Switch or Hub

[Dedpuhl]

What is the difference between using a hub or a switch in a LAN?

 

[noxipoo]

hub sends packets to every ports that has a connection. switch sends it to the one that its suppose to goto. so a switch is a lot faster if you have 4/5 puters all sending packets. theres your simple explaination

 

[Viper GTS]

Which also means that a switch will be significantly more expensive than it's hub counterpart.

Viper GTS

 

[frostgiant]

Hub = dumb
Switch = smart
Lets say you have computers A, B, C, and D. Computer A sends a packet to computer B. But the hub will send the packed to everyone out there, including C and D, even though they didn't need it. Now lets say A and B want to talk and so do C and D. Since the hub wants to send everything at once, a collision occurs. This means that C and D have to wait for A and B to finish. But with a switch, A and B could talk simeltaniously with C and D also talking.

 

[frostgiant]

Man, this place is busy! No one had replied and by the time I was done typing, you two were already there! Switches are much cheaper than they were a year or 2 ago. You can pick them up for pretty cheap, might as well get a switch since hubs are getting phased out.

 

[Dedpuhl]

So a Hub is not that good when you are on a LAN. I am moving back to my dads house and I made him get a cable modem. He doesnt have anything on his computer I want and He wont need anything off of mine. So we will not need to send each other stuff.

Will there be slowdown on the Internet connection? Thats my main concern...

 

[Ben]

A hub would do fine for ICS. But if you plan to do anything more than that in the future, go for a switch.

 

[thelanx]

which is better for a home LAN with a cable modem, switch or hub. ( I'm thinking switch.) Can a switch function with say comp a amd comp b talking and comp c and comp d talking at the same time? thanks

 

[abracadabra1]

yah...hubs are great for home and small business (no more than 4 computers)
but i say once you get 5 computers, get yourself a switch. they're fast and efficient cause they're smart.

heheh paulson

 

[abracadabra1]

<< which is better for a home LAN with a cable modem, switch or hub. ( I'm thinking switch.) Can a switch function with say comp a amd comp b talking and comp c and comp d talking at the same time? thanks >>



for home- get a hub. no need for a switch there.
and yes a switch can functin in the above listed situation (and all possible situations)

hope that helps!

 

[cavingjan]

For a small LAN, I'd buy a switch because they are just about as cheap as a hub. If you need a large capacity model and have the money, definitely get the switch but I just bought a 24 port hub because I outright can't justify the cost of a switch of that size for my house that will only have a couple active computers at a time. I just don't want to run downstairs everytime I hook a computer up in a room. Now to figure out the easiest way to put a couple jacks on the front porch and back deck.

 

[thelanx]

So would a hub be good for 5 computers. ( I am thinking about connecting 3 initially and maybe hooking up five.)

 

[BCYL]

Well if you are not that concern about speed (like not going to transfer large files over the network much) then a hub would be fine...

On the other hand if you are really concern about performance and don't mind paying a little bit more, then go with a switch...

 

[RU482]

I was thinking about posting this same thread this afternoon!!!

Anyway, does a switch provide some type of hardware firewall? Or does a router? Or does anything? Is a router the same thing as a switch?

I will be attempting to set up a network between 2 or 3 computers in my new house. Probably just for sharing a DSL/cable connection. It should be a fun learning experience

 

[BCYL]

redly1:

No, a switch does not provide a hardware firewall... A router does...

Some routers has a switch built-in so you can connect multiple PCs to it without buying an extra switch... so a router is not the same thing as a switch, but some actually contains a switch...

 

[mjquilly]

redly1,
A switch does not provide any type of firewall. A router can, however, I believe you will need to have individual IP addresses for each computer if you use a router. A switch can be used to share one connection to many computers w/ only one IP address.

 

[BCYL]

mjquilly:

The purpose of a router is to let you share 1 IP address with multiple PCs... so you only need 1 IP from your ISP if you are using a router...

A router is simply a hardware NAT solution, whereas softwares such as ICS and Sygate are software solutions...

 

[THELAIR]

A hub is fine, but once you get past 20 systems that send decent amount of traffic it will start to slow down.

For my lan parties we have 5 sixteen port 10/100 hubs that all connect to a 12 port switch. Works fine for us.

Yah id like to have all 100mbit switched ports, but the cost to get 128 100mbit switched port is expensive. Especially when i have to pay for it outta my pocket.

 

[RU482]

So a hub would get the job done without any type of hardware firewall

A router with an internal switch or a router + a hub would get me a hardware firewall

Is this correct?

I just happened to be looking through the &quot;PARADE&quot; section of the sunday paper. There was an article about a Linksys router/4 port switch for $200. Is this a decent price? decent equipment? I would assume prices will gradually drop, as demand is increasing

thanks all

 

[BCYL]

redly1:

Yes that is correct... you can use a hub and some software NAT solution (Windows ICS, Sygate, etc... ) to share the connection... but you won't get the added security of the hardware firewall...

Or you can get a 4-port router (with built-in switch) or a 1-port router and connect that to a hub/switch... That will give u hardware firewall, and no software needed to share the connection...

$200 for a 4-port Linksys router? That's quite a ripoff... Try looking in the Hot Deals section or search around on the web, you should be able to find a price much lower than that...

 

[Tripleshot]

Get a cheap 486 or low end throw away type pc,load up linux put in two 10/100 nics,buy a 4 or 5 port 10/100 smart hub or switch and cat5 your PC to it in to some $20.00 nics and You got a network. The linux box does not need a whole bunch of high end junk,its going to sit there and work forever with little maintenance and provide you with firewall protection and network connectivity behind it totaly secure. I do it now and it is sweet!

The switch is really overkill,but what the heck. Less than $100.

Use a decent nic to connect to your ISP if you have a cable modem.Use a good hardware modem if you use dial up. $75.00

As i said, the nics in each PC are around $20.00-$25.00 each.

Cat5 $.08/foot + connectors @ about $1.50. you will need a crimper but maybe you can borrow one. Crimper-$35.00

Remember linux is free.But you could buy a copy of redhat or I use Mandrake.

There is all kinds of on line help on setting it up.

Enjoy

 

[RU482]

Sounds like another plan. I've got a P200MMX barebones collecting dust in the basement

One question.

Use a decent nic to connect to your ISP if you have a cable modem.Use a good hardware modem if you use dial up. $75.00

what is the differance between this NIC and the others? i.e. (As i said, the nics in each PC are around $20.00-$25.00 each.

I am quite knew to this piece of hardware... what's the differance between one major brand NIC and another? (10/100base-t, of course)

thanks again!

 

[radiocore]

this is all great info =)

how do most of you set up LAN parties at home with your friends?

do you provide the box for them to play on or do they bring down a laptop or their system

 

[BCYL]

redly1:

There's basically no difference besides reliability.... You may get a little more speed with something like 3com, but NICs like Netgear or Linksys should still be fine for u...

 

[THELAIR]

For lan parties, unless you have 5 or 6 spare &quot;DECENT&quot; systems to let your friends play on, its a BYOC, bring your own computer event. They need to have a network card, and a 14 foot or longer RJ-45 cable.

We provide the network connectivity, the servers and prizes etc if any