Clustering, Hub, Switch, Router

CLUSTERING
1
Connecting two or more computers together in such a way that they behave likes a single
computer. Clustering is used for parallel processing, load balancing and fault tolerance.

Clustering is a popular strategy for implementing parallel processing applications because it

LOAD BALENCING
Distributing processing and communications activity evenly across a computer network so that
no single device is overwhelmed. Load balancing is especially important for networks where it's
difficult to predict the number of requests that will be issued to a server. Busy Web sites
typically employ two or more Web servers in a load balancing scheme. If one server starts to
get swamped, requests are forwarded to another server with more capacity. Load balancing
can also refer to the communications channels themselves

FAULT TOLERANCE
The ability of a system to respond gracefully to an unexpected hardware or software failure.
There are many levels of fault tolerance, the lowest being the ability to continue operation in
the event of a power failure. Many fault-tolerant computer systems mirror all operations -- that
is, every operation is performed on two or more duplicate systems, so if one fails the other can
take over.
 Clustering, Hub, Switch, Router

HUB
2
A common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect
segments of a LAN. A hub contains multiple ports. When a packet arrives at one port, it is
copied to the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see all packets.

A passive hub serves simply as a conduit for the data, enabling it to go from one device (or
segment) to another. So-called intelligent hubs include additional features that enables an
administrator to monitor the traffic passing through the hub and to configure each port in the
hub. Intelligent hubs are also called manageable hubs.

A third type of hub, called a switching hub, actually reads the destination address of each
packet and then forwards the packet to the correct port.

See also Webopedia's "Did You Know... Routers, Switches and Hubs: What's the Difference?"

SWITCH
Short for port-switching hub, a special type of hub that forwards packets to the appropriate
port based on the packet's address. Conventional hubs simply rebroadcast every packet to
every port. Since switching hubs forward each packet only to the required port, they provide
much better performance. Most switching hubs also support load balancing, so that ports are
dynamically reassigned to different LAN segments based on traffic patterns.

Some newer switching hubs support both traditional Ethernet (10 Mbps) and Fast Ethernet (100
Mbps) ports. This enables the administrator to establish a dedicated, Fast Ethernet channel for
high-traffic devices such as servers.
 Clustering, Hub, Switch, Router

The Difference Between Hubs, Switches and Routers

Some technicians have a tendency to use the terms routers, hubs and switches interchangeably.
One minute they're talking about a switch. Two minutes later they're discussing router settings.
Throughout all of this, though, they're still looking at only the one box.  Ever wonder what the
difference is among these boxes?  The functions of the three devices are all quite different from
one another, even if at times they are all integrated into a single device. Which one do you use
when? Let's take a look...

Hub, Switch, and Router Defined

Hub [define]

A common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect
segments of a LAN. A hub contains multiple ports. When a packet arrives at one port, it is copied
to the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see all packets.

Switch [define]

In networks, a device that filters and forwards packets between LAN segments. Switches operate
at the data link layer (layer 2) and sometimes the network layer (layer 3) of the OSI Reference
Model and therefore support any packet protocol. LANs that use switches to join segments are
called switched LANs or, in the case of Ethernet networks, switched Ethernet LANs.

Router [define]

A device that forwards data packets along networks. A router is connected to at least two
networks, commonly two LANs or WANs or a LAN and its ISP.s network. Routers are located at
gateways, the places where two or more networks connect. Routers use headers and forwarding
tables to determine the best path for forwarding the packets, and they use protocols such as
ICMP to communicate with each other and configure the best route between any two hosts.

The Differences Between Hubs, Switches, and Routers on the Network

Today most routers have become something of a Swiss Army knife, combining the features and
functionality of a router and switch/hub into a single unit. So conversations regarding these 4
devices can be a bit misleading — especially to someone new to computer networking.

The functions of a router, hub and a switch are all quite different from one another, even if at
times they are all integrated into a single device. Let's start with the hub and the switch since
these two devices have similar roles on the network. Each serves as a central connection for all
of your network equipment and handles a data type known as frames. Frames carry your data.
When a frame is received, it is amplified and then transmitted on to the port of the destination
PC. The big difference between these two devices is in the method in which frames are being
delivered.

In a hub, a frame is passed along or "broadcast" to every one of its ports. It doesn't matter that
the frame is only destined for one port. The hub has no way of distinguishing which port a
frame should be sent to. Passing it along to every port ensures that it will reach its intended
destination. This places a lot of traffic on the network and can lead to poor network response
times.

Additionally, a 10/100Mbps hub must share its bandwidth with each and every one of its ports.
So when only one PC is broadcasting, it will have access to the maximum available bandwidth.
If, however, multiple PCs are broadcasting, then that bandwidth will need to be divided among
all of those systems, which will degrade performance.

A switch, however, keeps a record of the MAC addresses of all the devices connected to it. With
this information, a switch can identify which system is sitting on which port. So when a frame is
received, it knows exactly which port to send it to, without significantly increasing network
response times. And, unlike a hub, a 10/100Mbps switch will allocate a full 10/100Mbps to each
of its ports. So regardless of the number of PCs transmitting, users will always have access to
the maximum amount of bandwidth. It's for these reasons why a switch is considered to be a
much better choice then a hub.

Routers are completely different devices. Where a hub or switch is concerned with transmitting
frames, a router's job, as its name implies, is to route packets to other networks until that
packet ultimately reaches its destination. One of the key features of a packet is that it not only
contains data, but the destination address of where it's going.

A router is typically connected to at least two networks, commonly two Local Area Networks
(LANs) or Wide Area Networks (WAN) or a LAN and its ISP's network . for example, your PC or
workgroup and EarthLink. Routers are located at gateways, the places where two or more
networks connect. Using headers and forwarding tables, routers determine the best path for
forwarding the packets. Router use protocols such as ICMP to communicate with each other
and configure the best route between any two hosts.

Today, a wide variety of services are integrated into most broadband routers. A router will
 Clustering, Hub, Switch, Router

typically include a 4 - 8 port Ethernet switch (or hub) and a Network Address Translator ( NAT).
In addition, they usually include a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, Domain 5
Name Service (DNS) proxy server and a hardware firewall to protect the LAN from malicious
intrusion from the Internet.

All routers have a WAN Port that connects to a DSL or cable modem for broadband Internet
service and the integrated switch allows users to easily create a LAN. This allows all the PCs on
the LAN to have access to the Internet and Windows file and printer sharing services.

Some routers have a single WAN port and a single LAN port and are designed to connect an
existing LAN hub or switch to a WAN. Ethernet switches and hubs can be connected to a router
with multiple PC ports to expand a LAN. Depending on the capabilities (kinds of available ports)
of the router and the switches or hubs, the connection between the router and switches/hubs
may require either straight-thru or crossover (null-modem) cables. Some routers even have USB
ports, and more commonly, wireless access points built into them.

Some of the more high-end or business class routers will also incorporate a serial port that can
be connected to an external dial-up modem, which is useful as a backup in the event that the
primary broadband connection goes down, as well as a built in LAN printer server and printer
port.

Besides the inherent protection features provided by the NAT, many routers will also have a
built-in, configurable, hardware-based firewall. Firewall capabilities can range from the very
basic to quite sophisticated devices. Among the capabilities found on leading routers are those
that permit configuring TCP/UDP ports for games, chat services, and the like, on the LAN behind
the firewall.

So, in short, a hub glues together an Ethernet network segment, a switch can connect multiple
Ethernet segments more efficiently and a router can do those functions plus route TCP/IP
packets between multiple LANs and/or WANs; and much more of course.