbrand of Linksys.

Okay now a router is a firewall basically for High Speed Internet (Cat 5 aka Category 5 Cable or Cat 6).

A switch or hub just go with a switch I really don't have a perferance.


But don't get a router if you don't need one! They are alot more expesinve due to the firewall, admin page (over network) etc.

[SuprA]

well all i want is a thing that can make 2 computers go on at the same time without getting affected by each other... fire wall open ports no no for me... so which one is better and any suggestions i wanna try d-link.

[Zxian]

Hi there,

I would actually recommend sticking with LinkSys for a router. The added benefit of the firewall with a router makes it well worth the extra money.

I've had my Linksys Wireless router for over a year now and it's worked without a hitch. Have you tried updating your router's firmware? Linksys (and other companies) release periodic updates to their router's firmware.

I've actually had more problems with D-Links than with LinkSys. The setup on D-Link routers can be somewhat troublesome (with the configuration settings and whatnot).

Hope this helps.

[Jedi]

From what I've heard, LinkSys is a great router. I'd also highly recommend Level One ( if you're familiar with it) and D-Link.
I used to have some problems with Level One router so I switched to D-Link, but then I found out it was my PC who was messing with my LAN connection and not the router. To bad, I say... I was more satisfied with Level One router. That's from my experience..

Level One is quite cheap and works really well Good firewall, easy to use and all..