Ethernet Hub?
 

Hi all,

Saw This
on ebay. Whats the diffrence between this and a router? Is it the same thing?

Want to get connected to Xbox live lol

Five port hub - so say call the ports 1,2,3,4 and 5.

A device which could be a PC or an XBox (as examples) is connected to port 1. When it sends information out on the network the hub simply broadcasts this info to all the other ports. If a device is plugged in to one of the other ports it will look and see if the information is for it.

That's wide of the mark IMO - you'll need a router first. A lot of routers these days have four network ports built in, so a hub is only required if you a have lot of things to connect up.

HTH,

Chris.

To amplify that answer: a hub is for connecting computers (or similar devices like printers) together ONLY. A router is used to allow more than one computer to share a BB connection. They are different things in theory, although a router will generally also act as a hub. But a hub will not act as a router, unless specified otherwise, i.e a "hub/router".


M

A router can be programmed to direct packets to different destinations, a hub just repeats them. You would be better off with some DSL modem/router with built in switch.

Ah right, thanks.. :)

Also note that most routers wont perform the job of a hub, they will perform the job of a switch. The end result is similar, but they work by looking at the data and deciding which device to send it to instead of just blindly broadcasting it.
The main advantage of this in a small home installation is you can enable full-duplex mode which allows you to transmit and receive simultaneously.
Hubs are crap, don't bother with them, and you can buy them for a tenner, new, from Maplin, so I doubt the EBay one is worth the effort.