question what is the difference between these 2 pieces?

[philiparcario]

I had a router from d-link cable modem in 4 enter-net out. needed more a fifth I purchased a switcher from d-link.

8 ports. here are the two pieces of gear.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127060&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Network+-+Routers+/+Remote-_-D-Link-_-33127060


on sale for 70 at newegg.




http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127082&cm_re=d_link_switch-_-33-127-082-_-Product



this is 44 bucks. my modem died via a lightening strike yesterday. i had a busy day. so my old setup was modem to router to switcher. the switcher was the addon. now today i hooked up modem to switcher puller the router out. all 3 macs seem to work ..so why it the router more money and what can it do the switcher can't?
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2010 Mm 2.4 C2D oem 320gb hdd 8gb ram
2012Mm base 2.5 with 16gb ram diy fusion drive
2012Mm quad with 8gb ram oem 1tb hdd

promise pegasus r6 3x 3tb + 3x 4tb =21tb hdds
lacie little big disk 2x 512gb ssds
synology 2tb disk station

[fuentecigar]

A router is a much more sophisticated device and does a better job of preventing collisions of data. I am not good at explaining, so this might be better:

[philiparcario]

thank you
_________________
2010 Mm 2.4 C2D oem 320gb hdd 8gb ram
2012Mm base 2.5 with 16gb ram diy fusion drive
2012Mm quad with 8gb ram oem 1tb hdd

promise pegasus r6 3x 3tb + 3x 4tb =21tb hdds
lacie little big disk 2x 512gb ssds
synology 2tb disk station

[fuentecigar]

You are quite welcome. I just bought this one about 3 weeks ago.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/NETGEAR+-+RangeMax+Dual-Band+Wireless-N+Router+with+4-Port+Ethernet+Switch/8669915.p?id=1197074537600&skuId=8669915
Easiest router I ever set up. I haven't had to reboot it yet. I had a D-Link that had gotten a little squirrelly. It would get so hot that it was uncomfortable to the touch. So, I chunked it.
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Mac Book 2.1 Ghz (Penryn) 10.6.7 4Gb DDR2
Mac Mini 1.66 Ghz 10.6.7 2Gb DDR2
KF5EYR

[Cypher]

If it's internal traffic only then a switch will do you, but to join an external network such as the Internet then you need a router. Typically the router will add additional features to those found on a switch such as a NAT firewall and also a DHCP server to issue ip addresses to your local machines. A router normally includes an integrated switch. The switch portion handles the local traffic and the router portion allows all the machines on the local system to share the Internet connection. If you need more ports than the router provides you can connect additional switches on the local network.
_________________
Phil

Mac Mini 2.53GHz - iMac 2.0Ghz - Macbook Pro 2.4GHz - iPad 1 32GB 3G
6TB Netgear Ready NAS NV+ - 6TB Drobo S

[JohnnyBoy]

Just out of interest, I have the router supplied by BT (my phone company/ISP) which combines an ADSL modem with a 100mbps hub.

Here's someone else's photo of the back of one of these "Home Hubs"...



If I wanted to link a couple of machines at gigabit speeds, would I have to replace the BT unit with a gigabit router, or could a (cheaper) gigabit hub be connected to the modem in the existing router?

(I know that it would be easier/cheaper to connect the two Macs directly to each other and access the router using Wi-Fi, but I'm still curious as to whether hubs can be connected to routers...)
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Intel Mini 2.0GHz C2D (4GB/120GB/SuperDrive/10.5.8 ), 120GB WD Passport, Logitech ergo k/b
iPod Touch (32GB, 3rd gen), iPod Shuffle (512MB, 1st gen)

[Cypher]

You can connect a Gigabit switch to one of the 4 yellow ports on that router. Thats how I have mine set up.

I have a Belkin router which includes a 4 port 100mbps switch. Into that I connect a Netgear Gigabit switch into which all my Mac's & the NAS connect giving me faster speeds on that portion of the network. I plug my slower network printer directly into the Belkin.
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Phil

Mac Mini 2.53GHz - iMac 2.0Ghz - Macbook Pro 2.4GHz - iPad 1 32GB 3G
6TB Netgear Ready NAS NV+ - 6TB Drobo S

[Cypher]

BTW Hubs are old technology now and rarely used. A Switch is an intelligent version of a Hub.

A HUB just sends the data it receives out to every connected port as it has no idea where any related equipment is connected. This causes collisions on the network and slows down the network.

A SWITCH initially works as a hub until it learns which equipment is connect on it's various ports. Once it's learnt that, it will then only send the messages down the ports it knows are correct, avoiding the collisions which would otherwise have occurred which greatly speeds up the network

A ROUTER is again another step on from a switch and can route the message path between networks, it can also make more intelligent decisions such as which internal address an external message was intended for.
_________________
Phil

Mac Mini 2.53GHz - iMac 2.0Ghz - Macbook Pro 2.4GHz - iPad 1 32GB 3G
6TB Netgear Ready NAS NV+ - 6TB Drobo S

[philiparcario]

okay so I will use my 4 port router to my 3 macs the last port to my switch. the switch to my nas device and my wifes work computer. all my gear is 10/100/1000 capable. this is a different setup then i had but should be good.
_________________
2010 Mm 2.4 C2D oem 320gb hdd 8gb ram
2012Mm base 2.5 with 16gb ram diy fusion drive
2012Mm quad with 8gb ram oem 1tb hdd

promise pegasus r6 3x 3tb + 3x 4tb =21tb hdds
lacie little big disk 2x 512gb ssds
synology 2tb disk station

[philiparcario]

follow up new setting works fine
_________________
2010 Mm 2.4 C2D oem 320gb hdd 8gb ram
2012Mm base 2.5 with 16gb ram diy fusion drive
2012Mm quad with 8gb ram oem 1tb hdd

promise pegasus r6 3x 3tb + 3x 4tb =21tb hdds
lacie little big disk 2x 512gb ssds
synology 2tb disk station

[JohnnyBoy]