Hubs, Routers, and Switches, Oh My! (2/26/2007)
Being a technologist, I know how often we fall into the trap of talking about technology at a level wherein we assume everyone knows every term and acronym. I think this is a huge part of why consumers can get so easily frustrated when it comes to buying technology products. In fact, I think the only category more challenging to understand is buying a baby stroller, which is utterly ridiculous, but I digress.
One discussion I partake in quite often is helping friends understand what networking equipment they should buy, and when. In the past I’ve simply pointed them to whatever 4-port wireless router was on sale on Amazon, and let them go from there. Need to get an Xbox or Slingbox online? Grab a powerline bridge. It’s not the most advanced advice ever, but frankly it is on target most of the time, and generally results in the least calls to me as their unpaid IT guy.
So with all this access to people at NETGEAR, I decided I should get a bit better educated on the topic. I had the chance to talk with Sanjay Kumar, Product Line Manager for Unmanaged and Smart Switches in the Business Products group (wow, to think I’ve never worked for a company big enough to have that many words in a title before). Note: this Sanjay is not the same Sanjay who’s heading to jail soon for massive fraud at CA!
First off, I wanted to get a better understanding of the real difference between: hubs, switches, gateways, routers, bridges, access points, and network extenders. Sanjay did a great job explaining them to me, and I will do my best representing the information back to you.
HUBS: Hubs are outdated networking components which are capable of sharing a network connection with numerous computers/devices. The problem with hubs is their technology has absolutely no intelligence, so every single packet of information is sent to all destinations simultaneously. To make an analogy, it’s like having a mail room receive a piece of mail and rather than read the particular address, they make 8 copies of it and deliver it to all 8 possible offices at the exact same time, even if the deliverers have other mail that is more important to get out at the same time. In Sanjay’s own words, “it really does not make any sense in this day and age to buy a hub,” and at a price difference of under $25, that makes perfect sense.
SWITCHES: A switch is a device that intelligently shares a network connection. It is capable of controlling the speed/bandwidth of each port (this is very important for VoIP, HD media streaming, and gaming) and also only delivers packets to their specified destination. You can think of a switch as the mail room looking at the address on the letter, and only sending it to the right office, and at the same time making sure the overnight Fedex delivery gets sent out before the monthly interoffice newsletter. Now there’s a lot more technology going on inside a switch, which therefore means more complexity and more product options. A rule of thumb I’d recommend is this: if at any point in my writing so far you’ve felt even mildly confused, yet you are the person who has to make a buying decision, and you already have a router (read below), you are probably looking for an unmanaged desktop switch. Anyone who understands this stuff more deeply is probably getting bored already.
ROUTERS: Here’s where things get a bit more muddy. Routers are both a device and a technology. The technology part is the component that handles figuring out information that comes in and out of your local network, and determining the right destinations for all the data packets. This is like the big company’s central mail room, it’s busy figuring out which departments’ mail rooms to send all the mail to, and leaves the departments to determine where all the desks and offices are. A router as a device, in the current landscape of technology products, is most typically a combination of router technology, a switch, and possibly a wireless access point. There’s also a product called a gateway router, which includes a DSL or Cable Modem inside the same unit.
ACCESS POINTS: Also called Wireless Access Points, these devices take an Ethernet connection and a single IP address, and create a wireless network. Personally, I recommend getting routers with built-in access points, but if you already have a router and don’t feel like upgrading, yet you want to get WiFi in your home, this is what you need. If you already have WiFi but it doesn’t cover all of your home/office, you want to get an Extender to help.
EXTENDERS: Extenders take existing wireless networks and increase their range further. You must already have WiFi on your network for them to be useful. The reason you want an Extender instead of a second Access Point is because it will save your computers/devices from bouncing back and forth from one network to another while you walk through your home/office (two access points = two different networks, unless you are technically proficient enough to get around that issue, in which case, as I said before, you’re very bored by now).
BRIDGES (also called GAME ADAPTERS): Here’s where the world starts getting a little easier. Bridges are simple devices that can take an Ethernet (or sometimes USB) connection and transform it into a wireless or powerline-based networking connection. In other words, if you have an Xbox, and you want to get it online, and you don’t want to string Ethernet into your living room, you can pick up a bridge and plug it into your Xbox. The bridge will “bridge” your wireless connection.
So that’s the breakdown, let me be sure I’m very clear on how to get the right equipment:
- Your “starting device” to get your network up and running is a Router. Then,
- When you have many devices you need to connect, you start buying Switches to connect to your Router.
- If you need to get WiFi added onto your existing network, you get an Access Point, but only one because . . .
- When you need to extend the range of your WiFi network, you get a Network Extender
- If you need to get a device that doesn’t have built-in WiFi onto your WiFi network, you get a Bridge
- You never buy a Hub.
While chatting, I asked Sanjay a few questions on some technical elements of the networking world. He mentioned that the technology that powers a switch is basically a system-on-a-chip (meaning a single chip inside the device does the work), so I was curious how NETGEAR differentiates. The company’s focus is to make better sorting algorithms, with more security, faster speeds, and an emphasis on traffic prioritization. Traffic prioritization is a key component of how a switch works, and he made the analogy to regular traffic patterns: think of the HOV lanes, speed limits, and other rules that govern a freeway – they are designed to make the system more efficient. That said, he mentioned the 101, and I have a hunch NETGEAR’s engineers do a much better job at their algorithms than whomever was responsible for the parking lot Bay Area residents call a freeway.
Sanjay also told me that the top emphasis today in traffic prioritization is for voice, as it’s a key driver in networking growth. Other major trends in the industry (from his department’s perspective) include gigabit speeds (basically 10 times faster than most current wired networks), higher security and QoS (quality of service), support for stacking (which allows multiple switches to work together, thus making them easier to manage with no loss in performance), and power over Ethernet.
I see power over Ethernet as a trend coming beyond just the corporate office. For those unfamiliar, it allows a device to get power from its network connection, so only a single cable enables both connectivity and power supply. In corporate environments it’s already being used for IP-based telephones, IP surveillance cameras, and wireless access points. In the home it makes sense for devices such as networked MP3 players, digital picture frames, and also security applications. All very interesting stuff in my book.
If you’d like to see Sanjay in action, here’s a recent interview he did with PodTech. Thanks Sanjay for spending the time with me on this one, I hope I translated your information well (and I hope your next airport trip goes a little smoother)!
Jeremy Toeman
Consumer Technology and New Media Expert
