About Wireless Broadband Routers
Broadband Internet is one of the most sought-after services among consumers. A major cornerstone in the proliferation of broadband usage was the maturity and reduction in cost of both wired and wireless broadband routers. From 2003 to 2007, the exponential growth in the home and business use of high speed Internet was enabled by the advancement in router technology. This enabled the average consumer to have the ability to both purchase and install her first home router without the aid of highly paid technicians. Because of this advancement, it has become more accessible to customers everywhere.
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History
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The first broadband networks emerged in the later portion of the 1990's. The initial high speed offerings were centered around the cable industry and its associated high speed offerings through cable modems. ADSL technology predates the cable offerings of high speed access in the home and business, but it came to the commercial market approximately one to two years after the introduction of cable technologies in 1996. Router technology evolved parallel to the increase in bandwidth availability. As the technology improved, router cost was driven down at the same time that router manufacturers provided greater automation for router installation. These factors enabled the average consumer to be capable of establishing wired--and later wireless--networks in the home and business. As a result, broadband usage in the United States increased from the 18 million seen in 2003 to over 58 million households in 2008. It continues to expand.
Function
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In order to share the broadband connection in a home or business by either a wired or wireless Local Area Network, a broadband router must be installed. The router provides the functions like network switches, DHCP servers and firewalls. Most broadband routers support all basic Internet functions. Some broadband routers do not support the multi-cast network protocol found in some massive multi-player Internet games, but that is generally the only block.
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Types
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There are several types of broadband routers on the market today. The general categories of router are hard-wired only or a combined hard-wired and wireless router. Hard-wired routers were the first to emerge on the market. As the need for networked office and research spaces grew, the router evolved in order to allow many computers to share local area network connections which shared one common interface to the Internet through the LAN router. This architecture requires a cat 5 Ethernet cable to be run between the computers on the LAN and the router (or LAN Hub).
Advantages to a hard-wired router and associated network are increased security over wireless networking protocols as well as the potential for increased bandwidth. Disadvantages include the likelihood of increased costs. Wireless routers perform the same function as the wired variety; however, they do not require as much infrastructure installation.
Features
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Broadband routers that are available commercially provide a number of features. First, the number of Ethernet ports that a router provides for outgoing service is a great asset. Even if the home or business intends to provide wireless connectivity, having multiple Ethernet outputs allows the network administrator to connect periphery equipment to the router to enable network sharing of the gear. Examples include printers, scanners, and copiers. It's also a great asset if the router can also provide wireless connectivity. The third feature that all routers provide is a configuration utility to allow the network administrator to set firewall, LAN and wireless security settings.
Considerations
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There are a number of considerations to take into account when purchasing a broadband router. It's important to identify one's goal for the network. If using the router for a small business or home, purchasing a lower end wireless or wired router through a local retailer will normally suffice.
Although many printers and scanners are now able to also connect to the network through a wireless connection, many legacy printers may only have an option to be hard-wired to a router.
If buying a router for a large home or business, the range of a wireless router may not suffice to cover the entire structure. In this case, purchasing a smaller router to act as a repeater may be required. For hard-wired options on the larger scale model, acquisition of one or many Internet hubs may be required to provide Internet access across all of the desired locations.
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