Once you move beyond the simplest computer networking, you may find that you need a router to connect the various devices that you need to be able to communicate or simply to create separation between different parts of the network. Despite the variety of features that a router might have, at its heart a router is a simple device that plays a clearly-defined role, and choosing the right router doesn't have to be difficult. This router buying guide will help you figure out how to buy the router that will best meet the needs of your network.
The functions of a router can be broken up into three basic categories:
Routing
In networking speak, the term "routing" means determining the paths to get from one network to another. Higher end routers, such as those used by businesses, educational institutions and Internet server providers (ISPs) often need to be aware of a large amount of networks; these routers have protocols for collecting and distributing large amounts of routing information with neighboring routers. Together these neighboring routers build up a "collective map" of how to reach any network that any of the routers knows about.
Lower-end routers, such as broadband routers for use in the home, usually exist in very small, simple networks. These routers are sometimes capable of running the same routing protocols as their higher-end siblings, but most home users get by just fine without ever giving routing protocols a second thought. After all, a router in your home basically sees two networks: the local area network (LAN, which essentially refers to your home network) and the Internet. It's a simple task for a router to decide between those two networks.
Packet switching
Packet switching is the act of receiving an incoming packet (the networking term for "a chunk of data sent over the network"), using the routing information to determine where to send the packet next to help it reach its final destination and then sending the packet on its way.
While the routing process is performed once when a router is first powered on or added to a network and again when there are changes made to a network, the packet switching process may be occurring continually within a router.
Other services
Aside from the basics of routing and packet switching, routers can perform any other service that the manufacturer decides to implement. For example, home routers nearly always perform Network Address Translation (NAT) to allow all of your computers to share a single IP address on the Internet. These same routers also perform DHCP, the protocol to let your computers request an IP address (and some other information) from the router, so the user doesn't have to configure the computer's network settings for that computer to connect to the network.
Routers might also provide other security features such as Website filtering or using VPN tunneling to create encrypted connections between devices. They may also provide some type of Quality of Service (QoS), which comes in a variety of styles and configurations, the most basic of which is to simply prioritize one type of traffic over the rest. Beyond these basics, there is tremendous variety to the list of services that a router might provide.
The first step in selecting a router is to determine what interfaces you need your router to have. For the home user, this is usually simple: You probably want a WAN Ethernet interface to connect to your cable modem or DSL modem, a wireless access point to let your laptop and other wireless devices connect to the network and perhaps some Ethernet interfaces to connect the wired computers on your LAN. The inexpensive broadband routers sold by various vendors are designed to perfectly accommodate these needs.
For business environments, the choices can be much more varied, and the process of selecting the right router for your needs can become quite complicated. You may want to contact the pre-sales support department for your preferred networking equipment vendor for help in selecting the right router for your business's needs.
Once you have identified the possible routers that can accommodate the interfaces you need, the next issues to consider are price and performance. For the average home user, a simple broadband router will provide all the performance they ever need at the lowest price of any router. This should make the choice quite simple!
However, if your needs are more complicated, then you may need the assistance of a network design professional to help you pick the best equipment. This is particularly true if your network goes beyond the basic "one router per location" that's sufficient for many small businesses. Keep in mind that, if you're connecting to the Internet, the speed of the Internet connection may be far slower than what the rest of your network is capable of. Make sure you truly understand your network's needs, so you don't spend vast amounts of money on a router that's being held back by a comparatively slow Internet connection.
Will a router help keep my home computers secure?
A router can help, but it's far from the last word in keeping your computer secure and your personal information protected. Consider a computer connected directly to the Internet (with no router) -- if every other computer on the Internet can reach you directly, then your operating system may be your only defense against assailants. However, a broadband router that performs NAT has the added benefit of making your router nearly impenetrable to uninvited traffic -- purely by virtue of the fact that, if the router doesn't recognize the network traffic that's trying to get through the router, by default it will simply ignore it! Unfortunately, there are also a variety of ways to make malicious traffic appear to be "invited," such as through viruses and spyware. Your router can't do much against those, so be prepared with the right security software.
Can I use wireless networking for every computer in my home?
This is possible, yes. Wireless networking works with your desktop computers -- a USB network adapter will let it connect to a wireless access point in your router. However, keep in mind that, once you have more than one device on a wireless network, you may see the speed of each connection start to decrease. Unfortunately, it's difficult to predict how well (or poorly) a wireless network will perform with several devices using it at the same time. For basic Web browsing, the wireless traffic is usually sporadic and the total volume of traffic is low, so you can get away with having several devices on a wireless network at the same time without a major slowdown. Just keep in mind, once multiple devices want to use the wireless network at the same moment, things may start to slow down.
Do I need a special router to go with my cable modem or DSL modem?
This depends on the equipment you get from your Internet service provider. Some ISPs will provide a cable modem or DSL modem that is built into a router; in this case, there would probably be no benefit to an additional router unless you were looking for a specific service. However, if your cable modem or DSL modem is not already built into a router, then a basic broadband router should pair with your modem nicely. If your cable or DSL modem has an Ethernet interface, then it's a fairly simple task to connect it to whichever router you purchase.
How does a router decide that one network is different from another one?
Routers see the distinction between one network and another by the IP address range. At some point you may have typed in an IP address like "192.168.1.1" and wondered about the relevance of those numbers; there is a clearly defined set of rules for how these numbers tell you what network you're in, although the rules of IP addressing are beyond the scope of this buying guide. Regardless, the router follows those same rules for identifying networks.
In fact, by default a router requires that each of its interfaces be on a different network. If multiple interfaces on a router are configured to be on the same network, this is known as "bridging" and is a feature you generally only find on mid- to high-end routers. However, many lower end routers will have multiple Ethernet interfaces that are said to be "in a switch group," meaning they can communicate via Ethernet switching, which is a simpler (and faster) process than routing. The router will treat these switched interfaces as though they are on the same network; in fact, it will probably expect it. If you've ever set up this kind of network then you likely entered a "Default Gateway" IP address; that's the single IP address that the router uses to represent its "routed interface" on that particular network.
Build even larger networks with both routers and switches
If you've ever wanted to throw a big LAN party, build your own render farm or do anything else that requires networking a large number of computers, you may have wondered how to connect all those computers together. It's easy -- switches! Ethernet switches are the best way to connect several computers on the same network. If one switch isn't enough, you can connect multiple switches together. (If your switch doesn't have a "switch-to-switch" connection (also called an uplink), then you'll need a crossover Ethernet cable for the connection between two switches.) You can also use the switch's less-intelligent sibling, the hub, which is great for networking on a budget. Overstock.com carries a variety of routers, hubs and switches that you can use to build networks from small to large -- to enormous!
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