Switch and router what is the difference??

[RoadrunnerNBiggs]

Hey fellas. So I went to a job interview and was asked a lot of questions on networking and as I was answering I kind of confused myself in the process. The question is what is a switch and what is a router, and how are they different???

I know that switches are better than hubs, and switches can be connected to a router just to add more ports so more computers can be connected onto the LAN; however, are there any other differences??? Which is more secure? Do they both do the same things? If I had a switch, is it necessary that I have a router as well??

 

[carnageX]

This is going to be a good definition for each:
The Difference Between a Hub, Switch and Router - Webopedia.com

Also goes into the differences between them.

 

[DistraughtSysop]

In addition to the above link, I suggest reading up on the layers of the OSI model (you'll find a million websites on it through a simple google search). Learning the fundamental concepts of networking will help you make sense of the different networking devices - for example, hubs, switches and routers all operate on different layers. Once you understand what the different layers do you'll see how big of a difference it is.

 

[SubliminalX7]

In addition to the above link, I suggest reading up on the layers of the OSI model (you'll find a million websites on it through a simple google search). Learning the fundamental concepts of networking will help you make sense of the different networking devices - for example, hubs, switches and routers all operate on different layers. Once you understand what the different layers do you'll see how big of a difference it is.

I second this

 

[RoadrunnerNBiggs]

Thanks guys the link really helped!