Drew Wutka
DWUTKA at marlow.com
Fri Oct 31 15:12:58 CST 2003
No. A switch and a router are two separate functions. Yes, you can have a device that is both, but it's like saying that a can opener is halfway between a knife and a tweezers. You can have all three on a swiss army knife, but their purposes are different. A hub connects computers together on a LAN/subnet. A switch is most closely related to a hub, because it's a 'smart' hub. Hubs don't think, they just connect, which puts more work on your network. A switch builds NAT tables, which allows it to more efficiently direct network traffic. A router on the other hand, takes information from one LAN/subnet, to another. When you look at your TCP/IP settings, there is nothing in there about what switches you are connected too (though some settings do effect the switches...such as fastconnect, etc.). However, you do have a router setting in there. It's the Gateway property. The gateway is the address your machine sends packets too that aren't on your local subnet. So, if you are on a LAN, with addresses of 192.168.0.1 through 192.168.0.255, and you are trying to send information to 192.168.1.5, the packets are sent immediately to the gateway address. The gateway is a router. It knows what IP's are on the subnets/LANs that it connects. If you tell it you want 192.168.1.5, and it doesn't see that address on the other 'side', it passes it to the next router down the line. The best comparison I can come up with, is something with fluid systems. If you have two fluid systems, of different pressures/vacuums, you can connect the two with a loop seal. A loop seal is a vertical loop of pipe, that is designed to be tall enough to allow the weight of the fluid to be pulled by gravity, maintaining the pressure difference between two systems. A switch and hub would be all of the piping on either system. The router would be that loop seal, because it connects the two systems without letting either affect the other. Drew -----Original Message----- From: Rocky Smolin - Beach Access Software [mailto:bchacc at san.rr.com] Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 11:59 AM To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving Subject: Re: [AccessD] OT: Wireless network (sort of) "but it's as close as I could think of without getting too technical." Thank you. Much appreciated. So a switch is like halfway between a hub and a router? Rocky ----- Original Message ----- From: "Frank Tanner III" <pctech at mybellybutton.com> To: "Access Developers discussion and problem solving" <accessd at databaseadvisors.com> Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 7:36 AM Subject: Re: [AccessD] OT: Wireless network (sort of) > A router and a switch are fundimentall different > things. > > A router does just that. It routes network traffic. > > A switch plays "traffic cop" for a network. > > Newer switches, especially the layer 3 and layer 4 > ones can perform both functions.This isn't an exact > definition, but it's as close as I could think of > without getting too technical. > > --- Rocky Smolin - Beach Access Software > <bchacc at san.rr.com> wrote: > > Is there a difference between a switch and a router? > > > > Rocky > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Frank Tanner III" <pctech at mybellybutton.com> > > To: "Access Developers discussion and problem > > solving" > > <accessd at databaseadvisors.com> > > Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 6:54 AM > > Subject: RE: [AccessD] OT: Wireless network (sort > > of) > > > > > > > I recommend "hardwiring" the IP address of any > > device > > > or server connected to your LAN that's not a > > > workstation and is virtually always on. > > > > > > For the price, I would also highly recommend > > removing > > > all hubs from your network and using them as > > > doorstops. Switches have come way down in price > > and > > > have many benifits over hubs. > > > > > > Hubs divide the bandwidth across all ports. Thus > > if > > > you have an 8-port 10-BaseT hub, all ports that > > are > > > processing data split that 10Mbit. A switch, each > > > port gets the fill bandwidth. > > > > > > That's not including the security issues inherent > > with > > > hubs as they broadcast all available data to all > > > available ports rather than to the proper > > destination > > > port. > > > > > > --- John Colby <jcolby at colbyconsulting.com> wrote: > > > > Yes, you can indeed daisy chain routers and > > > > SUPPOSEDLY hubs, though I had no > > > > joy doing that with my old hub. I am however > > daisy > > > > chaining my old 4 port > > > > router off of my new 4 port wireless router. > > The > > > > newer models even figure > > > > out what kind of cable you are using, crossover > > or > > > > regular. The biggest > > > > issue there was that the router was the dhcp > > server > > > > so I had to turn off the > > > > old as a dhcp server and turn on the new. I > > also > > > > hardwired the address of > > > > the old router to 192.168.1.2. Daisy Chaining > > two 4 > > > > port routers isn't a > > > > panacea however since you now end up using two > > ports > > > > just for the daisy > > > > chain and have 6 left. In my case though I also > > > > have a wireless so I can > > > > get my laptop in through that and could also get > > > > other computers in if > > > > needed. > > > > > > > > I have an old model I TIVO which I modded to use > > the > > > > internet to "call in" > > > > for programming. I had to snake a cable down > > the > > > > wall from the living room > > > > (luckily exactly over my office in the > > basement). I > > > > understand that the > > > > model II has USB ports that can automatically > > use > > > > the USB wireless cards to > > > > connect to the internet. > > > > > > > > John W. Colby > > > > www.colbyconsulting.com > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com > > > > [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com]On > > > > Behalf Of Rocky Smolin - > > > > Beach Access Software > > > > Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 8:33 AM > > > > To: Access Developers discussion and problem > > solving > > > > Subject: Re: [AccessD] OT: Wireless network > > (sort > > > > of) > > > > > > > > > > > > John: > > > > > > > > I heard that you can daisy chain hubs off one of > > the > > > > ports on your router to > > > > get more ports and that you can go up to 255 > > devices > > > > from one router this > > > > way. Seems to easy and cheap, though. > > > > > > > > I've also found that when creating a new network > > it > > > > sometimes takes a few > > > > minutes for the different shared devices to > > 'see' > > > > each other - especially on > > > > the wireless. So I'll whang around frustrated > > > > trying to get the network to > > > > work and then have the same experience you had - > > > > after a few minutes, > > > > suddenly the other machines are in my network > > > > neighborhood. Go figure. > > > > > > > > Rocky > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > > From: "John Colby" <jcolby at colbyconsulting.com> > > > > To: "Database Advisors Inc. (Tech)" > > > > <Dba-Tech at databaseadvisors.com>; > > > > "AccessD" <AccessD at databaseadvisors.com> > > > > Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2003 5:39 PM > > > > Subject: [AccessD] OT: Wireless network (sort > > of) > > > > > > > > > > > > > I ordered a Netgear MR814v2 Wireless router a > > > > couple of weeks ago. I > > > > needed > > > > > to expand my 4 port router (I had 5 things I > > kept > > > > needing to plug in) and > > > > > the Netgear was on sale at www.Newegg.com at > > the > > > > time. I then tried and > > > > > failed to install a linksys WPC11v2.5 I had > > laying > > > > around, so I ordered a > > > > > dlink dwl-650 that was on sale (rebate) at > > > > www.newegg.com. Long story > > > > > short, it didn't work. Long story a little > > > > longer, a very long call to > > > > > dlink tech support, did not solve the problem. > > > > > > > > > > Or maaaaaybe it did. After failing to figure > > > > anything out, they > > > > recommended > > > > > that I upgrade my laptop bios. It's an > > ancient > > > > (now) 233mhz PII Toshiba > > > > > Satellite 4000 that I bought with my first > > > > paycheck from my trip to work > > > > for > > > > > Mr. Breen in Dublin Ireland back in hmmm..... > > > > November 1997? Getting a > > > > bit > > > > > long in the tooth, truth be told. > > > > > > > > > > The bios upgrade and also the old "turn off > > NAV > > > > before installing etc. > > > > And > > > > > "oh by the way, our card requires at least a > > 300 > > > > mhz processor. So I > > > > > uninstalled, upgraded to the latest bios (May > > > > 2000?), turned off NAV, > > > > > reinstalled the drivers and re-installed the > > card. > > > > Still no joy. The > > > > site > > > > > survey showed no transmitters, and dlink tech > > > > support assured me that if > > > > > there was a transmitter I would see it > > regardless. > > > > > > > > > > Ignorant liars! > > > > > > > > > > Went back in and reconfigured the card in the > > > > laptop for channel 11 (it > > > > > defaulted to 3 and the router was on 11), > > played > > > > around with a couple of > > > > > other things and boom, I see a transmitter. > > Went > > > > in to the router config > > > > > page and changed the SSID and sure enough the > > > > thing I'm seeing on the > > > > laptop > > > > > changes to match! Still no connection though. > > > > > > > > > > Rebooted, played around some more and suddenly > > (no > > > === message truncated === > > _______________________________________________ > AccessD mailing list > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > _______________________________________________ AccessD mailing list AccessD at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com