Main Network Hardware’s Difference: Integrated Devices, Router, Network Switch & Firewall

If you are used to working with home networking gear, you will be used to an integrated device that “does it all”. On a home network, you may have one box that is a cable/DSL modem, router, firewall, switch, and wireless access point all in one. It is amazing all the functions they can fit into one box.

If you are studying Cisco networking and learning about how businesses use these devices, you may be wondering why there is so much importance on the differences between a switch, router, firewall, and other network devices. If the home user can have all these devices combined into one, why doesn’t the business user do this as well? So, now, here we try to find out what the main differences between these network devices.

Integrated devices

Just like home devices, business devices have become more and more consolidated over time but not to the extent that the home devices have. Network administrators in a business network are more comfortable having separate devices and even like the idea. This is because network administrators like to be able to isolate problems down to a certain device and they like to be able to know the performance capabilities of every device. If you use an integrated router, switch, and firewall all into one device, troubleshooting, managing, and understanding the performance capabilities of that device gets