What are the differences between broadband router and
Ethernet switch?
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Answer Posted / ramesh m
Most broadband routers (“routers” for short) are a
combination Ethernet switch (or hub) and Network Address
Translator (NAT; see below). They usually include a
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, Domain
Name Service (DNS) proxy server (see below), and a hardware
firewall to protect the Local Area Network (LAN) from
malicious intrusion from the Internet.
All routers have a Wide Area Network (WAN) Port. This port
connects to the to a DSL or cable MODEM for broadband
service (e.g., the Internet) and is usually a 10 MHz
10BASET Ethernet port. A 10 MHz WAN port is sufficient for
cable and DSL MODEMs as these devices transfer data at rate
that is a fraction of 10 MHz. I have seen no broadband
routers with a USB WAN port to connect to a USB cable or
DSL MODEM.
Many recent broadband routers are combination
routers/Ethernet switch (or hub) that have multiple
Ethernet ports to connect more than one PC to form a LAN.
These ports allow the PCs to share the WAN port/broadband
Internet connection and perform LAN functions, such as
Windows file and printer sharing. The LAN ports are usually
100 MHz 100 BASE-TX Ethernet.
Some routers have a single WAN port and a single LAN port
and are designed to connect to an existing LAN hub or
switch to a WAN.
Ethernet switches and hubs can be connected to router with
multiple PC ports to expand a LAN. Depending on the
capabilities (kinds of available ports) of the router and
the switches or hubs, the connection between the router and
switches/hubs may require straight-thru or crossover cables
(http://duxcw.com/digest/Howto/network/cable/cable1.htm).
See “What is an uplink port and what are the ways to
connect two hubs/switches together?” at
http://duxcw.com/faq/network/uplink.htm for details.
Some routers have ports for USB connections to computers on
a LAN. Some have wireless LAN capabilities.
In addition to a WAN port, broadband routers, such as the
SMC Barricade routers
(http://duxcw.com/digest/Reviews/Network/smc/smc7004br/smc70
04br.htm), may have a serial port that can be connected to
an external dial-up MODEM (useful as a backup for the cable
of DSL service) and a built in LAN printer server and
printer port.
A router DHCP server provides local Internet Protocol (IP)
Addresses
(http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q164/0/15.
asp; e.g., 192.168.02, 192.168,.0.2,…) to PC’s, etc. on the
LAN set to obtain their IP addresses automatically. These
DHCP servers can usually be configured to allow assignment
of static IP addresses to PCs and other devices on the
LAN. A router-borne DNS proxy handles Internet name
resolution requests form PCs on the LAN to the ISPs DNS
servers to translate names of computers on the Internet to
IP addresses (e.g., duxcw.com to 216.92.56.121). The NAT
function in the broadband router allows sharing a single IP
address provided by the Internet Service Provider with PCs
connected directly to the router/switch or to hub or switch
connected to the router by mapping local LAN IP addresses
(assigned by the DHCP server or static IPs on the same
TCP/IP subnet) to Internet IP addresses and vice versa and
translating the address information in the TCP/IP protocol
packets.
Besides the inherent protection features provided by the
NAT, many routers have a built-in, configurable, hardware-
based firewall. Firewall capabilities can range from the
very basic to quite sophisticated. Among the capabilities
found on leading routers are those that permit configuring
TCP/UDP ports (http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-
numbers) for games, chat services, and the like, and
installing web servers, etc. on the LAN behind the firewall.
In short, a hub glues together an Ethernet network segment,
a switch can connect multiple Ethernet segments, and a
router can do those functions plus route TCP/IP packets
between multiple PCs on LAN and a WAN, and much more.
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