Broadband Router Guide for the home and small
office
The basic idea behind a broadband router is to
allow two or more computers to share In internet connection using a
technology called NAT - network
address translation
. With only a single IP address on
the Internet, all of the computers in your home can be on the Internet at
the same time. Additionally, NAT naturally acts as a rudimentary router firewall
by masking the true IP address of our computer - thus helping to keep your
systems safe from hackers. Broadband routers can be as
easy or as complex as you want them to be. Available for less than
$75 now
, a basic model can
extend your Internet to all the computers in your home. If all you do is
surf and write e-mail, a simple broadband router is both easy to install
and ZERO maintenance. For the more adventurous, manufacturers have added a
myriad of options and features that can delight, confuse and confound us.
Broabdand Router Areas
Routers are not
Perfect
Not all applications work well with
broadband routers. If hosting internet games is an integral
part of your computing experience, a broadband router may sometimes
get in your way. Most broadband routers support the big games
like HalfLife and Quake, but support for more esoteric games can
vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. In general you get
what you pay for in broadband routers.
Other special network applications may also
have problems across a broadband router. Applications
like NetMeeting may not work at all! This should not keep you
from purchasing a broadband router, just realize that applications
other than web, ftp and other standards may need some work to get
going.
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