Network Routers Versus Switches
Revision as of 10:56, 7 December 2006 by Stitcomb(talk | contribs)(Network Switch)

Consumer Network Routers and Switches look very similar. However, there is a major difference between these two devices.

Network Routers

Router.jpg

A router is a computer networking device that forwards data to connected devices. It is able to share a single internet connection by splitting the connection among multiple ports. It does this by assigning a sub-network address to each computer it is hosting. This is done through DHCP.


Routerchart.jpg


Network Switch

Switch.jpg

A switch is a computer networking device that splits a single ethernet connection among multiple ports. It does not assign IP addresses and therefore only multiplies the connections on the network.


= Visual Example of a Network Switch

Switchchart.jpg