Hub / Switch / Router question

[Tony]

Hi all

Ok i got a new little box of tricks today.

Fritz Box Fon, it is a VO IP DSL Router

Now my question is:-

It has only one LAN port for connecting to the PC, in the manual it says to connect to more PC's i have to use a HUB or a Switch (ok i know how to connect these up, so we wont go there), now i already have an ageing NetGear R314 4 Port Router.

Can this router be used as a HUB or a Switch? if not, what is the difference betwwen a HUB and a Switch, and what would you recomend i buy.

Thanks for your time

Tony

[Tony]

Well the old NetGear router will not act as Switch / Hub.

So i went out and bought a D-Link DES-1005D 5 Port Switch connected it all up and it is all working fine (straight out of the box) no messing around.

Tony

[homecomputeraid]

Hi Tony,

Sorry I didn't answer sooner. Why do you say the old Netgear won't act as a switch? I think you could have just left the WAN port on the Netgear disconnected and turned off DHCP to use it as a switch?

[Tony]

Hi

No problem in not answering sooner.

I did unplug the cable from the WAN port and then connected it to one of the other ports, but it was no go, my PC's could not talk to the Fritz box.

I did not know about turning off DHCP.

Oh well there you go.

The old router was a big old thing anyway, so i am sure that in the long run it is a bit cheaper to run the new switch instead of the old router as a switch.

Besides i already have a buyer for the old router ;)

Thanks

Tony

[Scarecrow Man]

To answer your question above, the difference between a HUB and a switch, is a switch uses different "collision" domains, thus preventing lost traffic. A switch is also known as a "Smart Hub"

[Invisible§niper]

Also a router routes packets where as a hub just broadcasts the data to all of its ports, waiting for the right computer to reply to or accept the data.

And all, (correct me if I'm wrong), routers are also a type of firewall, which is actually a lot safer then having an application firewall(e.g Norton). Most routers have a webpage setup built into it, which you can configure lots of different options.

How do I view my hub on the network, like cmd. I mean IP config /all doesn't work, and either does netstat.

[Invisible§niper]

I would like to know if a hub actually "broadcasts" all the data when sending it on a network, or does it just broadcast the message that it's going to send data and then find the right port through some kind of reply from the correct computer and then send the data to only one port?

[homecomputeraid]

We should be careful in our use of the term broadcast. A hub repeats all traffic heard from one port out all other ports. A switch only sends 'broadcast' traffic out all ports except the one it comes in on. In this case, the term broadcast refers to a particular type of network traffic which is sent to all listening hosts in a particular 'broadcast domain'. Once a swtch has a MAC Address being on a particular port in its bridging table, it will only send traffic destined for that MAC Address and broadcast traffic out that port.

Hubs have no bridging table, and repeat all traffic out all ports except the one they receive it on, always.

[Invisible§niper]

We should be careful in our use of the term broadcast. A hub repeats all traffic heard from one port out all other ports. A switch only sends 'broadcast' traffic out all ports except the one it comes in on. In this case, the term broadcast refers to a particular type of network traffic which is sent to all listening hosts in a particular 'broadcast domain'. Once a swtch has a MAC Address being on a particular port in its bridging table, it will only send traffic destined for that MAC Address and broadcast traffic out that port.

Hubs have no bridging table, and repeat all traffic out all ports except the one they receive it on, always.

I know that it doesn't ever say "Smart Hub" or "Active Hub" on the box when you buy one so how do you tell them apart?

[homecomputeraid]

Don't get a hub, get a switch.

[Invisible§niper]

Don't get a hub, get a switch.

I have already done the oposite of what you said, and I bought a hub. But the hub is a gigabit hub, and it has flashing lights on the front, I have heard that if it has flashing lights it is a smart hub, is that true?

[Scarecrow Man]

A switch is a smart hub. The flashing lights just indicate traffic is moving across the interface. As HomeComputerAid suggested above: Do not get a hub, get a switch. this site will give you more information.

Basically a hub shares the bandwidth, and coincidentaly collision domains, whereas a switch does not.

A hub will work well in a small network situation, but if the amount of traffic is high, the hub will start dropping packets and you will get collisions. A switch

To answer your question above:

"And all, (correct me if I'm wrong), routers are also a type of firewall, which is actually a lot safer then having an application firewall(e.g Norton). Most routers have a webpage setup built into it, which you can configure lots of different options."

In a way, yes. Most routers use NAT (Network Address Translation). This means the router will assign an internal IP address to all connected devices, such as 192.168.1.100. These address ranges are not usable on the internet.

What happens is your ISP provides you with an IP address. Your router takes that address and assigns it to the WAN port as an external address. The LAN ports of your router are assigned internal IP addresses. The router uses NAT to decipher which 192.168.1.x IP address requested a packet from the outside world. If the packet is unsolicited, it is dropped.

This means if someone sends you a packet of information without you asking for it (a hacker attempting to scan your computer) it will be dropped and you appear invisible.

This is not a firewall.