i read online that my netgear 4port ethernet hub can only make one connection at a time and cant be used like a router. i have a playstation and computer in the same room. could i go online the computer and ps2 at the same time?
2007-11-15 03:34:37 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Computer Networking
The difference between a hub and a router is in the intelligence of the device.
A router maintains history on the addresses which are populated on each incoming link, and only forwards packets to the proper links based on the packet addresses. A hub or switch just blindly forwards all packets to all links, which is faster and less expensive (there doesn't need to be any memory or processing in the switch), but which causes more extraneous traffice for each connected device. I doubt theres enough extraneous traffic in your home network to matter, so the hub is fine.
And yes, you should be able to go online with both simultaneously.
2007-11-15 03:50:01 · answer #1 · answered by dansinger61 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
To answer your question - no they both can't go online at the same time if you only have a hub.
Hub is very different from a router. Hub has zero intelligence, it takes every packet it gets in on one port and sends out every other port.
To connect more than one IP address to the typical consumer Internet account you need a device that runs Network Address Translation (NAT), all consumer grade routers support NAT.
There is no such thing as a hub that supports NAT.
2007-11-15 11:58:22 · answer #2 · answered by Fester Frump 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋