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

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I have a Linksys 4-port hub, with DSL/Cable uplink. All the computers are now running XP, but a couple were running Win98 for a while. One thing I did find out a while ago, was when this ability went away. It took some time, but when I disabled the IPS/IPX protocol, I believe it was, all the computers were able to share again. And I'm not paying extra for add'l IP addresses, so I might be getting some for free? :))

Hello Leo, I found this iste like the other guy who did a search for the difference between a Switch and a Router.I am running WinXp and I have a cable connection, I am using a switch to connect the rest of the computers in the house to the internet. I have 2 network cards in my main machine, one for the modem signal and the other to carry that signal to the switch which in return feeds the other machines and the downfall is that when I turn the main machine off all the others lose the internet connection. I tried hooking using only one net card in my main machine and hookinh the cable modem to the switch and then plugging the rest of the pc's into the switch and the only computer that gets a connection is the first one that is turned on, the others get no connection. What I did was buy a Router which I am waiting for to come in the mail. Will a router solve my problem? I want to be able to turn off any machine on my network yet have any remaining Pc's on my network to still have conn

Yep, everything you describe makes perfect sense. And the good news it that yes, an appropriate router ought to be exactly what you need. The cable modem will plug into the router, all the computers will plug into the router, each should be independant and able to connect up, or turn off, without affecting the others.

Good luck!

Leo

Hi,

I have 5 computers with 5 static IP's assigned by my ISP. I do not want to perform NAT. Which one of the above should I use?

Prat

I guess it depends on the reason you have 5 static IPs. My ISP assigned me 5 as well, though in practice I use only one, and have all my machines behind a NAT router. I tend to prefer that approach.

If there's a reason you need to hang on to individual static IPS, then there are a couple of approaches: one would be a switch to connect them all (a switch so as to reduce unneccesary traffic on the DSL line), and then appropriate firewalling/security on each machine. Another approach would be a more sophisticated router than most consumer models, or a security device, that will actually act more as a security filter, without affecting the IP addresses of the traffic that crosses it.

Leo

Hi,
As most fellows, I found this site looking for the difference between hubs and switches....
My situation is as follows: I have ADSL account with no fixed IP, allowed to connect 1 pc only. In fact, I have a LAN consisting of 7 PC's. 1 being used as internet server (and must be on for the net to be reached).This server has to network cards installed - 1 connected to the ADSL modem, the other to the general hub. The rest of the PC's are hooked to the hub. Now the hub is a no name 12 port 10MPS very old thing.All PC's get access to the internet any time, and the ISP has nothing to say as he only sees 1 PC ;-)
Now - I am about to change the internet plan to 1 that allows up to 10 PC's (for less money and no time/volume limits :) )As my hub is slowing down the network, I was thinking it is a good time to change it to a 100MPS and connect the modem to the hub thus allow each PC to connect individually to the internet and hopefully get a faster connection. Then a friend suggested going for a switch which brought me to this (and other similar) site, and now I am not sure again what to go for? switch? router? what are the prices for reasonable devises???

I pretty much recommend a NAT router in any case. Hook the modem into it, and connect your computers into it, and you should be good. The reason I recommend it is that a switch will not provide the same level of security. Your choke-point is the speed of your DSL anyway, so the additional work the router does will not have any appreciable impact on speed. 100mb will increase your machine-to-machine local speed, but of course your internet can't go any faster that your DSL allows.

IF you are getting 10 static IP addresses you might read my response to Pat above. If possible I'd use a NAT router anyway.

If, for some reason, you do need the machines to be naked on the internet, then I recommend a switch - remember that a hub will echo all data to all ports - possibly including the DSL line, and may send a lot of unnessary data up that pipe, slowing down the legitimate internet traffic you want to have.

BTW, most NAT routers will allow you to "forward" certain ports. So your web server may not need to be directly on the internet. I have one here behind my NAT router, and it can be accessed from anywhere on the internet. Forwarding port 80 was all it took.

Leo

real quick question, will a switch automatically adjust for the use of a straight through or crossover cable or is it till necessary to get the right cable when upgrading from a hub?

Autosensing it pretty rare, and not specific to hub, switch or router. Occasionally a specific brand or model of any of them can or will. But I'd certainly not count on it (or look for it, for that matter). Just make sure to have the right cables. I mean, why ask for problems? :-)

Leo

Leo,
Is the use of a switch or router complicated by using a PC and a Mac sharing cable for the Internet? My girlfriend and I shared the Web in this way (she had a separate IP address assigned by the cable company) and we were constantly losing connection and having to re-set the cable modem and re-start our computers.

To complicate matters, she bought a new IBM laptop and shortly after we connected the RJ-45 to her laptop "it burned out her Ethernet" (according to IBM). Now she won't be in the same room with a switch. Is this possible? I thought the current going through a modem cable was pretty harmless.

Appreciate any light you can shed on our situation (in fact, that's why I'm here: trying to make sense of the hub-switch-router world).

Thanks,

Gary

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