Posted on Sep 18, 2023
Understanding Routers, Switches, and Network Hardware
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https://www.howtogeek.com/99001/htg-explains-routers-and-switches/?utm_campaign=HTG [login to see] 00&utm_source=HTG-NL-DN&utm_medium=newsletter
Article Quote: "When do you need a switch? A hub? What exactly does a router do? Do you need a router if you have a single computer? Network technology can be quite an arcane area of study but armed with the right terms and a general overview of how devices function on your home network you can deploy your network with confidence."
Most of us know at least part of this stuff, there are some good reminders in here also. Sometimes pictures help. I like pictures. :)
Article Quote: "When do you need a switch? A hub? What exactly does a router do? Do you need a router if you have a single computer? Network technology can be quite an arcane area of study but armed with the right terms and a general overview of how devices function on your home network you can deploy your network with confidence."
Most of us know at least part of this stuff, there are some good reminders in here also. Sometimes pictures help. I like pictures. :)
Understanding Routers, Switches, and Network Hardware
Posted from howtogeek.com
Computers
Computer Networking
Education
Posted 8 mo ago
Responses: 2
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When this stuff first came out, it was trial and error til I got my stuff going. Wired my whole house with "leftovers" from work. Modem-Router-Switch. Multi outlets in some rooms. Don't look pretty, but works very well. All located in attic.
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Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin
It was actually worse than what you see here, but this is the mess that I had to deal with from the Bagram Soviet Air Tower in 2002.
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Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin
Call it job security... I was sent to Afghanistan to provide comm support to the Air Force portion of Bagram (our 300 to the Army's 3000). When the Army deploys, they take only what they need for their units. The Air Force had a Guard unit there, but they only provided airfield ATC comms. Meanwhile, the Air Force still needed LAN (NIPR/SIPR and eventually JWICS), phone, and radio (both PWCS and ground-to-air). I was sent with two pallets of comm equipment, STUs, PCs, radios, networking equipment, etc to take on the duty being covered by one of the TACP comm support Officer (on his "free" time). I was alone for the first two weeks, before they were able to facilitate my request for forces (Comm Airmen) form the 1st Combat Comm. As we worked the immediate needs of our A-10, Special Tactics, and MEDEVAC folks, I was also working on long term solutions, to include cleaning up that mess for network and telecom lines to the Group functionals and leadership (Ops, Intel, Command), and getting additional ones down to the A-10 Maintenance folks on the airfield, separated by a minefield. Good times!
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A hub is essentially a dummy switch or a repeater. It broadcasts traffic to and from all of the connected systems at the physical layer of the OSI model and is subject to traffic collisions. There is also no security that you can apply to a hub either. Hubs are usually great for small home or small office networking solutions, especially in rooms (like an office) where you might have one hardwire LAN port but multiple devices you would like to connect without using WiFi. They are low cost, easy to use as they require zero networking configuration knowledge.
A switch actually operates on the data-link layer of the OSI model and it actually has a level of intelligence behind pushing the traffic. Instead of broadcasting the traffic out to all plugged in systems (like the Hub will do) it directs the traffic (by MAC address) only to or from the respective system to the specific route it needs to go. These devices provide the means to reduce traffic (and in turn collisions), and they can provide traffic stats for analysis. In a home network, I typically would not recommend using such an appliance unless that person has some decent networking knowledge and/or has a reason for managing the traffic a little better.
A router is simply meant to connect networks and more importantly is required to connect to the Internet at some point. Most, if not all, people who have an Internet Service Provider (ISP) also have a router (or there is a router at some point before they are on the Internet), provided by the ISP or purchased themselves. These also typically provide the WiFi connectivity as well. Routers work on the network layer of the OSI and route traffic using IP addresses. Typically, the router at one's home serves as the gateway to the Internet, where on the home side, IP addresses are private addresses (10.0.0.0/8, 192.168.0.0/16, and 172.16.0.0/12) and on the Internet facing side have an actual valid routable IP address. Using additional routers on a home network I would not recommend unless you one, know what you're doing, and two, have a need (like you have a home Lab for testing network/security tools).
A switch actually operates on the data-link layer of the OSI model and it actually has a level of intelligence behind pushing the traffic. Instead of broadcasting the traffic out to all plugged in systems (like the Hub will do) it directs the traffic (by MAC address) only to or from the respective system to the specific route it needs to go. These devices provide the means to reduce traffic (and in turn collisions), and they can provide traffic stats for analysis. In a home network, I typically would not recommend using such an appliance unless that person has some decent networking knowledge and/or has a reason for managing the traffic a little better.
A router is simply meant to connect networks and more importantly is required to connect to the Internet at some point. Most, if not all, people who have an Internet Service Provider (ISP) also have a router (or there is a router at some point before they are on the Internet), provided by the ISP or purchased themselves. These also typically provide the WiFi connectivity as well. Routers work on the network layer of the OSI and route traffic using IP addresses. Typically, the router at one's home serves as the gateway to the Internet, where on the home side, IP addresses are private addresses (10.0.0.0/8, 192.168.0.0/16, and 172.16.0.0/12) and on the Internet facing side have an actual valid routable IP address. Using additional routers on a home network I would not recommend unless you one, know what you're doing, and two, have a need (like you have a home Lab for testing network/security tools).
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Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin
Well, router speeds aside from the open you use for Internet access are irrelevant unless you have for internally for a home lab, separate from the rest of the network. If you ISP didn't give you a good one, you can always shop for a better one with the latest WiFi speeds and throughput.
As for switches and hubs, switches will likely offer better speeds. Hub I believe max out at 100 Mbps whereas switches can get into the 100s of Gbps if you're willing to pay for one.
As for switches and hubs, switches will likely offer better speeds. Hub I believe max out at 100 Mbps whereas switches can get into the 100s of Gbps if you're willing to pay for one.
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