Hub and Router

[speedman]

A friend of mine asked me what the difference is between a hub and a router.....................:(

Although I have been using a hub on my cable setup I do not know the difference between the two.

I told him that they were the same but different and I'm sure that helped a lot.......................LOL

What is the difference so that I can understand it and explain it to him without to much complication..............:o

[Mntsnow]

A Hub
In general, a hub is the central part of a wheel where the spokes come together. The term is familiar to frequent fliers who travel through airport "hubs" to make connecting flights from one point to another. In data communications, a hub is a place of convergence where data arrives from one or more directions and is forwarded out in one or more other directions. A hub usually includes a switch of some kind. (And a product that is called a "switch" could usually be considered a hub as well.) The distinction seems to be that the hub is the place where data comes together and the switch is what determines how and where data is forwarded from the place where data comes together. Regarded in its switching aspects, a hub can also include a router.

1) In describing network topologies, a hub topology consists of a backbone (main circuit) to which a number of outgoing lines can be attached ("dropped"), each providing one or more connection port for device to attach to. For Internet users not connected to a local area network, this is the general topology used by your access provider. Other common network topologies are the bus network and the ring network. (Either of these could possibly feed into a hub network, using a bridge.)

2) As a network product, a hub may include a group of modem cards for dial-in users, a gateway card for connections to a local area network (for example, an Ethernet or a token ring), and a connection to a line (the main line in this example).


A Router
On the Internet, a router is a device or, in some cases, software in a computer, that determines the next network point to which a packet should be forwarded toward its destination. The router is connected to at least two networks and decides which way to send each information packet based on its current understanding of the state of the networks it is connected to. A router is located at any gateway (where one network meets another), including each Internet point-of-presence. A router is often included as part of a network switch.

A router may create or maintain a table of the available routes and their conditions and use this information along with distance and cost algorithms to determine the best route for a given packet. Typically, a packet may travel through a number of network points with routers before arriving at its destination. Routing is a function associated with the Network layer (layer 3) in the standard model of network programming, the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. A layer-3 switch is a switch that can perform routing functions.

An edge router is a router that interfaces with an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network. A brouter is a network bridge combined with a router.


Defs were quickly pulled from "Whatis.com" as I didnt have time to type it all If he would like to get even more details he and yourself can visit whatis and they will have crosslinks and such within the info I just posted

[BBA]

Wow Mntsnow...I think you covered just about everything...and then some... when it comes to home networks. :lol:

Although nothing said was incorrect in anyway...ya think maybe they would have been just as happy with the normal home/lan type hub/switch/router explanations? :D

[Mntsnow]

Well like I said it was down and dirty just using whatis :D

[speedman]

Wait til he gets a load of that.................Har Har He He

Oh well I've got plenty of friends anyway..............;)

[dusty]

On a hub the sent data hits all the ports{ip address} and it is allowed through on the correct one that the data is sent to.

On a switch, it functions just like a hub but with one exception.
it uses the mac address of the computers attached to it. In this way the data sent goes directly to the port with that mac address and does not even look at the other ports.

Mntsnow, I think this is correct but correct me if i'm wrong...
please.

Rick

[a Bill]

A hub broadcasts to all attached servers.
A switch directs traffic to the requested server.
A router connects networks.

Crude but...

[mholtum]

Couldnt you just say that a hub is where you plug in all your CAT5 and a router is the same thing but it is smarter? ;)

[a Bill]

You could call a switch a smart hub but a router is a different beast.