Introduction to
Wireless Router
Wireless Router is
a network device that works for
the wireless local area networks
and they join the wired and wireless
network together. The basic function
of a router is to connect two logically
and physically different networks
and it operates at the network layer
of the OSI model. Wired and wireless
routers filter the traffic by means
of the IP addresses. Router uses
IP address, packet header and the
routing table to sort out the packets
and determine the best shortest
possible path for a packet to be
delivered to the destination. A
typical WLAN router has four built
inn Ethernet ports and 802.11 access
points. A WLAN router can be used
for the multiple purposes such as
IP address sharing, connect multiple
networks, improved network performance,
improved network management and
enhanced security features.
How Router
Works
Router communicates
based on the IP addresses. Every
network device or computer that
is a part of the local or wide area
network is assigned a unique IP
address. The router routes the packets
towards the destination based on
the IP address of the destination
device or computer. Router has the
built-in software called the routing
table, which contains the information
of the source and destination devices
(next hop). A router can filter
any message that is sent through
the network. Routing table may have
a huge collection of the IP addresses,
but router decides that where the
message is meant to and only sends
the message to its destination.
As the number of number of routers
and switches in network or the number
of networks grow, the routing table
also populates but the basic function
of the routing table remains the
same i.e. sorting of the message
and deliver of the message only
to the destination. Internet is
a largest network in the world and
it uses thousands of routers to
connect with each other and then
form a huge network.
Configurations
1. Connect your desktop
PC with the Ethernet port of the
router via Ethernet cable.
2. Connect your DSL cable to the
WAN port of the router.
3. Turn on your PC, DSL Modem and
Router.
4. On your computer open the web
browser and type the router’s
default IP address. You can find
this IP address in the router’s
manual.
5. When you see the routers configuration
screen, you can set the SSID (service
set identifier), WEP, DNS and DHCP
settings.
6. Set the SSID administrative login/password
to a non-default value to improve
the security.
7. Enable DHCP so that wired and
wireless clients as well as network
devices such as switches, Routers,
PDAs, Printers, PC and laptops can
get IP address from the router.
Wireless
Router Reviews
Some of the
best wireless routers are as following.
1. Linksys WRT54GS
Wireless Router
2. Belkin (F5D7230-4) Wireless Kit
(F5D7230V4SNPDQ)
3. Linksys WRT54GL Wireless Router
4. Linksys WRT54GC Wireless Router
5. Linksys Wireless-G WRT54GX4 Router
(WRT54GX4-CA)
6. D-Link DI-624 AirPlus Xtreme
G
7. Buffalo G54 AirStation