Can I use a switch instead of a router to connect wired only devices to the internet?

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sniperation

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For those of you who have or are familiar with fibre home networks, you will know that the fibre cable goes to an ONT (Optical Network Terminal) which connects to a router that connects all your devices at home.

My question is instead of using a router, since I will only be connecting my devices (desktop, xbox, and tv) via ethernet cable, can i use a gigabit switch instead of a traditional router. Ive read that switches are great for minimizing packet loss and latency in terms of gaming, but can they also act like a router?
 
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USAFRet


No.
I'm assuming you're talking about Verizon FiOS?

From the ONT, to the router supplied by Verizon, then ethernet out to your devices.
This is especially true if you also have TV service through them...
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getochkn

getochkn

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No, a router does things like handles IP address, etc. Most internet gives you one IP to your house. A router takes this, and assigns IP's to all the devices (wired or wireless, doesn't matter) like how you get 192.168.1.100 for your IP. The router then knows what PC is connected to what IP, sends that info to your outside IP from your ISP, gets the info back, and "routes" it to the proper PC.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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No.
I'm assuming you're talking about Verizon FiOS?

From the ONT, to the router supplied by Verizon, then ethernet out to your devices.
This is especially true if you also have TV service through them.

You can, if you want, use a different router other than the Verizon one. This requires a slightly different set up.
There is nothing wrong with the routers that Verizon gives, but there must be a router in the mix.
 
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sniperation

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So why do some people choose to connect their gaming devices to a gigabit switch instead of directly to the router itself? Gigabit switches are supposed to be great for gaming but if they cant be used as the main distributor of the fibre network, why do people use them in a home setting. Like i get why businesses use them but why use them at home?

FYI im not challenging your answers, I'm genuinely curious
 
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getochkn

getochkn

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If they want to connect to the internet, usually there is a router involved. And I have a gigabit router, so it has gigabit which then goes out to 3 gigabit switches to send network around my house. Between wired and wireless devices, we have over 40 connected devices and the router handles it fine and my ping is fine in games.

Who says people just connect to a gigabit switch? Just doing that does nothing, you need an internet connection and a router. If you are the only PC on the network, you could connect the ISP to a switch, but that's pointless, why not connect directly to the ISP modem instead.
 
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giantbucket

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people may connect to a GBit switch to handle the traffic from one machine in their home to another, and not for the outside world. for example, a game server or media server that allows mom and three kids to each watch separate shows, all of which are stored on the server. the outside world doesn't matter, but the bandwidth inside the home does. hence a GBit switch to handle the inside-the-home traffic, and from that a simple router+modem to handle connections to the evil outside world, full of porn and guns and hello kitty.

also, in an office there can be from 10 to 1000 machines and/or LAN drop points, and for that a switch or two are used. then from that, one connection to a server that handles the internal addresses, and one connection to the router to handle emails going in and out of the office. no router comes with 1000 ports right on it - you gotta use a few switches to get to that capacity! heck, even in my small office, i use a 48-port, which handles a few computers, a printer/scanner, a plotter, the server, etc.
 
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sniperation

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So if i understand you guys correctly, a gigabit switch alone is simply not capable of distributing the network from the fibre optical network terminal (or cable/dsl modem for those without fibre) to the rest of the devices at home
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Because the router only has 4 LAN ports. I have ~10 wired devices.
Also, it allows multiple devices to be run in a remote location, from a single wire. Run one Cat5e cable upstairs, power several devices. Instead of running 4 cables upstairs.

For instance....
Next to the router is all the 'home entertainment' stuff. TV, stereo receiver, HTPC, Ooma, printer, a few other things I've forgotten. All running off an 8 port switch from the router.
Over by my desk (same room), there is a laptop, a desktop, a work PC....all running off a switch. Said switch only needs a single wire across the room, instead of several. And if I need to add another device, I just plug into this switch here at my desk, instead of running another wire all the way across the room.

It's not that a switch is 'better'. It is that it provides more wired ports, with no performance hit.

Without a router, you have exactly 1 possible device, directly off the modem (or ONT, in this case).
 
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getochkn

getochkn

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In 99% of cases, no. Myself, I could actually since I have a business class cable account with like 6 IP address, I could plug the cable modem directly into a switch, then 6 PC's in and they would all have their own outside world IP. They couldn't talk to each other since they would all be on a different network and it would allow nothing for my other 34+ devices on my network, no wifi, nothing.

I am the 1% though with an internet plan capable of that, and even then, it doesn't suit my large network.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Right. You need a router to provide multiple internal IP addresses.
From the ISP, you get one and only one IP address.
 
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