Hub question...

[crikee8140]

ok ok. i read the faq i assure you and even did a search on hub and got a million responses about ppl saying read the faq rofl. anyway i unfortunnately have a linksys hub that im guessing is actually a switch (auto-sensing hub and thus is acting like a switch for faster transmision, well according to their website) and interestingly enough their website even explains how to "force" it to act like a hub by having a 10mbit device and a few 100mbit devices, thus its a switch for the 2 different speeds but a hub for all like devices.

kay now for the question... after searching hub i found one post which states exactly which model hub with serial number etc that works just fine. most posts just say go out and buy a hub instead of a switch and to stay away from linksys (which is unfortunately the one i already owned and is marketed as a hub). But if i were to walk into any computer store right now id find the exact same hub i have at home that says clearly on the package hub and right next to it a linksys switch that clearly says switch. Is there any easy way to tell whether your actually getting a hub or a switch? ie when i go to the store tomorrow and buy a netgear "hub" labeled as a hub is there anyway to know its actually a "hub" before i get home? any recent mfg. changes i should know about (ie netgear also marketing switches as hubs")? recomendations including model numbers? or a cheap 10mbit device i can plug into the linksys to "force" it into hub mode?

some specific example of something i can be sure when i buy it and get it home and plug it in i havent actually bought a switching hub because the linksys i currently own i cant find any info on the package that would have lead me to believe it was actually switching (long before i even cared if it was switching) and would save me a lot of time if i could get a specific model number other than the one Encore model (which i will be looking for but seems to be pretty damn expensive)... any info would be helpful...

[CBiLL]

Just what you been doing .. search and research on hubs. Nobody couldn't give you an answer on this question unless they had experience this brand or so hubs and had posted it already and you would already had read all about it after doing a search on hub ..

Your best bet would be one of the following ..

1. Find out what brand/model hub the store carry and do a search on this forum to see what result people are posting about this certain brand/model and you prolly already had an idea what brand to avoid and what brand seem to work.

2. Buy a 10mbit only hub or a 100mbit only hub which most likly will not be a switch .. All my hubs I own are 100mbit only hub and I think 10/100mbit hubs are a joke but it may be a great thing years ago however with the cost of today's hub .. try to get a 100mbit only and upgrade all your network card that will support at least 100mbit ..

3. Buy from a store that offer refund/exchange and keep going back to the store exchanging hub until you find the one that actually works for you ...

Good Luck
CBiLL

[Dedpoet]

The manufacturer's site will almost always list that kind of information if you look at the technical specs of the product. I have used a Netgear EN104-TP and currently use a D-Link DSH-105. I have read (in a post yesterday, actually) that the Netgear EN108 also works, as do the DS104 and DS108. The EN series are 10Mbit, the DS series are 10/100, and the 4 or 8 in the model number is the number of ports on the hub.

All the big stores carry Netgear so these are highly available. I bought my D-Link online because it was much cheaper than the EN series Netgears.

[Mag@@]

I currently use a set up similar to Dedpoet ~ DLink DL-704P as a firewall, and the Netgear 8 port ~ works perfectly.

[fgc]

yah, Netgear DS108's work just fine.

[DanoStu]

I did some research on this recently, and found that the difference between a hub and a switching hub is (according to 3com):

Regular hub (that works with seq): Class II Repeater
Switch: Class III

Hope this helps.

[high_jeeves]

Yes, that is the difference between a hub and a switch.. the problem is that the linksys devices are kindof a "Class 2.5".. they will act as a switch, or a hub, depending on how they are hooked up.

--Jeeves

[S_B_R]

I've said it before, I'll say it again.... LinkSys = bad

You could always try this: http://seq.sourceforge.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1825

[EQHatter]

Originally posted by DanoStu
I did some research on this recently, and found that the difference between a hub and a switching hub is (according to 3com):

Regular hub (that works with seq): Class II Repeater
Switch: Class III

Hope this helps.

That is correct =)

A hub works on the 2nd Layer of the OSI Model, hence classified as a Class II. It also repeats ALL traffic it receives on ALL segments (Segment = port you connect your computers to the hub), hence generating huge overhead to the other computers on connected to the hub, greatly degrading network traffic quality.

The second layer is also called the physical layer. A hub is merely an extension of the network cable as well as a repeater of the signals traveling through that cable.

90% of the switches you find in homes are still operating on layer2, however, with a bit more logic. Switches utilize a routing table to direct specific traffic for specific computers (NICS) and are NOT flooding all their segments with useless traffic. With that logic, the other computers are NOT seeing the other traffic that is not intended for them, hence they operate better / faster in a networking aspect.

A Class III or Layer3 Switch is a switch with actual routing capabilities, which enables it to talk across segements with adjacent computers, hence its "routing".

If you are looking for speed and performance on your home network, buy a switch, they do their job the fastest.

Even the most expensive routers slow your network when compared to switches because of the overhead they create.
But then again, a routed network is always more secure and stable than a switched one.