What;s difference between router and switches?

Question

networking

Answer 1

switches function like a hub, you know, to connect computers to computers. router is needed to connect to the net...

Answer 2

A Switch shares an Ethernet connection and uses some hardware/software to make each connection as efficient as possible. Obviously, a $100,000 switch does a much better job than a $80 switch, but that is a different story.

A router's job is to provide packeted data between two points.

Yes, a switch can use an IP address, most likely for no other purpose than Simple Network Management Protocol, a method of monitoring performance. A switch does not have to have an IP address, but assigning one can be helpful.

Where this works the best is in small routers that use NAT (Network Address Translation). Your IP provider provides a static or dynamic IP address that your router assumes. Many times, you don't need a separate switch, because these small routers combine technology and provide switch ports as well. You program the switch with "bogus" addresses, and under NAT, hide your entire network behind that single IP address that your ISP provides. They give you one address, your NAT router lets you define an entire network behind it with a different range of ip addresses.

Answer 3

Routers forward data packets from one place to another, too! However routers are OSI model Layer 3 devices, and forward data depending on the Network address, not the Hardware (MAC) address. For TCP/IP networks, this means the IP address of the network interface.

Routers isolate each LAN into a separate subnet, so each network adapter's IP address will have a different third "octet" (Example: 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.2.1 are in different subnets). They are necessary in large networks because the TCP/IP addressing scheme allows only 254 addresses per (Class C) network segment.

Routers, like bridges, provide bandwidth control by keeping data out of subnets where it doesn't belong. However, routers need to be set up before they can get going, although once set up, they can communicate with other routers and learn the way to parts of a network that are added after a router is initially configured.

Switch
Switches are the same thing as Bridges, but usually have multiple ports with the same "flavor" connection (Example: 10/100BaseT).

Switches can be used in heavily loaded networks to isolate data flow and improve performance. In a switch, data between two lightly used computers will be isolated from data intended for a heavily used server, for example. Or in the opposite case, in "auto sensing" switches that allow mixing of 10 and 100Mbps connections, the slower 10Mbps transfer won't slow down the faster 100Mbps flow.

Although switch prices are dropping so that there is very little difference from hub prices, most home users get very little, if any, advantage from switches, even when sharing broadband Internet connections. Broadband connections for most users are in the 1-2Mbps range, far below even 10Mbps speeds. Since you share that bandwidth, you can see that your speedy 100BaseT connection isn't even breaking a sweat when you're using the Internet.

Answer 4

These devices work to break up a large network into smaller networks, which is called network segmentation. This is to avoid excessive congestion which can be caused by many factors but I'll just list a couple: multicasting, hubs, broadcast storms and too many hosts in a broadcast domain.

Routers connect these segmented networks together and route packets between them. They break up a broadcast domain (definition: set of devices on a network segment that hear all broadcasts sent on said segment.) When a host sends a network broadcast, every device must process and respond to the broadcast. When a broadcast reaches a router, it does not forward it on to other networks, this breaks up the broadcast domain. Routers also break up collision domains.

Routers are actually switches that work on layer 3 of the OSI model. At this layer, routers are able to use logical addressing, provide packet switching, and provide packet filtering using ACLs. Routers then use a routing table (a map of the internetwork they form) to route packets between remote networks.

Switches (layer 2), however, do not form internetworks, they add function to one with the goal of providing more bandwidth to lan devices. They also don't route packets between networks. Switches only switch frames from one port to another. Switches break up collision domains while keeping only one broadcast domain. These switches are similar to a bridge but tend to offer more management abilities and features, plus many... many more ports.

Since your question does not ask about hubs or bridges, I won't go into detail about the differences those have from the above items though. If you are really interested in the topic, you may want to pick up an intro networking book (possibly a CCNA intro book).

Answer 5

Each networking has a Physical Address, or MAC address. A smart switch will direct traffic to this address, whereas a dumb switch (or hub) will broadcast all traffic.

Historically the US Defence Dept (DoD) decided it was a bad idea to route with physical addresses. The fear was that in the event of a nuclear strike that the loss of a single network device would mean that the network would cease. Developing network redundancy with physical addressing was not feasible.

The US DoD sponsored a research project to virtualise the addressing which turned out to become the Internet Protocol or IP.

Routers are configured to filter and direct traffic based on IP or the virtualised or logical address.

Switches are usually used to connect network devices, routers usually are used to connect networks.

Answer 6

A router is a computer networking device that buffers and forwards data packets across an internetwork toward their destinations, through a process known as routing.

A network switch (or just switch) is a networking device that performs transparent bridging (connection of multiple network segments with forwarding based on MAC addresses) at up to the speed of the hardware.

Answer 7

Routers do a lot more they control your gateway to the internet and all the settings,ie the password to log onto your service if it requires it. Which ports are open or closed, It also is a hardware firewall. Switches on the other hand are just that they are wide open to connect a lot of diffrent hardware such as routers, computers, network printers. A switch is just a way to connect everything to then you tie that in to a router to get outside the intranet to the internet.

Answer 8

a swich/Hub does not have an IP address. a router does. A hub just shares computers on a network a roughter has an IP address, this is used for internet shateing or expanding a network with more IP adresses