2007-01-09 08:47:35 · 5 answers · asked by for a pound 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Computer Networking
Hubs and routers serve two different purposes, so "which is best" isn't really a meaningful question. Simplified explanations ...
Hubs are the central point of a network, where the network cables from all the computers meet. In your server closet, the hub is the box with all the cables plugged into it that come from outside the closet.
Switches serve the same purpose as hubs, but they are a better choice than hubs because switches are more efficient at managing traffic on the network, which makes it run more smoothly. Switches route traffic inside the network to the specific computer it's intended for, hubs just throw the traffic to each computer on the network, no questions asked, and each computer has to sort through ALL of the network traffic in order to receive what's intended for it.
A router is on the outer "fringe" of the network. It helps traffic from outside get to where it's going on the inside of your network, and helps traffic going out from your network to get where it needs to go on the outside.
Hope that helps!
2007-01-09 08:57:01 · answer #1 · answered by Navigator 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on what you you are doing the differents between a hub and a router is a router can block out broadcast. A hub splits data in half so i would use a switch over a hub.
2007-01-11 04:55:17 · answer #2 · answered by Phillip 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A hub takes information in, and broadcasts it out. If the cables to it are very long and the signals are a bit noisy, it will "square them up" before sending them out. And that's ALL it does.
Cheap. Good for very small (ie. home) networks.
A router LOOKS AT THE INFORMATION in the the packet of data you sent. It tries to ONLY send it to the appropriate target machine. This reduces the problems where several machines try to communicate at once, only to have their signals interfere with each other (packet collision).
Costs more. Useful for busy networks, or networks that connect to the Internet.
2007-01-09 09:06:57 · answer #3 · answered by Alan 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Short answer if you are looking at buying one or the other, get a router, it will be your hub and your switch, its what most end-users need.
Long answer, see above they did a good job explainging it.
2007-01-09 09:07:36 · answer #4 · answered by ncramer2120 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get more coal from the men in black...
2007-01-10 07:01:00 · answer #5 · answered by fivelighters 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋