Summary
You can think of routers and switches as being cousins. Routers switch packets at the network protocol (TCP/IP or IPX/SPX) level, whereas switches move frames at the data link (Ethernet or Token-Ring) level. Switches are usually wire-speed devices, whereas routers can handle delay (as is the case over a wide-area connection). Switches are typically used for one geographically separate area; routers are used to connect geographically disperse areas. A switch can be used as a hub replacement, allowing users to enjoy an unshared line to communicate to other devices on the network.
The documentation that comes with your switch or router should become bathroom reading material if you really want to be able to handle problems. Of course, the ...
Get Sams Teach Yourself Network Troubleshooting in 24 Hours, Second Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
