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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. @ Read More imtechaddicted fitliza technologyiesinnovation
