What is the difference between a router with a switch and a switch?

Question

I have three computers and an xbox at home and I am trying tie all of them into the internet. They don't need to be networked all have separate printers, just need internet. I have a switch with eight ports however I also have a router with a four port switch. Which would be best and what is the difference?

Answer 1

A router/switch is made to share the internet connection, a switch is just to network devices together. You want a router I'd imagine...

Answer 2

The routers you buy in stores like Best Buy are routers because they have a special port for connecting to the cable or DSL modem usually called the WAN or Internet port.  A switch does not have this special port for connecting to the modem.

Routers, in terms of home use, is what enables you do share an Internet connection with multiple devices at no additional cost.  A switch does not have the software that allows you to do that.

Switches are used for expanding the number of wired devices that connect to the Internet or home network.

Answer 3

Switches are usually designed to accommodate multiple computers in large network groups, around 8 or more computers on one switch. Routers usually include a couple of ports for direct connections to the network instead of going wireless. Basically, a router combines the comfort of a direct connection to the network, but also with wireless capabilities. There is no better one, but since you only have three computers and an XBOX, I would recommend you choose the router, just for more convenience.

Answer 4

a router routes traffic in the network, the switch is used to add devices, you can daisy chain switches if needed, but to communicate over a lan or internet with multiple computers you will have to have a router.

Answer 5

All routers are switches, but not all switches are routers, kind of like geometry when u learned all squares are retangles but not all rectangles are squares.

Router - when you have a network, each computer on that network needs an IP Adress, any piece of hardware on a network that has its own IP Adress is called a node. What the router does is give each node a uniquie IP Adress. In the Router software there is software to make the router a DHCP server. It's that DHCP function that is able to give each node its own IP Adress. Most routers will give IP Adress of 192.168.?.?. The 192.168.?.? means that that number is not routable over the internet, and is only an internal IP Adress. When you connect to the internet, your ISP will give u some IP Adress. The router will convert the IP Adress it gives each node back to the IP Adress from your ISP and thats how you connect to the internet with a non routable IP Adress. Also most routers have a built in hardware firewall thats different from a software firewall you install on your computer. So even if you just have 1 computer, its a good idea to use a router, instead of plugging your computer directly to the cable or dsl modem. In the router setup there is an option to diable the DHCP service, when you disable this service it is then a switch and no longer a router.

A Switch - Just gives you additional ports to plug an ethernet cable to when you run out of ports on the router.

There is also a 3rd device called a Hub, I do not think they make hups anymore, but just as all routers are switches, but not all switches are routers, all switches are hubs, but not all hubs are switches. The difference between a hub and a switch is simple. On a switch each port has a dedicated speed regarless of how many nodes are connected to it. With a hub the more nodes connected the slower it becomes.

if you want to all 3 computers to connect to the internet you need to use a router.