Article Sphere Logo
Computer Systems Network Article

Basics Of A Router

By Expert Author: Robert Thatcher
Word Count: 550 words | Views: 397 view(s)
Router is a computer device that receives or forwards data packets to and from the Internet towards a destination in the process called routing. Router is the essential component of the computer networking that enables any sent data to arrive at the right destination.

As an illustration, imagine that the Internet is the world and one computer is one household. Other computers connected through the Internet are households around the world. Say one household will send a letter to another household in any part of the world. The letter has an address right? And that address would determine the destination of the letter. But without one reading the address, the letter would not arrive to the right receiver. The letter also would not be able to reach the intended receiver if there is not medium. This medium would be the courier. And the courier of the computer data is the router.

A router (broadband router) is also a device that enables two or more computer to receive data packets from the Internet under one IP address at the same time.

Remember that to be able to connect to the Internet, a computer must have an IP address unique from the rest of the computers. Therefore, every computer connected to the Internet has it own IP address. It is like having a fingerprint or ID as an access pass to be able to enter the web. With the presence of the router, this "fingerprint" or "ID" could be shared by two or more computer at the same time.

In simplest form, a router makes two or more computer use the Internet at the same with one access pass.

One more thing: a computer with cable modem could also be considered as a router. In this, the computer would do the process of routing like normal routers do. Other computers are then connected to the computer with Internet connection that would give it with the Internet connection. The computer with cable modem has the direct contact with the Internet and the ones connected to it are sharing the connection.

Why would anyone need a router?

For households with two or more computers who would want to have Internet connection to every computers they have, taking subscription for each would be too much. The solution is to buy a router that would enable every computer in the house to have an Internet connection. In the definition above, the broadband router would act as a hub to the existing Internet connection.

If the router is comparable to a hub, would it affect the Internet speed?

It should be taken into consideration that once a single Internet connection is divided, the connection speed is affected. But there are some broadband routers that would bring minimal slowdown to the Internet speed and the effect might not even be big.

Internet speed would also depend on the type of application used in a router. While some would inflict little effect on the speed like online games, others would terribly slowdown your connection and even hinder you to use the Internet at all.

Usually, offices use a more sophisticated router to redirect Internet connections to the large number of computers. These routers would give better data packeting compared to a typical router used at home that results to faster Internet speed.
Robert Thatcher

About the Author:

Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides router resources on www.about-routers.info.

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Basics-Of-A-Router/16360

Article Tags: routers
 This Article has been viewed 397 times.
  

Related Videos



 

Related Articles

 
 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Computer Systems Network" article category.

People interested in the above article "Basics Of A Router" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

 
Are you mulling over whether or not your company needs a server? Every company whether big or small, needs a server to ensure adaptability. With today's fast changing market conditions you need to find ways to stay ahead of the game. You have to make a conscious effort of ensuring that your business can adapt to company growth and changes in the industry. This article will help you understand what a server is and why you should definitely get one for your business no matter how big or small.
A lot of gamers are not satisfied with the computers sold in computer stores. These gamers usually want more from their gaming computers. And because of this, a lot of retailers have started to sell computer parts and accessories that these people would want to have in their own custom builds. Because computer games are always evolving, computers have to be upgraded to be able to catch up with the requirements that current games have for players to play them at maximum, high resource consuming configurations. By creating their own computers, a gamer will be able to choose whatever specs he would want to have in his custom build.
The Open System Interconnection Reference Model or OSI Reference Model or OSI Model is basically a conceptual description for layered communications and computer network protocol design. It was created as part of the Open Systems Interconnection or OSI initiative.
With the advent of the computer technology the world has become a global village, everybody is dependent on the computer in day to day life. This increase in the use of computer has lead to increase in the requirement of the computer technicians in the world over. Computer technicians are the people that repair the computers, networks and servers. They are not only needed in the field of information technology but also in all the other institutes like offices, banks, colleges and universities. Many institutes are now providing certified courses in computer repairs. While employing a person or getting your computer repaired you should always check that you take services from a well reputed person.
We all know how frustrating computer problems can be, and in this day and age, who can afford the downtime? Before you panic, take a deep breath and relax. Let me offer some helpful tips in order to avoid making a bad decision in "the heat of the moment". Or take the risk of being without your computer for weeks... or worse. Residents of Lexington and Central Kentucky are a loyal bunch like no other I have seen. Whether it's rooting for Wildcat basketball, showing up in droves for Keeneland's opening day, or even choosing a computer repair guy, we like to stick with what we know and love!
Wireless network in simple language: A computer network without wire, where the networks are connected to one another in wireless manner and are generally related to telecommunications and networking. Two or multiple nodes are connected with one another in such a manner that the data flows between them. The wireless network are not using wire and thus implemented with a kind of remote information system for connectivity through the use of electronic radio waves. These kind of networks are enough efficient to easily transmit data and other information from one node to another.
Computer optimization is the tuning up of PC to get faster. It is too hard to work on slow pc, surely everyone wants to get response within second after clicking on particular icon or folder. Performance of your computer system depends upon the many aspects. Some of them are memory available in your computer, bad sector of the hard disk. There had been instances when system does not perform properly if the RAM of the computer is low. But sometimes users face problem even when the system has abundant RAM and Processor.
Article Directory Home All Categories Computer And Technology Computer Systems Network Basics Of A Router
 

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
 
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.