The difference between a hub, switch and router webopedia
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A hub replicates all data received on one port to all other ports, potentially slowing the network. A switch only sends data to the destination port to improve efficiency. A router connects multiple networks and determines the best path to send data between them using protocols like ICMP. Modern routers integrate switching, routing, security and other functions into one device.
The difference between a hub, switch and router webopedia
- 1. The Difference Between a Hub, Switch and Router - Webopedia.com http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/router_sw... Enter a term... MAIN BROWSE TERMS DID YOU KNOW? QUICK REFERENCE ALL CATEGORIES RESOURCES BLOG ABOUT Main » Did You Know » Hardware & Software » The Difference Between Hubs, Switches and Routers Tweet 2 24 Related Terms hub router switching hub router firmware switch IP switching routing switch switched Ethernet ACHA MPLS - Multiprotocol Label Switching Updated March 11, 2014 / Posted November 17, 2006 By Ron Pacchiano Have you ever wondered what the difference is among these boxes? Learn the difference between a router, a switch and a hub. Some technicians have a tendency to use the terms routers, hubs and switches interchangeably. One minute they're talking about a switch and discussing router settings the next. Throughout the conversation, however, they're still looking at only one box. Have you ever wondered what the difference is among these boxes? Hub, Switch, and Router Defined The functions of the three devices — the hub , switch and router — are all quite different from one another, even if at times they are all integrated into a single device. Which one do you use when? Let's take a look... Hub A common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect segments of a LAN. A hub contains multiple ports. When a packet arrives at one port, it is copied to the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see all packets. The Alignment of Customer and Support Expectations Download Now Switch In networks, a device that filters and forwards packets between LAN segments. Switches operate at the data link layer (layer 2) and sometimes the network layer (layer 3) of the OSI Reference Model and therefore support any packet protocol. LANs that use switches to join segments are called switched LANs or, in the case of Ethernet networks, switched Ethernet LANs. Router A device that forwards data packets along networks. A router is connected to at least two networks, commonly two LANs or WANs or a LAN and its ISP.s network. Routers are located at gateways, the places where two or more networks connect. Routers use headers and forwarding tables to determine the best path for forwarding the packets, and they use protocols such as ICMP to communicate with each other and configure the best route QUICK REFERENCE How to Create a Desktop Shortcut to a Website Creating desktop shortcuts to a websites is useful. When you double-click the icon from your desktop it automatically launches the browser and... Read More » Flash Data Storage Vendor Trends Although it is almost impossible to keep up with the pace of ongoing product releases, here are three recent highlights in the flash data storage... Read More » 15 Important Big Data Facts for IT Professionals Keeping track of big data trends, research and statistics gives IT professionals a solid foundation to plan big data projects. Here are 15... Read More » WE RECOMMEND Datamation Hangouts with Tech Experts Watch Datamation's editor James Maguire moderate roundtable discussions with tech experts from companies such as Accenture, Dell, Blue Jeans Network, Microsoft and more » DID YOU KNOW? Hype Versus Action in the Developer's World Often times technologies start as hype but with time become adopted. As a developer LLiikkee 45 1 of 3 8/6/2014 8:35 AM
- 2. The Difference Between a Hub, Switch and Router - Webopedia.com http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/router_sw... between any two hosts. The Differences Between Hubs, Switches, and Routers on the Network Today most routers have become something of a Swiss Army knife, combining the features and functionality of a router and switch/hub into a single unit. So conversations regarding these devices can be a bit misleading — especially to someone new to computer networking. The functions of a router, hub and a switch are all quite different from one another, even if at times they are all integrated into a single device. Let's start with the hub and the switch since these two devices have similar roles on the network. The Hub and Switch Have Similar Roles Each serves as a central connection for all of your network equipment and handles a data type known as frames. Frames carry your data. When a frame is received, it is amplified and then transmitted on to the port of the destination PC. The big difference between these two devices is in the method in which frames are being delivered. In a hub, a frame is passed along or "broadcast" to every one of its ports. It doesn't matter that the frame is only destined for one port. The hub has no way of distinguishing which port a frame should be sent to. Passing it along to every port ensures that it will reach its intended destination. This places a lot of traffic on the network and can lead to poor network response times. Additionally, a 10/100Mbps hub must share its bandwidth with each and every one of its ports. So when only one PC is broadcasting, it will have access to the maximum available bandwidth. If, however, multiple PCs are broadcasting, then that bandwidth will need to be divided among all of those systems, which will degrade performance. A switch, however, keeps a record of the MAC addresses of all the devices connected to it. With this information, a switch can identify which system is sitting on which port. So when a frame is received, it knows exactly which port to send it to, without significantly increasing network response times. And, unlike a hub, a 10/100Mbps switch will allocate a full 10/100Mbps to each of its ports. So regardless of the number of PCs transmitting, users will always have access to the maximum amount of bandwidth. It's for these reasons why a switch is considered to be a much better choice then a hub. Routers are Completely Different Devices Routers are completely different devices. Where a hub or switch is concerned with transmitting frames, a router's job, as its name implies, is to route packets to other networks until that packet ultimately reaches its destination. One of the key features of a packet is that it not only contains data, but the destination address of where it's going. A router is typically connected to at least two networks, commonly two Local Area Networks (LANs) or Wide Area Networks (WAN) or a LAN and its ISP's network . for example, your PC or workgroup and EarthLink. Routers are located at gateways, the places where two or more networks connect. Using headers and forwarding tables, routers determine the best path for forwarding the packets. Router use protocols such as ICMP to communicate with each other and configure the best route between any two hosts. Integrated Routers and Features Today, a wide variety of services are integrated into most broadband routers. A router will typically include a 4 - 8 port Ethernet switch (or hub) and a Network Address Translator (NAT). In addition, they usually include a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, Domain Name Service (DNS) proxy server and a hardware firewall to protect the LAN or technologist, it is worth reading the hype and knowing the... Read More » Microsoft Hyper-V Network Virtualization Q&A The top 5 Hyper-V questions with answers provided by Nirmal Sharma, a MCSEx3, MCITP and Microsoft MVP in Directory Services. Read More » Storage Trends: Solid State and Software Defined Solid state drives and software defined storage are two leading trends in the rapidly growing storage market. Read More » Property of Quinstreet Enterprise. Terms of Service | Licensing & Reprints | About Us | Privacy Policy | Advertise Copyright 2014 QuinStreet Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2 of 3 8/6/2014 8:35 AM
- 3. The Difference Between a Hub, Switch and Router - Webopedia.com http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/router_sw... PREVIOUS The Difference Between CRM and ERP NEXT The Differences and Features of Hardware and Software Firewalls from malicious intrusion from the Internet. All routers have a WAN Port that connects to a DSL or cable modem for broadband Internet service and the integrated switch allows users to easily create a LAN. This allows all the PCs on the LAN to have access to the Internet and Windows file and printer sharing services. RECOMMENDED READING: Did You Know...All About Broadband/ICS Routers Routers might have a single WAN port and a single LAN port and are designed to connect an existing LAN hub or switch to a WAN. Ethernet switches and hubs can be connected to a router with multiple PC ports to expand a LAN. Depending on the capabilities (kinds of available ports) of the router and the switches or hubs, the connection between the router and switches/hubs may require either straight-thru or crossover (null-modem) cables. Some routers even have USB ports, and more commonly, wireless access points built into them. Some of the more high-end or business class routers will also incorporate a serial port that can be connected to an external dial-up modem, which is useful as a backup in the event that the primary broadband connection goes down, as well as a built in LAN printer server and printer port. Besides the inherent protection features provided by the NAT, many routers will also have a built-in, configurable, hardware-based firewall. Firewall capabilities can range from the very basic to quite sophisticated devices. Among the capabilities found on leading routers are those that permit configuring TCP/UDP ports for games, chat services, and the like, on the LAN behind the firewall. So, in short, a hub glues together an Ethernet network segment, a switch can connect multiple Ethernet segments more efficiently and a router can do those functions plus route TCP/IP packets between multiple LANs and/or WANs; and much more of course. Did You Know... Routers are also the only one of these three devices that will allow you to share a single IP address among multiple network clients. Ronald Pacchiano is a contributing writer for SmallBusinessComputing.com and PracticallyNetworked.com, both are Internet.com sites. . TECH RESOURCES FROM OUR PARTNERS Unclogging the Network Bottleneck: How Software Defined Networks (SDNs) Deliver Performance Key Considerations and Best Practices for SaaS Security The Alignment of Customer and Support Expectations 3 of 3 8/6/2014 8:35 AM