From: Cliff Sarginson <cliff@raggedclown.net> Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 09:07:28 GMT Message-Id: <E14BvVY-0009va-00@post.mail.nl.demon.net> Subject: Re: [SLE] [OT] Hub vs. Switch
At 06:29 PM 12/28/2000, you wrote:
Perhaps someone can give me a straight answer to this. What is best to use for a medium sized, 100mbit, possibly heavy used network? Hubs or switches?
A switch is better. In your case a switch maybe better. Depends what you mean by heavy.
Also, can someone *please* explain to me what a switch is, what it does, and how it differs from a hub, and if there are any problems with using switches directly in place of hubs (except for cost.)
A plain hub is a passive device. If Computer A sends data packets addressed to Computer D, the plain hub will simply forward the data packets to all the computers and/or any network segments connected to the hub. This creates traffic and slows down the network.
A switch hub is an intelligent device. If Computer A sends data packets addressed to Computer D, the switch can look at each packet's address and forward the packets to the correct computer or network segment. This reduces overall traffic and speeds up the network.
This is not really an accurate description. A hub or switch pushes packets onto the network that are picked up by the interface on the computer that matches the address of the packet. The switch does not send it to the correct computer per-se (ethernet does not work like that). The advantage of a switch over a hub is that you can segment your network. The switch can decide which segment a packet is destined for and only send it out on that, rather than on the whole network. This obviously can reduce network load, but you do need to carefully decide on your segmantation policy. There is no point putting all the busy computers in putting all the busy computers on one segment. The second advantage of a swicth is it allows you to overcome the distance limitations inherent in ethernets. Each segment can be as big as the maximum allowed for an ethernet. You cannot say switches are "better" than hubs per-se. They are better for your situation. They are a pointless waste of money for a home network with 5 computers on it. <p>Cliff