newbie question about routher, hubs, etc

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RB

What is the functional difference between a hub and a router?

What is the functional difference between a router and a networking switch
unit?
 
RB said:
What is the functional difference between a hub and a router?

What is the functional difference between a router and a networking switch
unit?


Simple explaination.. A hub and a switch do basically the same thing, tie
computers together. A hub is a dumb conection that sends every packet to
every machine. A switch learns where to send each packet so there is less
traffic. On a larger network this is a good thing.

A router is a device you place between a network and the internet to act as
a firewall and to provide a single IP address for a whole network so
several computers can use the same single outbound conection.

Many routers have a built in 'switch' so you just hook the modem to one port
on the router and the PC's to the other ports on the router.
 
Great answers. Thanks. The beginner's networking web site was super info,
and the simple explanation given in the next post fit right in, too.
 
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