I really don't understand the difference between routers and switches

Until I read this post: http://jingyan.baidu.com/article/92255446ebe845851748f445.html

-----

With the development of society, many families have 2 or several computers, in order to achieve the common computer network, routers and switches are slowly more people know, but because home routers and switches from the outside look very much like, many people are not aware of the differences between routers and switches, and their respective role. Routers

The difference between routers and switches: switch is mainly to achieve everyone through a network cable, but we are dialing the Internet, each use their own broadband, we have no impact on the internet, even if other people in the download, on their own internet has no impact, and all use the same switch computer is in the same LAN. Router than the switch more than a virtual dialing function, through the same router Internet computer is a common broadband account, everyone between the internet is interactive, such as a computer in the download, then the other computer on the same router will obviously feel the speed is very slow. The computer on the same router is also within a LAN.

END Switch

If the above described people still do not understand the difference between routers and switches, then the small part of the example to illustrate with you. For example, our family online, must be only a broadband, but there are 3 computers in the home, all want to go through the same broadband internet, then use the router. Again, as many university dormitories have only one broadband interface, but the whole bedroom people need to surf the internet, but also each has their own broadband account, and want everyone to the Internet does not affect each other, then the use of the switch, we each dial the Internet, no impact on each other.
The router also has the function of the switch, if you already have a router, but now want to use the router as a switch to do? Very simple, the router has a WAN interface, broadband lines are connected to the WAN interface, when the router when the switch is used, the WAN interface on the broadband line unplugged, plug into the other interface up, the WAN port can be empty.

END

------------------------: Why can I use a router to dial two computers at the same time? But why not the switch ?

1, the popular saying that the router contains the dialing steps and switch functions. So two computers even the router does not need to dial manually on the computer.
2, the switch only has the function of connecting two computers, there is no generation dialing step of the router, so we need to dial manually on the computer.
3, two computers to use a switch to share a dial-up Internet can be achieved, as long as one of the computer's dialer settings shared, and then another computer's gateway to the computer to share the computer IP, you can achieve shared Internet access.