whats a router

[kirk1690]

whats all this router stuff, i have a pc connected to my surfboard modem and thats it , AM I MISSING SOMETHING?:dunce:

[Graham M]

Unless you want to connect more than one PC then your setup is fine :) Just as long as you have a decent Firewall installed on your PC

[TehTech]

whats all this router stuff, i have a pc connected to my surfboard modem and thats it , AM I MISSING SOMETHING?:dunce:

Oh My God!!!!

My friend, google (http://www.google.co.uk)is your friend, use it, take from it you want, fill yourself up on the knowledge it shows, behold this knowledge & store it for later use!

[Delta Whiskey]

You don't need a router if you only have one computer connected to the Internet, but a side effect of the way they work is it does act as a firewall.

[Graham M]

Oh My God!!!!

My friend, google (http://www.google.co.uk)is your friend, use it, take from it you want, fill yourself up on the knowledge it shows, behold this knowledge & store it for later use!

No need to be rude!

[xpod]

Oh My God!!!!

2 years ago next month i did`nt know what bloody Google was
I did`nt know you used a START button to switch off your pc and i never knew nothing at all.......that i know now!!!

Things are only easy when you know how.
There is no such thing as a stupid question btw,only stupid responses:angel:

EDIT:ok ok ...i did`nt know that most home users used a START button to switch their pc`s off:-)

[MovedGoalPosts]

EDIT:ok ok ...i did`nt know that most home users used a START button to switch their pc`s off:-)

Yep it's a bit of an oddity that one. Perhaps the people at Microsoft could never get their head round the idea that you users wouldn't be in front of their PC 24/7. Logical people would have called that button "menu" or something similar.

However this is getting :notopic: The original question was perfectly valid and reasonable. Let's please remember that everyone has to start somewhere with their knowledge. Judging by the number of posts we get on Cable Forum, there is plenty of confusion over what and how things are actually connected together.

[TehTech]

No need to be rude!

Er excuse me??? who said I was being rude?????

I was helping the OP, by telling him/her to use google as you can find out most things by it, thus no need for as many 'noobish' questions..

I love it how everyone is flippin quick to jump to the wrong conclusions!

Maybe next time actually READ the posts BEFORE you post YOUR comments...

Let's please remember that everyone has to start somewhere with their knowledge. Judging by the number of posts we get on Cable Forum, there is plenty of confusion over what and how things are actually connected together.

So pointing someone to google to search for stuff aint educating & helping??? well I might as well resign now & not bother with here if people cant see when help is being given, hell i even provided the link for OP to click on too..

[MovedGoalPosts]

So pointing someone to google to search for stuff aint educating & helping??? well I might as well resign now & not bother with here if people cant see when help is being given, hell i even provided the link for OP to click on too..

Please take a chill pill. My comment in particular was general aimed at everyone who had posted, indicating that criticism of the OP for the initial question, which might seem basic, was unreasonable, but then criticsim too of suggestions of where to get assistance was also unhelpful. It's time to move on now instead of jumping up and down at each other, let's get on with improving knowledge.

[xpod]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Router
http://www.misco.co.uk/content/module/networking/what-is-RouterHubSwitch.htm?bp=1

:)

---------- Post added at 15:04 ---------- Previous post was at 14:59 ----------

Let's please remember that everyone has to start somewhere with their knowledge. Judging by the number of posts we get on Cable Forum, there is plenty of confusion over what and how things are actually connected together.

+1 on the first part:)
You should see the amount of posts regarding confusion over in certain sections of UF though.:shocked:

Your on page 4 before you`ve had chance to refresh;)

[Anonymouse]

Right, time for someone to be helpful to a newbie. Remember we were all newbies at one time, and the Wikipedia article's more for the techies.

Anyway. If you read your Terms & Conditions on your broadband contract, it says you can't have more than one WAN (Wide Area Network) device connected to your cable modem/STB at one time. For a single computer this basically means its Ethernet network card - if you tried to use some sort of splitter to connect 2 computers directly to the modem, a) it probably wouldn't work, and b) Virgin would detect this and probably cut you off. You can use Internet Information Services to effectively pass the broadband connection through one computer into the other (though one computer would need two network cards - one for the modem/STB, one for the second computer), but this doesn't work all that well; if the computer directly connected to the modem/STB goes down, the other loses its Internet connection.

So what do you do if you have two computers and you want both to have Internet access, e.g. a PC in one room and a laptop in, say, your bedroom? Answer: use a router.

The router connects directly to the modem/STB as the single WAN device allowed. But then you can connect both computers to it, either by Ethernet cable or wirelessly (wireless routers usually offer both sorts of connection), to form a LAN (Local Area Network). The router handles all network traffic between modem/STB and computers - it distinguishes between the 2 computers by a technical process called Network Address Translation. Here's how it works:

Each network card has a unique address, the MAC (Media Access Control) address. As one computer sends a request to the router to access, say, this page, the router notes which MAC address the request came from, converts this to its own address, and sends the request to the modem. The resulting web page is sent back to the router's address; the router converts this back to the computer's address and the web page is displayed on the computer from which the request came. The other computer might be accessing, e.g., Amazon at the same time, but neither will interfere with the other.

This means you can have 2 or more computers using the same broadband connection, without violating Virgin's T & Cs. The approach has several other advantages:

Since the router lets you create a LAN, you can copy files back and forth between the computers (provided your firewall doesn't get in the way, but that's a whole different story!), so each computer can be used as a backup for the other.

It also makes multi-player games possible; I've never tried that, not being much of a games freak, but there are plenty of other users here who could tell you about it.

But a big advantage is that the router provides you with a hardware firewall. This is because the only requests it'll respond to are those coming from the computers connected to it. Any external incoming traffic will only be allowed by the router if it's a direct response to a request sent by one of the computers connected to it - all other incoming traffic will simply be refused. The traffic must be instigated by the user, or it doesn't happen. This is entirely transparent to the user unless you look at the router's logs. Software firewalls are still needed, though they can (with difficulty) be overcome, but a hardware firewall is a different matter. Some actually have specific firewall firmware built into them, such as in my US Robotics 5461 wireless router.

All wireless routers offer some sort of encryption; the current standard is WPA2-PSK. Generally you have a further option to set up the router so it only allows certain MAC addresses, i.e. those of your computers - any other computers trying to gain access will be refused. Not only that, but the computers connected to the router are effectively invisible on the Internet; the only WAN device directly visible is the router. The computers hide behind it, so to speak.

I'd say a router's a pretty good idea even if you only have one computer; I could be wrong, but I think my Internet access speeds went up a bit when I started using one. There's the hardware firewall aspect to think of, plus if you decide to get a second computer, or if a friend visits with a laptop, you've got the router ready to provide Internet access to both.

Hope that helps. If I've got anything wrong, techies feel free to correct. :)

[Dits]

A router is a type of dog found in newfoundland. It is only visible at night. Its large ears can seek out its prey from miles away.

[xpod]

and the Wikipedia article's more for the techies.

I`m looking over my shoulders here and i cant see no "techies" anywhere.

Still though,i did post 2 links for that very reason.;)

You can use Internet Information Services to effectively pass the broadband connection through one computer into the other (though one computer would need two network cards - one for the modem/STB, one for the second computer), but this doesn't work all that well;

ICS........Internet Connection Sharing via Iptables(with the help of firestarter of course,not too techie enough for Iptables alone back then) was always just as good for me,if not better when i was using the ole Linux box running as router,firewall,gateway etc.;-)

[lordy]

Playing Devil's advocate then - why hasn't this topic been moved?

[running ... ducking ..]

[kirk1690]

thanks for all the replies folk but I actually meant whats a ROOSTER ?

[Graham M]

thanks for all the replies folk but I actually meant whats a ROOSTER ?

LoL very funny.

[xpod]

thanks for all the replies folk but I actually meant whats a ROOSTER ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooster

Not toooooo techie i hope;)