On Thu, 2007-03-01 at 08:26 -0800, Jordi wrote: > I hear most people around me using all those modem/router as > synonims.
That's probably because sometime they are both. My modem (the one supplied to me by my ISP) is also a router. It's an Actiontec GT701-WG, "DSL Modem with Wireless Gateway." Sometimes an ISP sends you a modem that is just a modem and nothing more. > It is not my fault, I really try to understand but in the pc shops > they seem not to know really the difference. > > I know there are many differences. But I will thank if anyone can give > me a simple explanation on this. > I saw this searching: (text from a forum) > --- > HUB: plug some computers into this, and all traffic is shared. In > other words, if computer 1 talks to computer 3, computer 2 will also > hear what computer 1 said. Usually computer 2 just discards traffic > not meant for it, but it does tend to burden your network. > > SWITCH: if computer 1 talks to computer 3, computer 2 hears nothing. > On high-traffic networks, this means downloads & uploads go a little > faster for everyone. On low-traffic networks (home networks) users > typically don't notice a difference. I bought one of these because my modem/router has has only one ethernet port. I wanted to connect two computers to the internet, and I didn't want to use wireless and I didn't want to use one of my machines as a gateway for the other. The switch sits between my modem/router and each computer -- that is, the ethernet for each computer is connected to the switch, and the ethernet for the switch is connected to the modem/router. I could have bought a hub instead of a switch, but there's very little price difference and a switch seemed like the better buy. In this way, each computer can reach the internet independently of the other through my ISP assigned IP address, and each computer has it's own internal IP address (192.168.0.2 and 192.168.0.3), so I can transfer files between them easily. > ROUTER: plug some computers into this, and it'll use port forwarding, > IP masquerading, and NAT to allow your computers to share an IP > address > and connect to the internet. Cheap routers use HUB technology, good > routers use SWITCH technology. > If my modem had been "just a modem" and not a modem/router, I would have bought a router instead of a switch, and done the same thing I'm doing now. > A "bridge" is a box to regenerate signals on a coax in coax-networks. > As a fact every 500 meters, a new bridge needed to be placed in order > to maintain a good signal. I'm not sure why you would need one of these? > The most similar to mine is router, as it uses port forwading, and pcs > share the ip to enter internet. Maybe the quality of my router is not > like a router-switch, and mostly a router with hubs, so is virtually > insecure. Do you mean this? > > And in speedtouch 530v6 FAQ it says: > --- > Can I configure my router as a bridged ethernet connection? > > * Yes this is possible. Click on SpeedTouch -> setup at the bottom > of the SpeedTouch Web interface. This will launch the embedded setup > wizard. You can choose for setting up your router as a bridge there > during setup in the first screen. > ------ > So seems they call it "router" that can be configured as "bridge" or > not. > > It seems not only me, also the people in Thomson confuse all those > concepts. I think maybe you are confusing a "bridge" with "bridged mode." Many (most? all?) routers can be configured to operate in "bridged mode" if you want or need that. Otherwise, they operate in "router mode." In bridged mode, you would need a PPPoE (or PPPoA) client on your machine to login in order to connect. In router mode, your router is the bridge between you and your ISP. -- Michael M. ++ Portland, OR ++ USA "No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream." --S. Jackson -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
