difference between router switch and access point

[Fantazzmo]

So I thought i knew what everyone one of these was, but when i tried to explain it, i kinda contradicted myself and now I'm confused. Can someone help explain the difference?

 

[TheN00bBuilder]

Router; has ethernet ports like a switch and a wireless antenna system.

Access point; Can only connect via wireless, no wired part.

Switch; only has ethernet ports on it, no wireless capabilities.

[TheAmazingCookieFromSquare]

Router; has ethernet ports like a switch and a wireless antenna system.

Access point; Can only connect via wireless, no wired part.

Switch; only has ethernet ports on it, no wireless capabilities.

[rafazafar]

router is like the chef.
AP and switches are like waiter/resses..

[Godlygamer23]

So I thought i knew what everyone one of these was, but when i tried to explain it, i kinda contradicted myself and now I'm confused. Can someone help explain the difference?

Wireless routers are devices that contain switches, hardware firewalls, and an access point. Normal routers contain switches, a hardware firewall, but no access point. Switches only have network ports on them.

[Godlygamer23]

router is like the chef.

AP and switches are like waiter/resses..

Not quite. Wireless routers may have all the functions of a switch and access point, but individual access points and switches have the potential to be better because there is more room dedicated to the respective function, rather than trying to cram all those aforementioned functions into a single device.

[Fantazzmo]

okay, that makes sense. Thanks for the help!

[Sheldon_King]

router: takes signal from the modem (sometimes included in router) and runs it through the routers dhcp server assigning an ip address to the device. this is required when you are using more than one device on a single wan interface.

 

switch: included in the router most of the time. This takes one incoming hardline and multiplies it out to many. most of the time you will need the router or at least one computer as a dhcp server or else you are only going to be able to connect one device to the switch.

 

access point: this is a wireless switch. it allows you to use your wired router with a wireless device. you still needna dhcp server on the network, most times coming from the router. without the dhcp server, you only have one ip address on you wireless network. basically, dont hook your access point directly to the modem unless you have a router in your modem. 

[Grrizz]

Router - Passes data packets between networks however when most people talk about routers (for the home) they are referring to a router + switch + access point combo.

Switch - Connects devices together on a wired network.

Access point - Connects wireless devices to a wired network.