I am taking an internet (CISCO) course and don't understand the difference between the default gateway address for a router and its IP address. In every example of the class the default gateway address is 192.168.1.x, often x is 1. In my home system the router default gateway is 192.168.1.1. Therefore the IP address of the router and its default gateway are the same. In a class example I am to create a home network with a number of different hosts and assign IP addresses for each of them. The default gateway of the router is given as 209.165.200.226. So, I have to believe the desired network address for the home network is 209.165.200.0 and therefore all of the hosts on this network should follow as 209.165.200.2 - x. The default gateway address of a host is the router so how can a router have a default gateway address unless it is itself.
Second, I have never seen an example of a switch with an IP address. Do I have to assign an IP address to a switch. I assume not.
If multiple hosts are tied directly to a router, must I change the network address for each connection?