Everyone talks about broadband routers as essential for home
networks, but few people take the time to carefully examine all the things a
router can do. Home routers offer many useful features beyond basic connection
sharing. Manufacturers have been adding more and more features in recent years. bolts.answerhop
Does your current home network take full advantage of the
router's capabilities? The following sections explain the many features and
functions. When buying a new router, make sure the model you choose supports
the features you want, as not all of them offer all the same. techgeeksblogger
Single or dual band Wi-Fi
Traditional home Wi-Fi routers contained a radio band that
transmitted on the 2.4 GHz frequency. 802.11n routers equipped with a
communication technology called MIMO (Multiple In Multiple Out) changed this
situation. With two (or more) built-in radio transmitters inside, home routers
can now communicate via a wider frequency band than before or via multiple
separate bands. .tc-bolts.dyifo
So-called dual band Wi-Fi routers support multiple radios
and operate on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. These routers effectively
allow users to configure two wireless subnets and achieve the same benefits.
For example, 5 GHz connections can offer higher performance than 2.4 GHz
connections, while 2.4 GHz generally provides better range and compatibility
with older devices.
Traditional or Gigabit Ethernet
Many 1st and 2nd generation home routers don't support
Wi-Fi. These so-called “wired broadband” routers only offered Ethernet ports ,
designed to connect a PC, printer, and possibly a game console. To make the
most of the technology, some homeowners have tried to pre-wire their homes with
an Ethernet cable that spans several rooms. construction-bolts.tockhop
Even today, thanks to the popularity of Wi-Fi and mobile
devices (many of which don't support any wired connections), manufacturers
continue to include Ethernet in their home routers. Ethernet offer better
network performance than wireless connections in many situations. Many popular
broadband modems connect to routers via Ethernet, and more demanding games
often prefer it over Wi-Fi for their gaming systems.
Until recently, routers all supported the same 100 Mbps
technology (sometimes called "10/100" or "Fast Ethernet "
") as their original ancestors. The newer and higher-end models have
upgraded to Gigabit Ethernet which is better for video streaming and other
intensive uses. techqueer
IPv4 and IPv6
All home routers support the Internet Protocol (IP). All
newer routers support two different types of IP: the latest IP version 6 (IPv6)
standard and the older but still mainstream version 4 (IPv4). Older broadband
routers only support IPv4. While it is not strictly necessary for a router to
be IPv6 compatible, home networks can benefit from the security and performance
improvements it provides.
NAT (Network Address Translation)
One of the basic security feature of home router, Network
Address Translation (NAT ) technology sets the addressing scheme of a home
network and its connection to the Internet. NAT keeps track of the addresses of
all devices connected to a router and all messages they send to the outside
world so that the router can route replies to the correct device at a later
time. Some people call this a "NAT firewall" as it effectively blocks
malicious traffic like other types of network firewalls.
Connecting and sharing resources
Sharing an Internet connection on a home network via the
router is a breeze (see - How to connect a computer to the Internet). In
addition to Internet access, various other types of resources can also be
shared.
Modern printers support Wi-Fi and can be connected to your
home network where computers and phones can all send them jobs. Other - How to
connect a printer to the network.
Some newer routers have USB ports designed for connecting
external storage drives. This memory can then be used by other devices on the
network to copy files. These units can also be disconnected from the router and
transported to other locations if a person needs access to data while on a
trip, for example. Even without USB storage capabilities, a router allows
network file sharing between devices in other ways. Files can be transferred
using a device's network operating system functions or via cloud storage
systems. bacobolts.yictic
Guest network
Some newer wireless routers (not all) support guest
networking, which allows you to set up a special section of your home network
only for friends and family who come to visit. Guest network restrict access to
the primary home network so that visitors are unable to browse your home
network resources without your permission. Specifically, a guest network uses a
separate security setup and different Wi-Fi security keys than the rest of the
home network so that your private keys can remain hidden.
Parental Controls and other access restrictions
Router manufacturer often advertise parental controls as a
strong point of their products. The details of how these checks work all depend
on the router model involved. General features of the parental controls on the
router include:
• blocking
of specific websites by name
• limit the
hours of the day (or night) that a child can access the web
• limit the
hours of the day (or night) that a child can access the web
A router administrator configure parental control settings
through the console menus. The settings are applied separately by device, so
your child's devices can be restricted while the others remain unrestricted.
Routers track the identification of local devices via their physical (MAC)
addresses so that a child cannot simply rename their computer to avoid parental
control.
Since the same features can be useful for spouses and other
family members besides children, parental controls are better referred to as
access restrictions.
VPN Server and Client Support
Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology improve the
security of Internet connections and has becomes increasingly popular with the
growth of wireless networks. Many people use VPNs at work or on mobile devices
that connect to Wi-Fi hotspots, but relatively few use a VPN when at home. Some
newer routers offer VPN support, but others don't, and even those that do may
be limited in the features they offer.
Home routers with VPNs typically only provide support for
VPN servers. This allow family members to set up a VPN connection at home while
on the go. Fewer home routers also provide VPN client support, which allows
devices within the home to make VPN connections when accessing the internet.
Those who make the security of wireless home connections a priority should make
sure their router can function as a VPN client.
Port Forwarding and UPnP
A standard but less understood features of home routers,
port forwarding gives an administrator the ability to direct incoming traffic
to individual devices within the home network based on the TCP and UDP port
numbers contained in individual messages. Common scenarios where Port
forwardino has been used generally include PC gaming and web hosting.
The Universal Plugs and Play (UPnP) standard was develop to
simplify the way computers and applications use ports to communicate with home
networks. UPnP automatically sets up many of the connection that would
otherwise require manual configuration of port forwarding entries on a router.
All traditional home routers support UPnP as an optional
feature; administrators can disable it if they want to keep full control over
the router's port forwarding decisions.
QoS
Typical home routers offer several options for quality of
service (QoS) control on a home network. The QoS allows an administrator to
provide devices and / or applications selected for priority access to network
resource.
Most broadband router support QoS as a feature that can be
turned on or off. Home routers with QoS can provide separate settings for wired
Ethernet connections versus wireless Wi-Fi connections. The devices to be
prioritized are usually identified by their physical MAC address. Other
standard QoS options :
• Traffic
on individual TCP or UDP ports can often have a higher or lower priority than
others. Administrators typically use these settings to prioritize games on the
network;
• the QoS
WMM ( Wi-Fi MultiMedia ) automatically detects and prioritizes streaming video
and voice traffic on Wi-Fi connections. Many routers have WMM as a selectable
option; some models keep WMM enabled by default while others have it disabled
by default.
Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)
The concept behind WPS is simple: home networks (especially
security settings) can be prone to errors to set up, so anything that
simplifies the process saves time and headaches. WPS provides mechanisms for
simple security authentication of Wi-Fi devices using a push button connection
method or through special personal identification numbers (PINs), access keys
that can sometimes be automatically transferred using Near Field Communication
(NFC) . However, some Wi-Fi clients do not support WPS and there are also
security issues.
Upgradeable firmware
Router manufacturers often fix bugs and add enhancements to
their routers' operating systems. All modern router incorporate a firmware
update feature to allow owners to update their router after purchase. Some
router manufacturers, notably Linksys, go a step further and provide official
support to their customers to replace stock firmware with a third-party (often open
source) version such as DD-WRT.
The average homeowner might not care much, but some tech
enthusiasts see the ability to customize firmware as a key factor when choosing
a home router. See also: Wi-Fi wireless router brands for home computer
networks.
