The difference between industrial 5G routers and switches
This is the information age, and with the advancement of the times, the Internet has become an integral part of people's lives. Computer networks are often made up of many different types of networks interconnected and connected. If several computer networks are only physically connected together and cannot communicate with each other, then there is no real meaning to this "interconnection". Therefore, when talking about "interconnection", it is usually implied that these interconnected computers can communicate with each other, that is, functionally and logically, these computer networks have formed a large computer network, or interconnection network, which can also be referred to as the Internet, interconnection network.
Routers, Switches
Router (Router), also known as a pathfinder, is a device that interconnects at the network layer. It is more complex and has greater flexibility than a bridge. A router has a stronger ability to interconnect heterogeneous networks, and connects to both LANs and WANs. Routers have two typical functions, namely the data channel function and the control function. The data channel function includes forwarding decision, backplane forwarding, and output link scheduling, which are generally performed by specific hardware; the control function is generally realized by software, including information exchange with neighboring routers, system configuration, and system management.
Switch is a kind of network equipment based on MAC (hardware address of network card) identification, which can complete the function of encapsulating and forwarding data packets. Nowadays, switches are classified as Layer 2 switches, Layer 3 switches or higher level switches. Layer 3 switches can also have routing capabilities and have faster forwarding rates than lower-end routers. Its main feature is: once routed, many times forwarded.
To connect networks to each other, some intermediate devices (or intermediate systems) are used, called trunking systems. According to the level where the relay system is located, there can be five types of relay systems as follows.
1. physical layer (i.e., often referred to as the first layer, layer L1) relay system, that is, the transponder.
2. Data link layer (i.e., layer 2, layer L2), i.e., bridge or bridges.
3. Network layer (layer 3, layer L3) relay system, i.e., industrial-grade 5G router.
4．The bridge and industrial-grade 5G router mixture bridge breaker has both the functions of the bridge and industrial-grade 5G router.
5. The relay system above the network layer, i.e., the gateway.
When the relay system is a transponder, it is generally not called a network interconnection, as this simply expands a network, which is still a network. High-level gateways are less used today because they are more complex. Therefore the general discussion of network interconnection refers to networks interconnected with switches and industrial grade 5G routers. This article focuses on switches and industrial-grade 5G routers and their differences.
The main differences between industrial-grade 5G routers and switches are reflected in the following aspects.
(1) Different working levels
The initial switch works at the data link layer of the OSI/RM open architecture, which is the second layer, while the industrial 5G router is designed to work at the network layer of the OSI model from the beginning. Since the switch works at the second layer (data link layer) of OSI, it works in a simpler way, while the industrial grade 5G router works at the third layer (network layer) of OSI, where more protocol information is available and the industrial grade 5G router can make more intelligent forwarding decisions.
(2) The objects on which data forwarding is based are different
The switch uses the physical address or MAC address to determine the destination address of the forwarded data. Industrial 5G routers, on the other hand, use different network ID numbers (i.e., IP addresses) to determine the address for data forwarding. IP addresses are implemented in software and describe the network where the device is located, and sometimes these Layer 3 addresses are also called protocol addresses or network addresses. mac addresses are usually self-contained in hardware, assigned by the NIC manufacturer, and have been solidified into the NIC and are generally It is not changeable. IP addresses, on the other hand, are usually assigned automatically by the network administrator or system.
(3) Traditional switches can only partition the conflict domain, not the broadcast domain; while industrial-grade 5G routers can partition the broadcast domain
The network segments connected by the switch still belong to the same broadcast domain, and broadcast packets will be propagated on all network segments connected by the switch, which can lead to communication congestion and security breaches in some cases. Segments connected to an Industrial 5G router are assigned to different broadcast domains and broadcast data does not pass through the Industrial 5G router. Although the switches above Layer 3 have VLAN function and can also split broadcast domains, the sub-broadcast domains cannot communicate with each other, and the communication between them still needs the industrial grade 5G router.
(4) Industrial 5G routers provide firewall services
Industrial grade 5G router only forwards packets of specific addresses, and does not transmit packet transmissions that do not support routing protocols and unknown target network packets, thus preventing broadcast storms.
Switches are generally used for LAN-WAN connectivity. Switches are classified as bridges, which are data link layer devices, and some switches can also implement Layer 3 switching. Industrial 5G routers are used for WAN-WAN connections and can address forwarding of packets between heterogeneous networks, acting at the network layer. They simply accept incoming packets from one line and forward them to the other line. These two lines may belong to different networks and use different protocols. In comparison, industrial-grade 5G routers are more powerful than switches, but they are also relatively slow and expensive. Layer 3 switches are widely used because they have both the wire-speed forwarding capability of switches and the good control features of industrial-grade 5G routers.
Conclusion
In summary, the switch is generally used for LAN-WAN connection, the switch is classified as a bridge, a data link layer device, some switches can also achieve the third layer of switching. Industrial 5G routers are used for WAN-WAN connections and can solve the problem of forwarding packets between heterogeneous networks, acting at the network layer. They simply accept incoming packets from one line and forward them to the other line. These two lines may belong to different networks and use different protocols. In comparison, industrial grade 5G routers are more powerful than switches.
