Please suggest best Hub to buy?

Rampage2884 · Post by **Rampage2884** » Tue Aug 13, 2002 8:33 pm

I'm looking for a 5 or port hub with an uplink connection. Anybody recommend me a good hub to buy. Not really looking for an expensive one either.

Thanks for any suggestions guys.

zxc47 · Post by **zxc47** » Tue Aug 13, 2002 9:23 pm

save your money , A hub does not do a good Job for a gateway to the internet. The best thing you could do is get a switch, the cost is about the same or with in $10 . look at the netgear FS105 switch or the linksys ,A switch will do 10 X times better job.for about the same money

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Wed Aug 14, 2002 8:16 am

I'll second that vote for the Netgear FS105.....installed two of them this week.....inexpensive, and good...fast....solid Netgear quality!

Hubs are too old of technology....a switch is much better, and these days, pretty much the same price. Hubs should no longer be sold.

Rampage2884 · Post by **Rampage2884** » Wed Aug 14, 2002 10:47 am

Alright then, you guys convinced me to get a switch now. But can you guys tell me first the difference between a switch and a hub ? it seems like they both do there jobs.

Btw, does the netgear switch come with a uplink connection?

Final lasy question, do you guys know by any chance of any online stores of where I can buy this product?

I appreciate your help guys.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Wed Aug 14, 2002 12:01 pm

That model comes with the 5th port as auto-switching.....so if you wish to uplink to another device, it will automatically configure. No buttons to try to figure out...incredible easy.

Diff between a hub and a switch? Well, to keep it simple, hubs are simply dumb repeaters....data is sent from one computer to every port on the hub, so you get unorganized "traffic". If computer A wants to send info to computer M, it sends packets to every computer, so computer B, C, D, E, F, so on and so forth...all the way up to computer M. Naturally those computers don't need all the info sent to them....extra congestion on the highways.

Switches take a look at the packet, see what's it's destination is, and send it directly to that destination...without hitting all the others. So computer A wants to send info to computer M...it goes to M and only M, not all the others. As you can see...less traffic.

It's like having a good traffic cop under the hood!

As to where to purchase, hit up Netgears website....they'll have prices and where to purchase.

zxc47 · Post by **zxc47** » Wed Aug 14, 2002 7:56 pm

http://www.provantage.com/
this is a good place to buy one.
Read this and it will tell you the difference between a switch and a hub
http://www.howstuffworks.com/lan-switch2.htm
also the fs105 has 1 mb of ram on each port that a hub don't have and it does have a uplink port

Rampage2884 · Post by **Rampage2884** » Thu Aug 15, 2002 4:16 pm

Alright guys, I did a lot of reading on this stuff so now I'm kind of familiar with networking. Since I'm going to be connecting 2 computers in a network, I want them both to have internet access and be able to do some file sharing between the two. I realize it is risky to only use a switch to connect the computer together and to the internet (File/Print sharing port open to WAN), so I have decided to go with a router that has a built in switch with it.

According to my knowledge, the linksys BEFSR41 looks like a good choice or would guys recommend a netgear router/switch product?

If I'm not making sense, please correct me.

Old Fart · Post by **Old Fart** » Thu Aug 15, 2002 4:50 pm

Good choice

zxc47 · Post by **zxc47** » Thu Aug 15, 2002 6:37 pm

Good choice, but the reason I didn't say anything about a router was because you ask about a hub.The netgear router would be a step up from the linksys BEFSR41 and the nexland would be a step up from the netgear

Rampage2884 · Post by **Rampage2884** » Fri Aug 16, 2002 2:12 am

If I was to get a netgear router, which model should I look into? Need a WAN or UPLINK port on it.

I ask this because I see that netgear has many models for routers. Looking for one that is little bit better then the linksys router I mentioned earlier.

zxc47 · Post by **zxc47** » Fri Aug 16, 2002 4:28 am

for the nexland you would want the ISB soho http://www.nexland.com/products/product.cfm?id=6
you can buy it here for $99
http://www.provantage.com/
for the netgear you should look at RT314 or RP114 The RP114 is $79 at provantage
http://www.netgear.com/product_view.asp ... =12&zrp=55

Rampage2884 · Post by **Rampage2884** » Fri Aug 16, 2002 12:47 pm

Thats great zxc47, thank for the links.

Thanks for all the help guys, I know a lot more now

JackMDS · Post by **JackMDS** » Fri Aug 16, 2002 9:53 pm

The best Router is the “It does not matter Brand”; there is no real difference between the Entry Level Cable/DSL Routers.

The WAN port of all is around 8-10 Mb/sec. The average Broadband Internet is 1-3Mb/sec.

If Color coordination is important to you choose by Color, otherwise look in the ads. of your local Mega Store you will find one on sale for less the $50.

zxc47 · Post by **zxc47** » Fri Aug 16, 2002 10:29 pm

Rampage2884:There is a big difference between routers . linksys slow, netgear fast , nexland very fast. If you want to play on line games and have more than one computer on line at the same time there is a big difference.you'll get what you pay for. A $50 router is not much more than a toy

koldchillah · Post by **koldchillah** » Sat Aug 17, 2002 11:27 am

I just recently started providing my clients with the netgear rp614... I'll have to say.... I think its easier to setup than the Linksys' which as it is, can't get too much easier...

It took me like 15 min.. to walk into a new clients office, install & configure the rp614 on 4 PC's (1 win xp home, 1 win xp pro, 2 win2000) sharing earthlink DSL. I didn't have to do anything but plug everything together and turn it on. The smartwizard did the rest... I couldn't believe how fast I was outta there... If it wasn't for having to cut 60 feet of cat5, I would have been outta there in 5 minutes tops!

the rp614 is awesome!

here's one priced at around $75 after shipping...

http://www.compuplus.com/insidepage.php ... n95&id=818

zxc47 · Post by **zxc47** » Sat Aug 17, 2002 12:22 pm

RP614 is a very good one

Rampage2884 · Post by **Rampage2884** » Sat Aug 17, 2002 2:12 pm

Thanks for the suggestions guys but to be honest, I'm not looking for a router that is easy to install, I'm looking for a router that will have less latency, is fast and will handle traffic without a problem.

So, go for the RP614 or the RT314? BTW, do any of these routers have an uplink port so I can add a switch to it for future computers?

Rampage2884 · Post by **Rampage2884** » Sat Aug 17, 2002 2:30 pm

One more, you guys know an Canadian stores, that would be amazing?

Rampage2884 · Post by **Rampage2884** » Sun Aug 18, 2002 3:52 pm

anyone? please

zxc47 · Post by **zxc47** » Sun Aug 18, 2002 9:21 pm

Rampage2884:man you have came a long way , You started out looking at a hub then to a switch know a router. cool
All DSL/cable router have uplink ports but they are called WAN ports.Nexland has an Canadian store.
http://www.nexlandcanada.com/
The way you would set a router up would be like this , From the cable modem to the routers WAN port , Then the other ports you plug in your computers If you want to run a switch on it you run from the switch uplink port to the router port .

Rampage2884 · Post by **Rampage2884** » Sun Aug 18, 2002 10:41 pm

Rampage2884:man you have came a long way , You started out looking at a hub then to a switch know a router. cool

LOL, can't learn too much.

Before I make the final purchase, I want to know which router works the best? I dont really care if this router or if this router is better because it is easier to install. I'm looking for straight up low latency, is fast and will handles traffic without a problem.

So, go for the RP614 or the RT314?

Thankyou

zxc47 · Post by **zxc47** » Sun Aug 18, 2002 11:45 pm

Rampage2884: well the fastest would be the nexland ISB SOHO
The 8mb of throughput shred the competition making the ISB SOHO one of the fastest Home Router on the market!
ok haveing said that you want to know about the RP614 and the RT314. The RP614 is new so you will not find many people that have them yet or can tell you much about them. They are made for the home , aimed at families and first-time users,
The RT314 router supports up to 45 clients only, as opposed to a theoretical 256 users. However, since this product is designed for home and small offices, most people probably won't connect more than eight or nine computers. Also, the RT314 doesn't have an uplink port, which lets you expand your network by connecting another switch or hub. But again, you can easily overcome this limitation by using a network crossover cable to link additional hubs or switches. Finally, the RT314 lacks a COM port, which lets you share an external analog or ISDN modem in case your broadband connection fails. If you have reliable cable/DSL service, though, you probably won't miss this feature.
so I don't know which one you should get both would do you a good job.if it were me I'll get the SOHO

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 8:55 am

Originally posted by zxc47
All DSL/cable router have uplink ports but they are called WAN ports.Nexland has an Canadian store.

Quite a few of the routers have a proper uplink port...naturally all have a WAN port, but many also have a 5th uplink port to easily cascade to another hub/switch...or router if needed. Some are solo, some are either/or with the last 4th port.

zxc47 · Post by **zxc47** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 9:14 am

YeOldeStonecat: sorry about the miss info ,I should read my post. lol .your right as all ways

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 11:41 am

Originally posted by zxc47
your right as all ways

Hardly Holmes! You hold more than your own weight on this forum...

koldchillah · Post by **koldchillah** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 6:26 pm

The RP614 & RT314 are close to the same as far as latency, speed, and traffic handling. Other features are added which make the 614 the more superior router mainly because its a few years newer than the 314. I use the RT314 at home and love it! Never needs resetting, fairly easy to setup, never gives me problems. The 614 that I worked with recently was just like my RT314 (minus the features outlined by zxc47) but WWAYYY easier & quicker to setup.

Having said all that... go get yourself a Nexland SOHO...

My RT314 can't hold a candle next to the Nexland.. trust me

Rampage2884 · Post by **Rampage2884** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 1:28 am

Thank you so much everyone for the great help and support. I came from knowing nothing to knowing atleast the difference between a hub, switch and router.

This is great forum, I'll be coming here more often.

Thanks again everyone.

Btw, I will be buying the ISB SOHO, looks like its one of the fastest and is recommended by everyone.

Rampage,