Switching: Difference between revisions
→Basics
(→VLAN) |
(→Basics) |
||
Line 2:
=Basics=
==Differences between Hub, Bridge, Switch and Router==
;Hub
*A Hub is the simplest of these devices.
*In general, a hub is the central part of a wheel where the spokes come together.
*Hubs cannot filter data so data packets are sent to all connected devices/computers and do not have intelligence to find out best path for data packets.
*This leads to inefficiencies and wastage.
*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.
*Hubs are used on small networks where data transmission is not very high.
;Bridge
*In telecommunication networks, a bridge is a product that connects a local area network (LAN) to another local area network that uses the same protocol.
*Having a single incoming and outgoing port and filters traffic on the LAN by looking at the MAC address, bridge is more complex than hub.
*Bridge looks at the destination of the packet before forwarding unlike a hub.
*It restricts transmission on other LAN segment if destination is not found.
*A bridge works at the data-link (physical network) level of a network, copying a data frame from one network to the next network along the communications path.bridge vs router
;Switch
*A switch when compared to bridge has multiple ports.
*Switches can perform error checking before forwarding data, which are very efficient by not forwarding packets that error-end out or forwarding good packets selectively to correct devices only.
*Switches can support both layer 2 (based on MAC Address) and layer 3 (Based on IP address) depending on the type of switch.
*Usually large networks use switches instead of hubs to connect computers within the same subnet.
;Router
*A router, like a switch forwards packets based on address. Usually, routers use the IP address to forward packets, which allows the network to go across different protocols.
*Routers forward packets based on software while a switch (Layer 3 for example) forwards using hardware called ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuits).
*Routers support different WAN technologies but switches do not.
*Besides, wireless routers have access point built in.
*The most common home use for routers is to share a broadband Internet connection.
*As the router has a public IP address which is shared with the network, when data comes through the router, it is forwarded to the correct computer.
==VLAN ==
| |||