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Switch Vs. Hub

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by lgldsr

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Can someone please tell me briefly what the difference is between a Switch and a Hub?

Thank you!

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by nt4.0mcse

a switch isolates network traffic to the port where the traffic originates and to the port the host that is being accessed is connected (ie 8 port switch, host 1 on port 2 talking to host 30 on port 6 sends traffic from port 2 to port 6, hosts on other ports do not see this traffic allowing the fight for the network bandwidth on there ports only.) A hub does not isolate between ports and all hosts see all traffic (ie 8 port hub, host 1 on port 2 talking to host 30 on port 6 sends traffic acrossall ports, hosts on other ports see this traffic making the fight for the network bandwidth a longer and slower wait.) A switch is usually a better fit by default BUT ++++ if you have an older network system ie VAX/VMS it has major issues with certain tools, apps, processes...

by ebob

A hub doesn't distinguish among the systems plugged into it.

So when A tries to send to B, a hub just sends the packets out to all ports, and lets the systems figure out who owns it.

A switch however makes a quick mental note of the physical (MAC) address of A, so when B replies to A, the switch just forwards the packet to A, and doesn't bother sending to all the systems on the Ethernet. Oh, and of course, the switch has now learned on which port B is connected, and so can now direct traffic for B simply up that port.

There are other things switches do, with the end result that performance is greatly increased.

Switches also have "extended" functionality. The most common tool is implementing VLans, which are analogous to subnets, but are assembled at the MAC/physical address level, not the network address level of subnets. VLans can be made up of ports on different switches. VLans are often implemented to manage resources, control access (as in "security"), and so on.

BTW: for your first switch, don't worry about VLans, just plug it in and go.

by jj.dyer

I have a peer-to-peer network connecting my Windows XP machine and my Windows ME machine and I'm having difficulty sharing the resources AND my DSL internet connection on the XP machine. Someone mentioned that if I had a hub, I might have better luck.

What is a good resource for an explanation of hubs, switches and routers and how to use them on a peer-to-peer network.

Thanks,

John

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