What is the difference between a hub and a router?
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What is the difference between a hub and a router?
A hub broadcasts all network data it receives to everything on the network.
A router is used to connect multiple machines to an internet connection with increased control.
You're kinda comparing apples and oranges. The two serve different functions. Did you maybe want to know the difference between a hub and a switch? The answer to that, put as basically as possible, would be that a switch is "smarter" than a hub, as it can manage its connections, as a hub broadcasts everything like an idiot. The difference does go a lot deeper than that, though. They function on different "layers" of the network.
not that this answers the origional question, but expanding on stflook's info about hubs and switches. With a switch, a connected computer can have the whole line to itself.
pro: you can full duplex through a switch
con: you can't sniff packets, but this can be a pro if you want security. ehem.
so i suppose switches are just better all around.
You may want to be asking 'what is the difference between a hub and a switch'... like stflook said, a hub broadcasts all data it recieves to everyone else on the network, where a switch sends it only to the proper location.
-----edit------
My bad - looks like someone already said that :)
Lets make this easy. I have two computors. I have the cable modem in one room and a router. The router lets me use the cable modem for both computors. For more detail on how it hooks up read on...
The way a router works is the ethernet network card hooks into the back of the router. All computors you want to have cable or dsl on need a wire streched to it and into the router. The router then hooks into the modem itself. So it goes...
Comoutor/s - Router - Cable/Dsl Modem
Understand? Good! No? Well lets look a little further.
The router does nothing more than splice the modems connection into however many computor you want it to go to. I have a 4 port router, meaning I can hook 4 comoutor in it without needing more hardware. You can of course get over 200 hooked up to just 1 modem. It only takes a little extra equipment.
Now you may be wondering..."If the router connects more than one computor than why arn't they networked?" Well thats because none of the computors are actually lined together. They are all hooked into 1 small machine (or more depending on how many comoutors you have).
You also may be thinking..."Wont all those computors wear that poor little modem out?" Dont under estimate the power of the poor little modem. Your connection may be slightly slowered but not by much. So dont worry about that.
Wow! All I need is to buy a modem and cheap router! Hold on a sec. Who said anything about cheap? Those tiny little routers cost $100 or more. The 4 port router I have cost $99 alone. That does not include the extra cost for wires. And dont forget the little thing you need. An ISP. Those arn't cheap. Expecially for cable or dsl.
Got anymore questions? Did one of us answer it?
Well that was a router. I have no idea on hubs. I am sure that was enough on ruoter to help you understand though.
i'm taking a course on some of this stuff right now,
a hub: takes info/data into any of it's ports and sends it out all the others. simple way of connecting 2+ computers
router: allows 2+ different networks/subnets to send data to each other, computers can't send data to a different network/subnet on their own, not normaly anyway
routers also pick the best/quickest path to the computer you want, most of the time...
I've heard an interesting simple explanation of a router.
A router basically acts as a guarded border between a network and the internet/another network. It keeps the inside shtuff inside, and keeps the outside shtuff outside.
In small networks a HUB may be enough but when it's more then say 5 machines then a switch would better, network traffic goes smoother and there are less collisions so less resetting.