Ethernet Switch

[RetroNetro]

A friend of mine has what is called an Ethernet switch. I am not sure what exactly this is. I have read Wikipedia and some other sites and they all make it sound like it will work similarly to my router, though I am unsure.

How much like a router is this? My friend said that both comps he has we're connected but he was getting IP errors, is this because he needs to set static IPs for each comp?

Any help appreciated!

[logic_earth]

Well a switch is closer to a hub then a router. A router...routes between two networks, for example your local network and your ISP's network. A switch connects multiple computer inside a single network together like a hub but much smarter. A hub just repeats the data going though to every port, a switch only sends it down the required ports. As it was, most consumer level routers are a combination of a router and a switch.

Your friend is probably getting IP address errors because he doesn't have a DHCP server, so if he is using Windows then well Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIA) is being used. This allows any user to get a network up and running with little backend infrastructure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_addr...oconfiguration

[RetroNetro]

Cool, thanks for the info.