I have always not really know the specific differences between...hub, router, switch.

When is one use, what are the main uses or advanced uses?

I know what a hub does, have a decent idea what a router does, but I am not quite sure what a switch does...

Any insight would be appreciated.

Hub, connects 2 or more computers together. Useful for a small network, or sharing files between computers.

Routers can connect computers in a local (inside) lan to another (outside) lan/wan, such as a broadband router.

A Switch is like a smart router. A lot of dsl/cable routers are switches as well. They can route traffic faster/neater than a regular router.

Originally posted by Manu
I have always not really know the specific differences between...hub, router, switch.

When is one use, what are the main uses or advanced uses?

I know what a hub does, have a decent idea what a router does, but I am not quite sure what a switch does...

Any insight would be appreciated.

Hub - acts like a repeater with more than one output. Gets a signal in, amplifies it and sends the signal (packet or frame, whatever you wish to call it...) out to ALL computers that are plugged into it.

Switch - basically a smart hub. It knows the MAC addresses of all computers connected to it. When it gets a packet, it will know the MAC address of the recipient and send it to that computer ONLY.

Router - Used in large LANs or WANs (including the internet) to tie remote LAN segments together. Takes a signal, decodes it down to the Network Layer of OSI to get the MAC address of the recipient. Then sends it either to the recipient or the next upstream router that might know where the recipient is.

Hope this helps...

hmm manu, doing research for something?

Corey, not at all. ;-)

hub...sends all information it recieves out on all ports. Basically every computer recieves the information and has to use processor time to sort through it and decide if it's needed for that computer. operates on the physical layer of the OSI model.(not smart) GIGO...garbage in garbage out

switch...breaks up collision domains and allows for full duplexing. A switch sends information via the mac address. these are configurable for specific purposes. Some are able to be configured as a router(multilayer switch(needs a special module)) operates on the data link layer of the OSI model

router...this breaks up broadcast domains. It operates on the network layer of the OSI model and uses an IP table to pass information to the computer. It only needs the subnet mask of the ip it is trying to talk to. These are capable of being configured for internal security, specific functions, and can be configured to act as a multilayer switch. Because the router has to pass information up the OSI model(physical to data link, to network)and back down a router is slower than a switch. (Also depends on the amount of bandwidth the router is capable of handling[obviously a 100mbps pipeline will run at 100mbps, and a gigabit connection will run at a gigabit])

Hopefully this helped. I just went through a two week course so it's still fairly fresh in my head.