Routers

What to look for when buying a Router

So you're looking at buying a router. Router's are at the heart of any network. A router is a relatively simple networking device that enables you to connect your PCs, notebooks, printers and other network devices together. There are generally two connectivity methods; wired routers and wireless routers. Wired routers will require each device to be connected to the router using a network cable, usually a CAT5 cable. Wireless routers don't require any cable but will require the networked devices to have either a wireless card or wireless capability. Some routers support both wired and wireless.

Router's can cost anywhere from $40 to thousands of dollars for more complex enterprise routers. The average wired router suitable for home use will cost around $100 and the average wireless router a little more. Some of the most common brands for routers are Cisco, Netgear, D-link and Netcomm.

These days routers have many additional functions such as built in analog/cable/DSL modem, DHCP server, firewall, print server, VoIP gateway, VPN endpoint and pass-thru and wireless access point. Although these features improve the functionality they will increase the cost and in some cases the complexity. The main functionality to look for would be DHCP followed by a built-in firewall.

Router's come with the support of different protocols such as PPPoE, IP, DHCP, TCP, PPTP, ATM, IPSec and L2TP. There are many protocols used in networks with the main ones for the average home router being TCP and IP.