What is a Router? How Router Works?

What is a Router? How Router Works?

The router, commonly referred to as a router, is a common home network device, a piece of network hardware that allows communication between your local home network and the Internet.

What is a Router?

A router is the first security line from unauthorized access to a network. Enabling the highest level of security on the router turns on things like a firewall and is the best way to protect your computer system and information from attacks.

Most routers only connect to other network devices with network cables and do not require drivers to work on Windows or other operating systems. However, routers that connect to a computer via USB or FireWire often require drivers to function properly.

Routers often operate as DHCP servers on small networks, giving unique IP addresses.

Most routers are manufactured by companies like Linksys, 3Com, Belkin, D-Link, Motorola, TRENDnet, and Cisco, but there are more.

How the Router Works?

Routers connect a modem such as fibers, cable, or DSL modem to other devices to allow communication between these devices and the internet. Many routers, including wireless routers, usually have several network ports to connect multiple devices to the Internet at the same time.

A router is usually physically connected to the modem via the internet or WAN port using a network cable, and then to the network interface card in any wired network device you have through a network cable. The wireless router can be connected to devices that support the standard used, using a variety of wireless standards.

Although these devices are used in the same context, modems and routers are different devices, but cable modem/router combinations exist.

The IP address assigned to the WAN or internet connection is a public IP address. The IP address assigned to the local network connection is a private IP address. The private IP address assigned to a router is usually the default gateway for various devices on the network.

Wireless routers and multi-link cable routers also function as simple network switches that enable devices to communicate with each other. For example, several computers connected to a router can be configured to share files and printers with each other.

Routers are like small computers with CPU and memory to handle incoming and outgoing data. Different software such as DD-WRT can be installed on the router like an operating system on the computer.

A router operates in the Network layer (layer 3) of the OSI model and uses routing tables to understand where traffic comes from and where it should go.

Router Management

There will probably be a time when you need to change how your network works. This is done by accessing the software on the router.

A few reasons to log in to your router are the router if you want to change the router's login password, encrypt the network, set the port forwarding rules, change the Wi-Fi password, choose a different wireless network name or update the firmware.

Some other common tasks related to managing a router include rebooting the router and completely resetting the router's software.