Router vs. Hub?

[algae]

Looks like I need to buy a new hub for my cable modem / home network. Is a router noticeably faster than a hub?
Gary

 

[dexter333]

I think you mean switch vs. hub. If you need to share the internet connection you need a router, unless you have more than one publicly accessible IP address. As far as switch vs. hub, if you have more than computers sharing that connection that you want to be able to transfer at full 100mbps (which you'll never get) between all computers at the same time then I would reccomend a switch. Otherwise just get a hub. To quote some responses from another thread ([url]http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=36&threadid=741389)[/url]:

Me:

<< The difference between switches and hubs is that only the computer that a message (packet) is destined for recieves it with a switch. With a hub, all computers get the packet and they ignore it if it isn't supposed to go to that computer. With a switch all computers can transmit at 100mbps (200mbps full-duplex) while with a hub that 100mbps is split between however many computers are on the hub. So with an 8 port hub each computer only gets about 1/8th of 100mbps or 12.5mbps compared with 100mbps per computer with a switch. >>



Mucman:

<< Think of a switch as a smart hub. Here are two examples of a ping

hubbed network :

A wants to ping B
A broadcasts an ARP request to get the MAC address of computer B
All computers on the network recevice this, but only the NIC that has that IP configure replies with its IP
computer A receives the MAC and stores it in its arp cache.
A starts pinging B and all cables connected to the hub have this traffic going over it because the hub does not know anything.

switched network :

A wants to ping B
A broadcasts an ARP request to get the MAC address of computer B
All computers on the network recevice this, but only the NIC that has that IP configure replies with its IP
the switch learns which switchport maps to which MAC address and stores it in a table.
computer A receives the MAC and stores it in its arp cache.
A starts pinging B and the switch reads the MAC of the addressed machine.
The switch finds which port that address is located and sends the packet through that switchport only.

>>



Jombo:

<< Switches are used to segment a network to reduce the "collision domain" (In Ethernet, the collisin domain isthe network area within which frames that have collided are propagated [so says Cisco)

basically whenever a frame/packet needs to be sent out, a broadcast is put out on the network w/ the destination computer info. (this can be an IP addy or a MAC addy) the broadcast goes out to all the computers on the network and only the device w/ right IP addy or MAC addy will keep the frame/packet and all others will discard it.

when the frame reaches the hub, it'll just regenerate the signal and pass the frame on to rest of the network. while this is all good and dandy, in a larger computing environment, hubs will generate un-necessary traffic on the network which can result in lag. Hubs basically "extend the collision domain" while extending the network

When a frame reaches a Switch on the other hand, the switch will actually examine the frame to figure out where it should go (by the MAC address). By not letting the whole world know about the frame, switch optimizes network bandwidth as compared to a hub. so switches segment the network to recude the collision domain by eliminating un-necessary network traffic while extending the network. >>



Spidey07:

<< when you are sniffing on a switched network you will only see broadcasts, multicasts and the occasional flood. Nothing of real importance >>



edit: i'm dumb and can't use bbcode or whatever it's called here. Give us HTML!

 

[nihil]

FAQ?

 

[JackMDS]

The hardware known as Cable/DSL Router, is a combo unit that includes Router, Switch, and more.

The Router part is not the comparable part to a Hub, it is the Switch that perform similar function as the Hub.

When a Net work is comprised of less then 10 computer, there are no noticeable differences between a Hub, and a switch.

The following links discuss these issues:

The proposed Hub & switch test testing plan.

Preliminary Summary of the test results, Hub vs. Switch.

Easy one for ya...What is the difference between a hub and a switch?