Do I need a Router, Switch, or Hub?

[presto]

We have 10 computers at our small business. They are currently networked to gethor with a 4 port hub an 8 port router (that seems to have a couple of bad ports). I want to replace them with one device.

We have a DSL connection. All computers have their own ip address.


I found this:
http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=A-8324&cat=NET

Looks like a good deal but is it what I need? It is a switch and not a router. Some one told me I needed a router because of the internet connection and each computer having it's own ip.

Any advice appreciated.

[gitreel]

Well each has their + and -.

If I were you, I would get a switch. You can then hook the switch into your 8 port router.

The switch would segment your network and boost bandwidth as it reduces collisions.

[presto]

If I were you, I would get a switch. You can then hook the switch into your 8 port router

The router seems to be failing. I want just one device to plug all the computers and the DSL into.

Will this 24 port switch do the job? Will all the computers have their own ip and access to the internet?. Or is it true that I must use a router?

[gitreel]

A switch would be fine, but I would also get a router for security reasons. With a router, you could use network address translation and ip spoofing.

With a router, you usually have one public ip that reaches the net, and the other ip's are private. You really only need 1 ip. The router would assign private ip's to the other computers. A switch however would provide the ports you need to segment your network into subnetworks.

[presto]

The router would assign private ip's to the other computers

The DSl has it's own router which is mounted in another room. The ethernet cable then goes from that to our hub arrangement. I know the DSL router assigns an ip to each computer because there have been tech issues where they told me to reboot that router to reassign the ip's.

Sorry I left that out. Would I be correct then in thinking that means I don't need a router and the switch will do?

Thanks for your help.

[gitreel]

In your case, go for a switch.

Do you still have a working port on the router? You only need one ip.

A hub is never advisable with that many computers. A hub shares bandwidth. A switch distributes the same amount of bandwidth to each computer rather than sharing it.

[presto]

The router supplied by the DSL people works fine. In another room I have a two devices, an 8 port router and a 4 port hub hooked togethor to handle our 10 computers.

The 8 port router seems to be the one that is acting up and some of the computers can't "see" some others even thought they show in network neighborhood. Swapping to a different port on the router moves the problem to a different computer so I know it is the router.

So my new set up will be the DSL router in one room hooked to the 16 or 24 port switching hub which hooks to the 10 computers.

It looks to me like the switching hub I from Comp Geeks will work. I was just concerned about wether I needed a router instead. I think the fact that the DSL has it's own router is the answer to that.

[presto]

Next question. I know the DSL needs a special port. I forget what that is called. The DSL ethernet cable goes into this special port and the rest of the computers go into the others. Some devices automatically detect what kind of signal is plugged into them so you don't have to worry about where you plug what.

My explanation is a little fuzzy because I don't know the correct terms. Does it make any sense to you? Does the switching hub form computer geeks have the input I need for the DSL?

[gitreel]

I believe you are talking about the wan port. Most if not all equipment comes with a wan port. Wan stands for wide area network.

Even cable internet uses the wan port. If you already have a router that came with the dsl, then just get a switch. Most of the low-end routers I have seen don't have enough ports to connect that many computers. The router I have can only connect up to four computers.

You probably need to run the network setup on the computers that you are having problems with. I don't know what operating systems you are using, so I will assume xp. On xp, run the network setup and you can put all of them in a workgroup if you want.

That ought to fix your problem.

[presto]

You probably need to run the network setup on the computers that you are having problems with. I don't know what operating systems you are using, so I will assume xp. On xp, run the network setup and you can put all of them in a workgroup if you want.

They're all set up fine. I've been over it and over it. Today I finally tried changing which port the ethernet cables went to and the problem stayed right with the "bad" ports.

Since the computer that was not seeing some of the others now sees them just fine I know it is the bad port on the router and not the set up on the computer.

Although I don't always know the details, I'm really pretty good at troubleshooting these things by eliminating possibilities one by one.

You are right about the wan port. That's the word I couldn't remember.

I feel like I understand things now so thanks again.

[gitreel]

No problem. You really only need one router anyway. The router you have will assign private ip's. You would only have to pay for the one public ip that you receive from your internet service provider.