Difference Between Router and Switch

Router and switch both are the connecting devices in networking. A router is used to choose the smallest path for a packet to reach its destination. A switch stores the arrived packet, process it to determine its destination address and forwards the packet to a specific destination.

The basic difference between a router and a switch is that a router connects different networks together whereas, a switch connect multiple devices together to create a network. Let us study some other differences between router and switch with the help of comparison chart shown below.

Content: Router Vs Switches

1. Comparison Chart
2. Definition
3. Key Differences
4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for Comparison	Router	Switch
Purpose	Router connects different networks together.	Switches create a network by connecting several devices together.
Layer	Router works on the physical layer; data link layer and network layer.	The switch operates on data link layer and network layer.
Work	Router determines the best path that packet should follow to reach the destination computer.	A switch receives process and forwards the packet to intended computers.
Type	Adaptive routing and Nonadaptive routing.	Circuit Switching, Packet Switching, Message Switching.

Definition of Router

Router is a device used for internetworking. A router is used to connect independent LANs together, independent WANs together, or independent LANs and WANs together. A router has a physical and a logical address for each of its interfaces. When a packet arrives at a router’s interface, it has the physical address of router’s interface in its destination field. The router then accepts the packet and before forwarding it changes the physical address in the packet’s source and destination address field.

The main purpose of a router is to select the best (shortest) possible path for the packet during transmission. A router operates at the physical layer; data link layer and network layer of an OSI model.

Router has two routing techniques, Non-adaptive routing and Adaptive routing. In Nonadaptive routing, once a path has been selected, the router send all the packets for that destination through that selected path only. In adaptive routing, each time a router chooses a new path for each packet.

There are some routing algorithms like Distance Vector routing, Link State routing, Dijkstra algorithm, etc. that computes the shortest and cheapest path for transmission of a packet.

Definition of Switch

A switch is also a networking device and connects multiple devices. A switch connects the multiple devices to create a Local Area Network. As a switch connects the multiple devices together to form a LAN, so it is the responsibility of switch to deliver the arrived packet to the specific device.  A switch receives a packet; then it checks the destination address of a packet and forwards it to the outgoing link for that destination if the link is free.

Switches are classified as a Store-and-Forward Switch and a Cut-Through Switch. When a frame arrives at Store-and-Forward switch, it stores the frame in a buffer till all the frame in a packet has arrived. On the other hand, the Cut-Through switch forwards the packet as soon as the destination address of the packet is revealed.

Like hub, a switch never broadcast the packet to all the connected devices instead it forwards the packet to the specific device only. The switch operates at the data link layer and network layer.

Conclusion

Both the devices, routers and switches are compulsorily used while internetworking