Router FAQ

What is a Router?

When speaking about computers, in layman's terms a Router is a device that goes in between your modem and your computer (or Network of Computers) and shares the Internet connection to as many computers as you like using a process called NAT.

What other features do they have?

There's barely a Router on the market now that is just a Router. Most have various extra hardware items & features built into them including:-

Switches (to plug multiple PCs together)
ADSL modems* (so you don't need a separate modem)
Print Servers to share a Printer without relying on another PC being left on
Wireless Access Points so you don't need a separate WAP to connect up PCs wirelessly
Serial Ports for ISDN or Dial-up failover
Advanced (Stateful Packet Inspection) Firewalls
VPN servers & clients
Content Filtering (Parental Control)
Logging traffic and attempted security breaches
Traffic Shaping (QoS)
even anti-virus

Why should I get one?

Routers are secure, easy to use and reliable. A basic Router on a small Network will take an hour or so to install and keep plugging away happily for years. Attempting to achieve the same result with software methods can often take days (at the expense of much hair and sleep) and still be nowhere near as secure or reliable.
They can't be fooled by viruses or Trojan Horse programs, and because of the sheer number of different brands and models available, it's unlikely for anyone to come up with an exploit to affect them.

How much do they cost?

Simple Routers start from around $100.00 and go up as high as you like depending on the size of the job it needs to do, and extra features you may want or need. For the most part, the more you spend, the more you get. More expensive Routers are generally a lot more powerful to cope with larger sized Networks or more advanced Internet usage like multiple VPNs.

How do I know which one to buy?

Do a little research first, and consider the following :-

What Broadband type have you got?
Does the Router include specific support for your Broadband type? (eg BigPond Cable. Optus just requires a Router that supports a "Dynamic IP" connection type which is available on every Router I've ever seen.)
Do you also require a modem? (There are many Routers that have built-in ADSL modems which usually provides some cost saving over buying a separate modem and router. Just bear in mind that these aren't suitable for Cable Internet).
If you have a separate modem, is it going to be compatible with the Router? (eg Routers generally need an Ethernet modem. USB modems are usually not suitable, so if that's all you've got, you'll need to upgrade the modem or buy a Router with a built-in modem).

Note: Some modems like the Motorola SB4200 Cable modem and several ADSL modems have both USB & Ethernet ports and these are fine to use with Routers as long as you use the Ethernet port.

What applications do you commonly use and is the Router configurable for these? (eg MSN Messenger requires UPnP support for Voice, Video and File Sharing, and Remote Access applications like PCAnywhere will require some port forwarding)
How common is the brand & model within Australia in order to get support and warranty claims?
How long is the warranty?
Does the manufacturer provide local technical assistance?

What else will I need to use a Router?

Each PC will need a Network card and a patch lead. Patch leads, also known as Cat5 cable with RJ45 connectors, come in two forms - Standard and Crossover. Crossover cables are only used to connect 2 PCs together without a Router, or to uplink a Router to another switch (if no crossover port is available on either device). With few exceptions, the cables that go between the Router and the PCs will be Standard Cables (The Billion 711CE/7100Pro & Netcomm NB1300 are exceptions. These use a Crossover cable in the same situation.)
With Wireless Routers, you'll need wireless network cards for the PCs you want to be Wireless. Bearing in mind that most Routers with wireless capability also include a built-in switch so you can also plug PCs into it with cables and they'll all talk to each other exactly the same way irrespective of whether the PCs are wired or wireless.