What's the difference between a Hub, a Switch and a Router?

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If you're asking can you "share" an internet connection by simply moving the plug back and forth between two machines the answer is technically yes, though it will be invonvenient at times. Certain types of applications will expect a continuous connection. Simply browsing web pages, however, might well work just fine. depending on how your ISP assigns IP addresses you might need to "refresh" your IP address each time you switch the cable, however.

Wow, I'm glad to see this is still active! Great page. I was wondering, though -- in the past six months, I have had four switches of a particular model abruptly stop working (an 8-port HP procurve switch). To my knowledge, they haven't had a particularly unreasonable load (they're on a local network). I do assign static IP addresses to each PC on the network, and sometimes a network interface card will have multiple IP addresses assigned.

The specific failure mode: well, the lights are all blinky, and my machines rapidly move between "Network Enabled" and "Network Cable Disconnected" when I view Network Settings.

The question: Am I doing something wrong, or is this just a case of cheap hardware? Thanks! This has really been bugging me. :)

Have you checked the HP support site? The only time I've seen switches or routers go belly up is under exceptionally heavy load. Does a power-cycle of the switch resolve the issue? Certainly what you're doing sounds reasonable.

is it possible to set up a network and have different vrsions of windows runign..ie: xp pro one one and me or 98 on the other?

On different machines? Absolutely - you most certainly can have a network with machines running different versions of Windows, as well as other operating systems including Linux or Macintosh's OS/X or others.

thanks Leo ....got the connection made but once that was done the other computer locks up....main is a dell demension 4300 running xp pro ..the other is a sorta home built gateway......pent 100 16meg ram...running win98.....any ideas? was working fine befor.....thanks again

Before what? Working fine before ... you connected it to a network? If so, I'd suspect the network card, or drivers. Make sure you've got the latest of those. If you have an extra card, might be appropriate to swap that out to see if it makes a difference. 16Meg of RAM is kinda tight, too.

Hi Leo,

I've just purchased a new iBook with an Airport card and I'm keen to set up a small wireless network so that I can roam the house without the laptop needing to be plugged in to my ADSL modem. Do I need to purchase Apple's Airport Hub or can I go with any other wireless hub? Which leads to my second question: I assume that a hub will be sufficient for my needs, not a router? Thanks!

Any wireless hub that supports the same wireless protocol (probably 802.11b or g) will work just fine.

A router will still give you the additional protection of a firewall. With a Mac you're not as big a target as a Windows based system, but even in your situation I see no reason NOT to get a router - the added cost just isn't that great, and if you ever get a second computer and want to share that connection, you'll be set.

Leo,
Is there any point to choosing a router over a switch, besides the security? My internet connection comes with firewall protection from the ISP, and so besides keeping my hacker family members from accessing my personal files, I don't feel I need any added security. But is there another benefit to a router, if I can find one for the same price as a switch?

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