on 6/2/02 4:30 am, James A. Reible wrote: > What is the difference between a router, switch and hub?
A hub forwards all data received on a port to all the other ports on that hub thus using bandwidth on all segments of your network connected to that hub but not segmented with a switch or router (computers for which the traffic is not destined for just ignore that data). A switch forwards traffic received on one port to only the port of the computer/network it is destined for, keeping all the bandwidth available on each segment free the computer(s) connected to that segment. A router works in a similar fashion to that of a switch but at a lower level, it is generally used to interconnect whole networks rather than individual computers, it acts as an intermediary between two different networks - all traffic destined for an address not on your local network (same subnet) is sent to it to be forwarded. 'Gateway' is also a term used to refer to a router (but is more of an archaic term and can be used to mean different things anyway). A 'Broadband router' or broadband gateway (sometimes wrongly referred to as a modem) routes traffic between your local network and the internet over DSL or other broadband connections. //Jacob -- Jacob Jay <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> IT Director - Cyberspatial Architect Enigma Publishing Ltd. <http://www.the-enigma.co.uk> Tel: +442075533256 Fax: +442075533251 GSM: +447050605242 ICQ: 16503881 -- MacNetwork is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... XRouter Pro | Share your DSL or cable modem between multiple computers! Dr. Bott | Only $199 <http://www.drbott.com/prod/MIH130.html> Now shipping! Farallon Wireless SkyLINE PCI Card for Mac Desktops! <http://www.farallon.com/le/skyline/pci/index.html> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> MacNetwork list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/macnet.html> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/macnetwork%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks! <http://www.applelinks.com>
