Router vs switch vs hub 3

[electronicsfreak]

Ok I thought I had a clear understanding of all 3 of these. Lately, however, I am not so sure about that anymore. I recently acquired another switch and hub. The hub is a 24 port.

Ok in the past I have explained to people the differences between the 3 as following; each explained as an intersection

Hub,
an intersection with no stop signs, no cops, nothing to stop the traffic. It is allowed to constantly move as fast as it wants with nothing to stop collisions.

Switch,
intersection with stop lights for stopping and going to direct traffic to prevent collisions.

router,
just like a switch but with a police officer to stop theft and more options

With that I had wondered why they would make a 24 port hub since I had assumed it had no collision control. As to me that was like dropping a match on gasoline.

Then a friend told me they had a collision stopping something different then switches. Basically im wondering the full details on this and also if I am even in the right ballpark on how these things work.

Any info would be very much appreciated.

There is a point in wisdom and knowledge that when you reach it, you exceed what is considered possible - Jason Schoon

 

[acewarlock]

Try this

http://ask-leo.com/whats_the_difference_between_a_hub_a_switch_and_a_router.html

This is a Signature and not part of the answer, it appears on every reply.

This is an Analogy so don't take it personally as some have.

Why change the engine if all you need is to change the spark plugs.

 

[electronicsfreak]

Well that page pretty much said exactly what I thought. So once again I am wondering why they would make a 24 port hub? To me that is begging for disaster.

There is a point in wisdom and knowledge that when you reach it, you exceed what is considered possible - Jason Schoon

 

[BadBigBen]

Not only that but:

1.) HUBs work on OSI Layer 1, and a basically dumb.

2.) Switches on OSI Layer 2 and other layers, switch is a marketing term rather than a technical one.

and 3.) Routers on OSI Layer 2&3, is a computer whose software and hardware are usually tailored to the tasks of routing and forwarding information.





Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[wahnula]

I have been trying to get a better grip on Layers...this helped a lot:

http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Computer_Science/2006/understanding_layers.asp

Funny that the OSI was developed by ISO

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[acewarlock]

Some times you only need a HUB. It's all a matter of money and what you neeed to do a job. You wouldn't but a Caddy to deliver the News Paper, you would use a bike.

Quote:
For years, simple hubs have been quick and easy ways to connect computers in small networks.




This is a Signature and not part of the answer, it appears on every reply.

This is an Analogy so don't take it personally as some have.

Why change the engine if all you need is to change the spark plugs.

 

[Sympology]

Often Hubs these days are actucally switches.

There are reasons for hubs.

Unless you have "managed"* switch, it is impossible to monitor traffic on different ports. So if you are trying to find whats causing issues, without a managed switch switch this is alomost impossible.

Hubs are usually cheaper.

Routers and swiches working on Layers 2 & 3 belongs to the 90's. High end stuff can work right up to layer 7. Ever heard of of ISP's throttling bandwidth? The way they do this is inspect the actual packets to see what application is sending them, e.g Peer to Peer, and then speed them up or slow them down.

Although genrally most kit is layer 2 or 3, it is not strictly true.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilayer_switch

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[cdogg]

As Stu mentions, quite a few hubs these days are actually switches with less features (or sometimes they ARE switches with "hub" in the name). You'd be hard-pressed to find a new hub on the market today that doesn't borrow at least a feature or two from switches. You'll see descriptions that say "double speed", "console management", or even "full duplex", all of which are clearly not part of what defines a hub.

See this:

http://expertanswercenter.techtarget.com/eac/knowledgebaseAnswer/0,,sid63_gci974722,00.html

Old hub vs. switch comparison:

http://www.networkclue.com/hardware/network/switches-vs-hubs.aspx

Considering the difference in cost is minimal and the hub selection is scarce, you'd be better off purchasing a networking device that is labeled as a switch or "smart" switch. This is especially true when you have more than 30 users on the network simultaneously. Speaking of the number of users, another feature to pay attention to is the MAC address table size. The standard is 4K but the higher-end models have at least 8K.


~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
[tab][navy]For posting policies, click [/navy]here.

 

[electronicsfreak]

Right now im using them mostly for lan parties. The switch I have is a Kingston 24 port which was made like 92 or before. It is a Kingston etheRx Pro-Series KNE24TP/RS

There is a point in wisdom and knowledge that when you reach it, you exceed what is considered possible - Jason Schoon

 

[LawnBoy]

In my experience, hubs are better for LAN parties. Less latency, and since the traffic is all UDP the collisions don't cost anything.

"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes