The loop and the level of work are different
According to PoE ethernet switch address learning and station table establishment algorithm, there is no loop between ethernet switches. If the loop exists, the spanning tree algorithm must be started to block the port of the generation loop. And router routing protocol does not have this problem, routers can have multiple paths to balance the load and improve reliability.
Load and subnet partitioning is different
There can only be one path between POE Ethernet switches, so that information is concentrated on one communication link, it cannot be allocated dynamically to balance the load. The router routing protocol algorithm can avoid this point. The routing protocol algorithm cannot only generate multiple routes but also select different optimal routes for different network applications, so the load of a router is obviously larger than that of POE Ethernet switch.
Media and broadcast control are different
POE ethernet switch can only narrow the collision domain and not narrow the broadcast domain. The entire switched network is a large broadcast domain, and broadcast messages spread to the entire switched network. Routers can isolate broadcast domains and broadcast messages cannot continue to broadcast through the router. It can be seen that the ethernet switch has a much larger broadcast control range than the router, and the broadcast control range of the router is still relatively small. Ethernet switch, as a bridging device, can also complete the conversion between different link layers and physical layers. However, this conversion process is more complex and is not suitable for ASIC to implement, which is bound to reduce the speed of switch forwarding.