What is a Switch vs a Router?

When building a small office network, the two most important devices you need are switches and routers. Although they look similar, the two devices perform different functions within a network.

What is a switch?
Switches facilitate resource sharing by connecting all devices, including computers, printers, and servers, on a small business network. Thanks to the switch, these connected devices can exchange information and communicate with each other, regardless of where they are located in a building or on campus. Building a small business network is impossible without switches to connect devices.
Example is Cisco WS-C2960X-24PS-L

What is a router?
Just as a switch connects multiple devices into one network, a router connects multiple switches and their respective networks into an even larger network. These networks can be in a single location or in multiple locations. When building a small business network, you need one or more routers. The router not only connects multiple networks together but also allows networked devices and multiple users to access the Internet.

An example of the router is Cisco C1111-4P

Ultimately, a router acts as a dispatcher, directing traffic and choosing the most efficient path for information in the form of data packets to travel through a network. A router connects your business to the world, protects information from security threats, and even decides which devices take precedence over others.