Not all routers are created equal since their job will differ slightly from network to network. Additionally, you may look at a piece of hardware and not even realize it is a router. What defines a router is not its shape, color, size or manufacturer, but its job function of routing data packets between computers.<\/b><\/p>\n
By Vangie Beal<\/b><\/p>\n
A\u00a0router<\/a>\u00a0is a\u00a0device<\/a>\u00a0that forwards data\u00a0packets<\/a>\u00a0along\u00a0networks<\/a>. A router is connected to at least two networks, commonly two\u00a0LANs<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0WANs<\/a>\u00a0or a LAN and its\u00a0ISP’s<\/a>\u00a0network. Routers are located at\u00a0gateways<\/a>, the places where two or more networks connect, and are the critical device that keeps data flowing between networks and keeps the networks connected to the Internet. When data is sent between locations on one network or from one network to a second network the data is always seen and directed to the correct location by the router. They accomplish his by using\u00a0headers<\/a>\u00a0and forwarding tables to determine the best path for forwarding the data packets, and they use\u00a0protocols<\/a>\u00a0such as\u00a0ICMP<\/a>\u00a0to communicate with each other and configure the best route between any two hosts.<\/p>\n The Internet itself is a global\u00a0network<\/a>\u00a0connecting millions of\u00a0computers<\/a>\u00a0and smaller networks \u2014 so you can see how crucial the role of a router is to our way of communicating and computing.<\/p>\n Why Would I Need a Router? Routers for Home & Small Business Going a step up from ICS, we have a category of\u00a0hardware<\/a>\u00a0routers that are used to perform the same basic task as ICS, albeit with more features and functions. Often called\u00a0broadband or Internet connection sharing routers, these routers allow you to share one Internet connection between multiple computers.<\/p>\n Broadband or ICS routers will look a bit different depending on the manufacturer or brand, but wired routers are generally a small box-shaped hardware device with\u00a0ports<\/a>\u00a0on the front or back into which you plug each computer, along with a port to plug in your\u00a0broadband<\/a>\u00a0modem. These connection ports allow the router to do its job of routing the data packets between each of the the computers and the data going to and from the Internet.<\/p>\n Depending on the type of modem and Internet connection you have, you could also choose a router with phone or\u00a0fax machine<\/a>\u00a0ports. A wired\u00a0Ethernet<\/a>\u00a0broadband router will typically have a built-in Ethernet switch to allow for expansion. These routers also support\u00a0NAT<\/a>\u00a0(network address translation), which allows all of your computers to share a single\u00a0IP<\/a>\u00a0address on the Internet. Internet connection sharing routers will also provide users with much needed features such as an\u00a0SPI<\/a>\u00a0firewall<\/a>\u00a0or serve as a a\u00a0DHCP<\/a>\u00a0Server.<\/p>\n Wireless broadband routers look much the same as a wired router, with the obvious exception of the antenna on top, and the lack of cable running from the PCs to the router when it is all set up. Creating a wireless network adds a bit more security concerns as opposed to wired networks, but wireless broadband routers do have extra levels of embedded security.\u00a0 Along with the features found in wired routers, wireless routers also provide features relevant to wireless security such as Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA<\/a>) and wireless\u00a0MAC address<\/a>\u00a0filtering. Additionally, most wireless routers can be configured for “invisible mode” so that your wireless network cannot be scanned by outside wireless clients.\u00a0 Wireless routers will often include ports for Ethernet connections as well. For those unfamiliar with\u00a0WiFi<\/a>\u00a0and how it works, it is important to note that choosing a wireless router may mean you need to beef up your Wi-Fi knowledge-base. After a wireless network is established, you may possibly need to spend more time on monitoring and security than one would with a wired LAN.<\/p>\n Wired and wireless routers and the resulting network can claim pros and cons over each other, but they are somewhat equal overall in terms of function and performance. Both wired and wireless routers have high reliability and reasonably good security (without adding additional products). However \u2014and this bears repeating \u2014 as we mentioned you may need to invest time in learning more about wireless security. Generally, going wired will be cheaper overall, but setting up the router and cabling in the computers is a bit more difficult than setting up the wireless network. Of course, mobility on a wired system is very limited while wireless offers outstanding mobility features.<\/p>\n Are Routers Expensive?
\nFor most home users, they may want to set-up a\u00a0LAN<\/a>\u00a0(local Area Network) or\u00a0WLAN<\/a>\u00a0(wireless LAN) and connect all computers to the\u00a0Internet<\/a>\u00a0without having to pay a full broadband subscription service to their\u00a0ISP<\/a>\u00a0for each computer on the network. In many instances, an ISP will allow you to use a router and connect multiple computers to a single Internet connection and pay a nominal fee for each additional computer sharing the connection. This is when home users will want to look at smaller routers, often called broadband routers that enable two or more computers to share an Internet connection. Within a business or organization,\u00a0 you may need to connect multiple computers to the Internet, but also want to connect multiple private networks \u2014 and these are the types of functions a router is designed for.<\/p>\n
\nNot all routers are created equal since their job will differ slightly from network to network. Additionally, you may look at a piece of hardware and not even realize it is a router. What defines a router is not its shape, color, size or manufacturer, but its job function of routing data packets between computers. A\u00a0cable modem<\/a>\u00a0which routes data between your PC and your ISP can be considered a router. In its most basic form, a router could simply be one of two computers running the\u00a0Windows 98<\/a>\u00a0(or higher)\u00a0operating system<\/a>\u00a0connected together using ICS (Internet Connection Sharing<\/a>).\u00a0 In this scenario, the computer that is connected to the Internet is\u00a0acting as the router\u00a0for the second computer to obtain its Internet connection.<\/p>\n
\nBelow is a sample price comparison of routers and expected features as well as current pricing in U.S. dollars from online vendors found through\u00a0PriceWatch<\/a>\u00a0in February 2005.<\/p>\n