How Does a Computer Router Work?

Purpose

Routers are essential for computers with broadband Internet connection. They can be thought of as the traffic directors of the Internet, transmitting signals between your computer and the Internet so you can send and receive information. A router is connected to two networks (either wired or wireless), and sends information back-and-forth from those networks. These two networks are the local area network (LAN) and the wider area network (WAN). Therefore, a router transmits information between your home computer and other computers in the WAN of the Internet.

Sending Information

A router sends information by sending "data packets" to another computer. A data packet contains not only the actual message or data (such as an email message), but also a header that contains the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the destination. Therefore, whenever you navigate from one website to another on the Internet, a router directs data packets to the quickest route possible. For instance, whenever you click on a website link, your router communicates with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) router to determine the quickest route possible to bring up that website.

Receiving Information

When a router receives a data packet from the Internet, it analyzes the packet for its sender's IP address. If it does not recognize the IP address as valid, it will reject it from entering your computer (to forbid other Internet users from viewing your Internet connection). If it does recognize the address, it will communicate with the ISP router to send the information to your computer through the quickest route.

Resources

• Information on how a router functions
• More information on routers, including images