What is the difference between a router and a switch?
A router and a switch are two devices that serve intermediary purposes in the transfer of information from one network to another network. They both help in the communication process. This shot looks at the differences between a router and a switch.
Router
Purpose
The purpose of a router in a network connection is to connect various networks together. A router can aid the connection of two local area networks (LAN). The internet is filled with routers, which connect various small networks together.
OSI operation layer
OSI stands for open systems interconnection model. It is a conceptual framework used to describe the functions of a networking system.
The router operates on the third layer of the OSI model, which is the network layer.
Usage
A router is used in connections both in a local area network (LAN) and a metropolitan area network (MAN).
Routing type
The transfer of information through a router is done by a routing process. The routing process could be adaptive routing and non-adaptive routing.
Adaptive routing is also known as dynamic routing as it helps negotiate the best path a data packet should travel through, when travelling from the sender to the receiver for speed optimization purpose.
Non-adaptive routing is static, as the path of travel for the data packets are fixed and there is no selecting an optimal path for data packet transfer.
Data format
Data travels through a router in form of packets.
NAT compatibility
NAT stands for Network Address Translation. It is a way of mapping multiple local private addresses to a public address for the sole purpose of transferring information across networks.
A router is compatible with NAT.
Switch
Purpose
The purpose of a switch in a network connection is to connect various devices in a network to each other. A switch aids the connection of network components, like connecting two to three computers together so that they share data amongst themselves.
OSI operation layer
A switch operates on the second layer of OSI, which is the data link layer.
Usage
A switch is used in the connection involving a local area network (LAN).
Switching type
The transfer of information through a switch is done by the switching process. Some switching types are circuit, packet, and message switching.
Data format
Data is transferred in a switch as frames.
NAT compatibility
A switch is not compatible with NAT.
