Networks
The Components and How They Work
Router
A router is cleverer than both hubs and switches it can re-direct network traffic and deal with different packets in different ways. A Router accepts packets on at least two network interfaces, and forwards packets from one interface to another. Router's may be programmed to filter out some packets, and to dynamically change the route by which packets are routed. Routers often use different media on each interface. For instance, a router might have one Ethernet port and one ISDN port.
Switch
A switch is more intelligent than a hub, as it learns which devices are on the network and only sends the data packet to the computer that is the intended recipient. this is more effective than a hub as it doesn't result in lots of unnecessary network traffic
Hub
Receives all data sent over the network and sends it to all the other devices on the network. only the data packet is for will acknowledge it, the others will ignore it.
Star Networks
The pros of a star network are that if any individual components (except for the center) go down, the server stays up except for that part, and the network can't get clogged because of data overload, as each part has it's own individual link with the center. The cons of a star network are that if the center piece goes down, the whole network goes down.