just a quick question

[obituary]

hey.
not a real network person here but i was wondering if one could answer a question forme.
1.does full duplex mode depend on your switch, NIC or both (i know the switch supports it but did not know if i had to get a NIC that is full duplex capable or if they all are nowadays)
2. what are the differences detween a switch and a hub? (going to be used for a small gaming network (5 pc's max))

[Matridom]

Originally posted by obituary
hey.
not a real network person here but i was wondering if one could answer a question forme.
1.does full duplex mode depend on your switch, NIC or both (i know the switch supports it but did not know if i had to get a NIC that is full duplex capable or if they all are nowadays)

it's dependant on both, almost everything now days supports both half and full duplex. usualy devices default to full duplex.

2. what are the differences detween a switch and a hub? (going to be used for a small gaming network (5 pc's max))

A hub just a repeater. It takes what comes in one port and rebroadcasts it to all the ports.

A switch is one level higher in the OSI model, it will look at the MAC address on the frame and foward it to the correct port on the switch. saving the bandwith to all the other computers connected to it.

Now days, swtichs are about the same price as a hub, so i'd recommending switch, even if it's a few dollars more expensive

[Stalemate]

That's an excellent rundown, Mat - don't mind if I use it to explain those differences to users (I usually lose them when I start talking about QOS and packet filtering... ).

As an addition, switches can also have more features such as firewalling, VPN configuring, packet prioritizing, etc. You'll usually find these mostly in higher-end equipment though, so these models would be more expensive. ALso, switches have their own IP address (seen as a node on the LAN) while hubs are transparent/passive to it.

If your needs are basic, like a home LAN, stick with Matridom's suggestion.

[Kineda]

Quick hub vs switch explaination :

hub breaks bandwidth in half 100mb = 50mb (pc1) + 50mb (pc2)

Switch duplicates bandwidth to all users 100mb = 100mb (pc1) + 100mb (pc2)

You can get more detailed about packet delivery and mac addresses and such but i don't think that is what your asking for. If you are just setting up a small gaming lan i would recommend the switch rather than the hub, gamers like me tend to lean to better performance rather than cheap stuff that can get you by Bottom line you can get a linksys 5 or 8 port 10/100 switch for a measly $40-$50 bucks, happy gaming!