Router versus Switch/splitter?

[kycaver]

I will be hooking up a new computer just for gaming soon, and I wondered about using a router vs. using a switch instead, or what cable TV people call a splitter when splitting the co-axel signal between two TVs. The routers cost seems to start around the $60 range, while the switch, which just has an input for the line coming from your modem and 2 or three sockets for plugging in more than one computer, those sell for around $20. So what is the advantage of using a router? Now there won’t be two people using the computers at the same time, say one person gaming while another is watching movies on Netflix, It will be one computer in use at a time, either gaming or web browsing. Also, I don’t need the WiFi function, since both computers will be sitting side by side near the modem.

[Cathulhu]

The main advantage would be, more than one user can access the internet. If you add a switch to a modem, well, how do you log into the internet? The switch can't and won't do it. So, one of the computers has to, and others can't use the modem at the same time you do. So, only one computer is online then.
That among other things, like actually routing traffic between networks (LAN <-> WAN) is why a router costs more than a stupid unmanaged layer 2 switch.

[Omega]

A splitter/hub has no inteligence behind it. Any data which it recieves on port 1 will be copy/pasted and sent on port 2 ,3 ,4 and 5 for example. Splitters/hubs are horrible, don't use them. They cause a lot of unnecessary traffic on your network which will hurt bandwidth.

Switches are intelligent and will sent the data it recieves on port 1 only to the recipient which happens to be on port 4 for example.

A router includes a switch, and might include other functionality such as a modem and WiFi. The router's main job is to manage the network by giving IP adresses to devices, routing traffic in/out of the network and blocking unauthorized access to the network.


Get a router so two people can be active on your network at the same time, just in case.

[_I_]

each router creates its own subnet (can be disabled on most to become an ap/switch)

cheap modems often have a router built in them

devcies on different subnets cannot talk directly to eachother

there are 'smart' switches that can act like a wired router

[SeriousCCIE]

You are not likely to find a true splitter for ethernet/network cabling, not new in a store, anyway.

a switch would be a good choice to add additional network connections and share your existing way out to the internet.

using a router wouldn't give you any real benefit in this case; not in addition to whatever is managing the internet connection you have. it would not speed anything up, but then again, it could be the device is called a router when really its an all-in-one sort of device. its rare to find a genuined dedicated router for sale at a consumer electronics store.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

A network switch is used when your router doesn't provide enough wired ports. Most routers or all in one modem+router usually only have 4x lan ports so a network switch might be needed to expand beyond just having 4x wired lan ports. Like for me, I try to avoid wireless for gaming pcs/consoles, as wired ethernet provides the better speeds and pings compared to anything wireless.

A modem by itself isn't of much use without either a standalone router, or a built in router. When built in we refer to this as an all in one modem+router. As by itself a modem could only be used on a single system at a time, either via ethernet or via usb, hence the need for a router.

As far as a coax splitter this is something not really network related per-say but still worth mentioning. Here is an example of using a coax splitter... main cable line comes into the home, usually in the basement level or to the 1st floor, into an area that won't directly interfere. Such as into an area of the home where the electrical box is located for example. Then attached to the main line would be a coax splitter, such as 1x input + 3x output, allowing lines to then go to the various rooms for TV boxes and also a line to go to a room of choice for the modem. From the modem/router we then connect via wired ethernet cable, or wireless, such as wireless N 2.4Ghz or AC 5.0Ghz

It's good to ensure that your coax splitter as well as your ethernet cables are rated for at least 350Mhz. This helps ensure good signals even if the cables are quite lengthy and also provides at least double shielding to help protect from interference and/or cross-talk

[Dysnomia]

Doesn't work to split twisted-pair Ethernet the way you can split coax. There's one exception: network monitoring taps, but in that situation, only one connected device is transmitting frames. You can run two 100mbps Ethernet links through a single 4 pair cable, but you still need a switch or a router with more than one LAN port at the other end, and that type of split cabling won't work for gigabit Ethernet because it needs all four pairs.

[TehSpoopyKitteh]

To put it short, as a rule of thumb for small home and office setups is that you will want to use a router to connect multiple switch banks to the internet through a single line connection to a WAN (or the Internet). That is to say the router is the central communications for your LAN at home. As the name implies it routes the signals to the appropriate places.

http://www.fiber-optic-cable-sale.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/buying-network-switch.png

Most of the time, home networks only need a router and modem. The only time you’ll want a switch is if you happen to have more wired devices than the router has ports for and refuse to use wireless.