what are the differences between a hub, a switch, bridge and a router?

Answer 1

Boy, do we need an education here. What a bunch of worthless answers!

A bridge simply connects two networks and passes all traffic between the two, regardless of the protocol involved.

A hub is a multi-port bridge. It forwards all frames to all ports, however, and is not very efficient as a result.

A switch is similar to a hub but forwards frames only to the port where the destination computer is connected. It's much more efficient as a result.

A router connects two networks, but only passes traffic that is destined for the other network. A router also blocks broadcast traffic, which none of the others do.

Answer 2

Simple answer. Buy a router if you need to start a network. Buy a switch to add ports to your router (for example, a 4 port router, but you have 6 computers, you can simply connect another 4 port switch to your router to effectively add 3 more ports, thus allowing you to connect all PCs). Never bother with a hub.


Detailed answer:
Hub - Lowest form of network component next to a wire
Switch - Better. Allows you to connect multiple computers, but does not offer any type of services, such as assigning network addresses to computers, or sharing the internet
Router - Same as a switch, except it assigns network addresses to the computers attached to it and allows you to share the internet, usually. This is a simple and cheap network controller.

There are many sources on the internet with more detailed information. Try these:

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/homenetworkhardware/f/routervsswitch.htm
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/hardwarenetworkgear/l/blfaq011.htm
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Content_C1&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1116519870379&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper

A network Bridge is a device that allows you to extend the range of a network connection. It is essentially a small network switch. The maximum distance of a Network wire (depending on standard) is about 300-350 Feet. A bridge allows you to extend this distance. A switch and router also allow you to extend the range of a connection. A hub does not. For a switch/router/bridge, the maximum distance for a connection is 350 feet between devices (be it Switch to Switch, Router to PC, etc).

Answer 3

hub is a general term for onter connecting devices, a switch is a hub that has an addressing capabilities in w/c traffic are lessen, a bridge basically connects 2 networks, or so i think

Answer 4

a hub has one inbound - but 3 or 4 outbound BUT only one can be connected at a time

a router can have all 4 up at once outbound