switch or router?

Yes, you can use a switch without a router. Most folks who use a router at home for two things, primarily to share a net connection and secondly as a firewall.

DLink makes fairly good switches IMO. But, you can get them for free (not including sales tax) if you look for deals. I used to swap out my switched router every time a new freebie came up (and sell the "old" one on eBay).

Quote from Kicking:

I need to get a switch to connect my 2 PC's to one cable coming from the router placed in another room.
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Don't confuse a cable modem with a router.

If you have broadband over cable, then you have a cable modem. The coax line comes in from your wall to the cable modem. That is not a router, as far as I have ever heard, although there is no reason they could not add a router to the cable modem. You'd probably have to pay more for this tho.

And you will either need a router or a specially configured computer that acts as a router to share a net connection between two PCs.
 
Quote from TGregg:

And you will either need a router or a specially configured computer that acts as a router to share a net connection between two PCs.
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Confused. It's not for file sharing but to split the ADSL cable. The router is not necessary then?
 
Quote from Kicking:

Confused. It's not for file sharing but to split the ADSL cable. The router is not necessary then?
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Yes. If you have one internet connection, then you either need a router to share it or configure a Windows machine (XP and Windows 2K can do internet connection sharing, I believe plus you need to NICs). A router will be faster tho.
 
I have split a cable connection with a hub before (just plugged RJ45 from modem into hub and ran 2 cables from hub ). I thought a switch was the same thing only better. Shouldn't I get a hub then?
 
Assuming ur setup is as follows:

-----(coaxel or phone line)--> cable modem (or dsl modem) --->

---(network cable)----->
router -----> first computer
|
|-----> second computer
|
|-----> switch ---> third computer
.................|------> fourth computer

then yeah you can use a hub, or a switch, or a router. its all okay. Howver i would not recommend a hub there can be potentially data collision in a hub. It is not a big deal or anything, and if performance isnt a priority, a hub is okay to go. But i would still recommend a switch if you are not looking to save every penny.
 
Here is what I want to use it for in the present situation:

phone line ---- D LINK router (already installed) ----- (hub/switch)-

-------PC 1
-------PC 2

I want to buy something that can be used on this setup

coaxial------cable modem-- (hub/switch)

------ PC1
-------PC2
-----(PC3)



wHAT'S better a switch or a hub? Can I use a switch at all in the 2 configurations or it will be useless in the second unless I also get a router?
 
in the second case you must get a router. this is because you are connecting the cable modem to it. a router is essentially a swtich that also can connect with the internet.

(A switch on the other hand is jsut for internal networks, or a LAN, like the one u can set up in your home or office. And a hub is like a super dumb switch, i wouldnt recommend those period really).

seeing how you might need some flexibility, in this case i would recommend a router. the good news is that they are cheap. the bad news is, well, i cant think of any bad news really :-P . so yah get a router. :-)
 
I was able to share an internet connection with a $30 hub, no router was necessary . Like I said, one modem; plugged the cable from the modem in the uplink port , plugged 2 RJ45 in the other ports and voila! How come I can't do that with a switch, supposedly better.

Also now I read a switch "switches" the bandwith from one PC to another , hence it's better than a hub which just shares the bandwith. OK but each of my 2 PC's run separate RT quote applications, I don't want one to have its bandwith turned off for the other or am I missing something here?
 
Oh, okay yeah you can use a hub if you purchased multiple IP addresses from your ISP (hehe it's been a while since I've encountered someoen that did that however so it escaped my mind). So yes, if you have multiple IP addresses, then yah a hub or switch will work. However, I still recommend using a router, since the price differential is minimal (if at all).

The difference between a switch and a hub is that a switch is capable of handling multiple communications between the computers, whereas a hub can only handle one packet at any given time. Like i said, its hard to tell the difference, but there is a slight performance hit. A router is specifically designed to function as a bridge between the internet and a LAN (which is your lil home network). You do not need multiple IP addresses with a router (the fact that you have them is no problem, and with some programs that absolutely demand a sole IP address I guess that its a bonus, however I can think of very few circumstances where that will be a significant advantage, as most new routers can handle VPNs and anyhting else. on top of that, routers come equipped with security stuff like firewalls and the like that help protect ur network.

But if you want a switch then that should work, a hub will work but i really would not recommend using a hub, and a router will work also. The price differnces between all three is small however.
 
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