The difference between a switch and a router

The network switch is responsible for forwarding data packets between devices. The switch sends packets directly to the device, rather than sending them to the network like a router.

What is a network switch?

A network switch connects devices in the network (typically a local area network or LAN *) and forwards data packets between these devices. Unlike routers, a switch sends data only to a single device it targets (possibly another switch, router, or user's computer), rather than to a network of multiple devices.

What is the difference between a switch and a router?Routers choose the path for packets to traverse the network and reach their destination. Routers achieve this by connecting to different networks and forwarding data between them, including local area networks, wide area networks (WANs), or autonomous systems, which are large networks that make up the Internet.

In fact, this means that routers are necessary for Internet connectivity, while switches are only used for interconnecting devices. Homes and small offices require routers to access the Internet, but most do not require network switches unless they require a large number of Ethernet ports. However, large offices, networks, and data centers with dozens or hundreds of computers often require switches.

Ethernet is a second layer protocol used to send data between devices. Unlike WiFi, Ethernet requires a physical connection through an Ethernet cable.

What is a Layer 2 switch? What is a Layer 3 switch?

Network switches can operate at OSI layer 2 (data link layer) or layer 3 (network layer). Layer 2 switches forward data based on the destination MAC address (defined below), and layer 3 switches forward data based on the destination IP address. Some switches can have both.

However, most switches are layer 2 switches. Layer 2 switches typically use Ethernet cables to connect to devices in their network. An Ethernet cable is a physical cable connected to a device through an Ethernet port.What is an unmanaged switch? What is a managed switch?

Unmanaged switches simply create more Ethernet ports on the LAN so that more local devices can access the Internet. Unmanaged switches pass data back and forth based on the device's MAC address.

Managed switches implement the same functionality for larger networks and provide network administrators with more control over traffic priorities. They also allow administrators to set up virtual local area networks (VLANs) to further subdivide the local network into smaller blocks.

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