Router vs Switch

Routers and switches are both computer networking devices. They allow one or more computers to be connected to other computers, networked devices, or to other networks. However, the functions of a hub, switch and router are quite different, even if at times they are integrated into a single device. Routers connect two or more logical subnets, which do not necessarily map one-to-one to the physical interfaces of the router. The term layer 3 switch often is used interchangeably with router, but switch is really a general term without a rigorous technical definition. In marketing usage, it is generally optimized for Ethernet LAN interfaces and may not have other physical interface types.

Comparison chart
Router NAT (Network Can Perform NAT Address Translation): Routing Decision: Take faster Routing Decision Bandwidth sharing is Dynamic (Enables either static or dynamic bandwidth sharing for modular cable interfaces. The default percent-value is 0. The percent-value range is 1-96.) 1-10 Mbps(Wireless) 100 Mbps (Wired) LAN . WAN Store IP address in Routing table and maintain address at its own. Switch Switches can Not perform NAT Take more time for complicated routing Decision If speed of switch is 10/100 Mbps then bandwidth of each and every one of its ports gets 10/100 Mbps. 10/100Mbps, 1Gbps LAN Store MAC address in lookup table and maintain address at its own Uses MAC address

Bandwidth sharing:

Speed: Used in (LAN/MAN/WAN): Table:

Address used for data Uses IP address tramsmission: Data Transmission Packet form: Technical Specifications: Device Type: Layer: Ports:

Frame (L2 Switch) Frame & Packet (L3 switch) Network switches operate at Routers operate at Layer 3 (Network) of the layer two (Data Link Layer) OSI model. of the OSI model. internetworking device networking device Data Link Layer Network Network Layer Layer 2/4/8 8/16/24/48

Used for: Price: Latest Models:

Features:

Faster:

Switch Connecting two or more Connecting Two or more networks. nodes. Starts from 2500/-Rs (L2) 20,000 /- Rs (appx.) 15,000/- Rs (L3) (appx.) Alcatel's OmniSwitch 9000; Linksys WRT54GL Juniper MX & EX Cisco Catalyst switch 4500 series Cisco 3900,2900,1900 and 6500(10 Gbps), Priority rt range On/Off Firewall VPN Dynamic hadling of setting of port VLAN Port Bandwidth mirroring In a LAN environment L3 In a different network environment (MAN/ switch is faster than Router WAN) Router is faster than L3 Switch. (built in switchning hardware)

Router

Function of a router vs. switch

A router is a more sophisticated device than a switch. Traditional routers are designed to join multiple area networks (LANs and WANs). Routers serve as intermediate destinations for network traffic. They receive TCP/IP packets, look inside each packet to identify the source and target IP addresses, then forward these packets as needed to ensure the data reaches its final destination. A network switch is a small hardware device that joins multiple computers together within one local area network (LAN). Switches are incapable of joining multiple networks or sharing an Internet connection. A home network with a switch must designate one computer as the gateway to the Internet, and that device must possess two network adapters for sharing, one for the home LAN and one for the Internet WAN. With a router, all home computers connect to the router equally, and it performs the equivalent gateway functions.

Router vs. Switch for wireless networks

Routers can connect wired or wireless (WiFi) networks. A switch is used for wired networking connections.

Intelligence in a router vs. switch

Routers are more sophisticated devices that can have software to increase network throughput using techniques such as caching.