I had a whole section about civic pride.

Mayor ,'Chosen'


Buffistechnology 2: You Made Her So She Growls?  

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Betsy HP - Jan 30, 2005 12:18:59 pm PST #1453 of 10003
If I only had a brain...

Could somebody explain to me in words of one syllable the difference between a switch, a hub, and a router?

Ta ever so.


tommyrot - Jan 30, 2005 12:22:36 pm PST #1454 of 10003
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

I'll take a stab at two: A hub is just used to network a group of computers together. A router is used to connect two different networks together - essentially it is a member of both networks, and forwards data from one network to the other when appropriate. A common example might be a router that's in your network and also (one of) your ISP's network(s)....


§ ita § - Jan 30, 2005 12:24:59 pm PST #1455 of 10003
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

Could somebody explain to me in words of one syllable the difference between a switch, a hub, and a router?

No. I mean, router has two, right there. But if you'll allow a couple more, here goes:

They are, in order of increasing complexity hub -> switch -> router.

A hub doesn't do much. It's like a splitter. Whatever comes in one pipe, goes out all the other. A switch is a little more complex. It knows enough to only send stuff down my wire that's supposed to get to me. It makes it more like I'm getting the full pipe -- I am, but not all the time. With a hub, everyone's data is in the pipe all the time. With the switch, sometimes it's all mine, sometimes I have no access at all.

A router is a switch that sits at the junction of two networks. So traffic in network A stays on the A side, unless it's specifically intended for network B, or vice versa. The device connected to my cable modem is a router, for those reasons.

Or those used to be the definitions. In today's world of convergence, I think hub is becoming an umbrella term, perhaps because so few of the bare bones hubs are used, compared to five or ten years ago.


Tom Scola - Jan 30, 2005 12:40:36 pm PST #1456 of 10003
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.

Tom Scola - Jan 30, 2005 12:46:23 pm PST #1457 of 10003
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.

Connecting all your computers to a hub is like giving them all one party line. Giving them a switch is like giving them each their own line.


Betsy HP - Jan 30, 2005 12:47:37 pm PST #1458 of 10003
If I only had a brain...

Thanks!


Tom Scola - Jan 30, 2005 12:48:34 pm PST #1459 of 10003
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.

A router is what lets your computers find other computers on the Internet.


Theodosia - Jan 30, 2005 5:15:09 pm PST #1460 of 10003
'we all walk this earth feeling we are frauds. The trick is to be grateful and hope the caper doesn't end any time soon"

Anybody can hook me up to a torrent of the latesst JLU episode? Somehow it was missed by the TiVos, probably because of roommate interference. t sigh


le nubian - Jan 30, 2005 5:16:29 pm PST #1461 of 10003
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."

JLU?


Dana - Jan 30, 2005 5:16:56 pm PST #1462 of 10003
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.

Justice League: Unlimited.