subject: A Brief Introduction to Routers [print this page] Routers like the Linksys router have come a long way. They are one of the busiest devices when it comes to using the Internet. But what are routers and what makes them so busy?
Routers are devices that allow messages to be retrieved and sent to different networks. To illustrate how this happens, imagine a company of a company. Of this 10, 5 are graphics designers, 2 are accountants, and the remaining is management. As these designers work are affected by the others, they would need to send each other their large, finished files. In order to be able to send their work between one another, they will use a network.
However, the network's capacity is only so much. When a designer sends a single large file, that one action can take up part of the network's capacity and consequently affect its speed. This means that other designers will not enjoy the optimized transfer of files due to that large single file. Everyone will nevertheless be able to see the progress of the transfer, as data on the packets, or the amount of information sent, is available for all in the network to see. When this happens, the computer will need to check each packet to see if the packet belonged to the correct address, as there could be other packets of information from other files being transferred simultaneously. Now, imagine if the network extended to the main office, everyone would face a slow connection! Thus, this is where routers come in.
A router basically connects the network of the designers, and the network of the main office, with the Internet. This way, the whole company will not be affected by one network's transfers. Basically, what the router does is to direct information to the correct addresses, and in a way, directs traffic so that information can smoothly be transferred. They will make sure that information meant for only one address gets delivered to that address and nowhere else. At times, they will translate any protocols that exist between the networks. The greater the number of networks, the more power the router will need to work.
As the Internet is made out of many networks, using routers can be beneficial. Get yourself a router, perhaps one like the Linksys router, and you will not fuss using the Internet.
