Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

[Mark42]

I have been connecting 3 pc's to a router by connecting the pc's to a Linksys 5 port hub (EFAH05W) then connecting the hub to the router via the uplink port. The router has the broadband connection, and at gives the PC's access to the internet.

I noticed that when all the pc were on at once, the lights on the hub were all on together, and performance was slower than just one PC on at a time.

Also read that switches are better than hubs for routing signals. So I found a used Linksys Switch (EZXS55W) on ebay for $9.95 and free shipping (they sell for about $30 new). So I ordered one, it came this morning and I just replaced the hub with the new switch.

Now all 3 PC's are running internet connections and HOLY COW!!! What a difference! No more bottle neck at the hub, these PC's are running together like each has its own internet connection.

So, if you have an older hub in your system, change it out for a newer switch and get the better performance.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

So does this switch take the place of a router or do you still have to have a router also?

 

[Mark42]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

A router is still needed. The house was wired w/Cat5e a few years ago and the cables all come to the basement office. But with my new Mobile Broadband intenet connection, the router must be upstairs on the second floor. So I only have one cable running from the second floor to the basement. The switch allows me to connect the computers to the switch in the basement, then use the one single line to the router upstairs.

It would be best to connect directly to the router, and that is the way it was with the IDSN connection, where the router was in the basement.

The switch just keeps me from having to run 2 or 3 new cables throught the house.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

All the machines in the basement?
Am I missing something?

 

[Mark42]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

The the PC's are in different rooms, but the cables go from the kitchen to the basement, from the family room to the basement, from the bedroom to the basement. All the cables terminate in the basement where the router used to be. Now with the router on the second floor, it doesn't work for the existing cabling setup.

 

[tommays]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

i have 8 wired ports around the house and wireless to roam

When i re-rocked the basement it would have been foolish NOT to run the cables


Tommays

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

So do the end at the second floor now?

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

The reason I ask is that I am in a cubicle like set up here at home and I have 1 machine I am on and I can swing around and be on another and still turn to my left and hit the laptop if need be.
So really all I need is a router then as the switch really would not do me any good.
Is this the right track of thinking?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

I have been connecting 3 pc's to a router by connecting the pc's to a Linksys 5 port hub (EFAH05W) then connecting the hub to the router via the uplink port. The router has the broadband connection, and at gives the PC's access to the internet.

I noticed that when all the pc were on at once, the lights on the hub were all on together, and performance was slower than just one PC on at a time.

Also read that switches are better than hubs for routing signals. So I found a used Linksys Switch (EZXS55W) on ebay for $9.95 and free shipping (they sell for about $30 new). So I ordered one, it came this morning and I just replaced the hub with the new switch.

Now all 3 PC's are running internet connections and HOLY COW!!! What a difference! No more bottle neck at the hub, these PC's are running together like each has its own internet connection.

So, if you have an older hub in your system, change it out for a newer switch and get the better performance.

WOW! What some people do for a faster and better iboats dedication

I have gotten spoiled at work since I am running T1 and at home my DSL seem slow to me!

 

[Xcusme]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

The reason I ask is that I am in a cubicle like set up here at home and I have 1 machine I am on and I can swing around and be on another and still turn to my left and hit the laptop if need be.
So really all I need is a router then as the switch really would not do me any good.
Is this the right track of thinking?

Pretty much right, but it depends....If you have a broadband ISP (cable or DSL) you really should have a router. The router has a built-in switch, does the routing of signals and does the NAT routing to the computers connected to it. It also acts as a hard firewall to keep your computers protected from the Web nasties. Both a switch or a router allow you to file share and share printers.

 

[v1_0]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

I think that the hub only runs in half duplex mode - where switches are full duplex.

Also, the hub simply takes the 'input' and echos it to all the ports. The switch takes the 'input' and directs it to the one port that it should go to.

Those things certainly improve the performance of a switch vs a hub.

The 'router' has yet more functionality. For the home network the important functions would be NAT (Network Address Translation), probably a hardware firewall (statefull packet inspection can be had), and usually a DHCP server. [Unless you are using static IPs].

You probably aren't using the router as a router - but more like a gateway, as most homes don't have the need for routing (different segments, etc).

-V

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

Yea, I just use it to hook the 3 machines up to get online when I want to.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

http://www.duxcw.com/faq/network/hubsw.htm

 

[jsfinn]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

A hub takes a data packet and broadcasts it to all of the machines on the network. The machine that the packet is destine for receives it, processes it, and sends data back to the hub broadcasting it to machines once again, over and over... not very efficient.

A switch is smart enough to know what machine is plugged in to what port so it only sends data packets to the proper machine, reducing a lot of traffic.

If you have the option, a switch is almost always the right way to go. There are only a few rare cases anymore why you would need a hub instead of a switch.

Also, almost all modern routers have at least a 4 port switch built in to the back of them.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

I don't know how I ended up with a hub. Linksys doesn't even make the hub I have anymore, and its probably less than 5 years old.

Wireless keeps getting faster every year. Not too much longer before wireless is as fast as the 200Mbps wired connections. Right now, the wireless setup I have for the laptop is running 54Mbps, much faster than even the fastest Cable or DSL connections. So I'm not going to re-wire, I'll just add wireless card to any PC where I don't have a cable now.

I do have a ethernet cable between the two PC's that share video files. Even at 200Mbps, moving a 10 gig file from one pc to the other still takes about 7 minutes!!! Thats a long time when you're sitting there waiting for it to finish!

 

[orion25]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

I don't know how I ended up with a hub. Linksys doesn't even make the hub I have anymore, and its probably less than 5 years old.

Wireless keeps getting faster every year. Not too much longer before wireless is as fast as the 200Mbps wired connections. Right now, the wireless setup I have for the laptop is running 54Mbps, much faster than even the fastest Cable or DSL connections. So I'm not going to re-wire, I'll just add wireless card to any PC where I don't have a cable now.

I do have a ethernet cable between the two PC's that share video files. Even at 200Mbps, moving a 10 gig file from one pc to the other still takes about 7 minutes!!! Thats a long time when you're sitting there waiting for it to finish!

But...... If any of your computers are wired to the router and you do computer to computer file transfers you should get a gigabit switch. I have a Linksys Wireless G router that takes my cable modem's output. Connected to the router is a 5 port Netgear Gigabit switch. Connected to the netgear are my main computer, a Linux box that I toy with and a Western Digital NAS. I use the NAS for backups of my main computer. The speed of the backups kicks *****. Basically I have given all of my wired computers gigabit access to all my other wired computers and still have wireless access. I only use the wireless during the warmer months when I want to have a cigar on the patio and still browse the iboats forums!

By the way, all of my wired computers have gigabit ethernet ports. I have never heard of a 200Mbps port. All I have ever heard of are 10, 100 or 1000 Mbps ports...............

As stated before, switches are faster than hubs. There is a reason that Cisco does not deal in hubs!

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

I'm tellin' ya, sharing more than a hundred fiber lines with less than 30 people is the way to go...

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

My head hurts.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Hub vs Switch.... Go with the switch!!!!

By the way, all of my wired computers have gigabit ethernet ports. I have never heard of a 200Mbps port. All I have ever heard of are 10, 100 or 1000 Mbps ports...............

Your right, it is listed as 100, but considering its actually duplex, it's rated 200 duplex. And thats about as much as I know about it.