Jerry asks: "Confused yet?" Yes.... but only at first. This was exactly wanted I wanted to know. Thanks Jerry for taking the time!
-Troy > >Here is an imperfect illustration of the idea of a router: > >Think of a router as a "bridge - traffic negotiator". For small network >usage, it connects to your cable/dsl modem on one side and to your network >on the other (the bridge part). The separate computers send off requests to >"the internet" for web pages. The router passes the requests along of >course, but keeps track of which computer asked for this info. When the >info comes back in little bits and pieces (web-pages seldom come back all >at once, but are sent out in chunks of info -- the chunks themselves can >take very different paths to get back to your computer's web-browser which >then puts them together into something coherent) the router forwards the >information to the correct computer, so that if two computers are surfing >at the same time, they get the whole correct pages instead of a mixture of >the two. > >A more correct definition follows: > >On the Internet, a router is a device or, in some cases, software in a >computer, that determines the next network point to which a packet should >be forwarded toward its destination. The router is connected to at least >two networks and decides which way to send each information packet based on >its current understanding of the state of the networks it is connected to. >A router is located at any gateway (where one network meets another), >including each Internet point-of-presence. A router is often included as >part of a network switch. > >A router may create or maintain a table of the available routes and their >conditions and use this information along with distance and cost algorithms >to determine the best route for a given packet. Typically, a packet may >travel through a number of network points with routers before arriving at >its destination. Routing is a function associated with theNetwork layer >(layer 3) in the standard model of network programming, the Open Systems >Interconnection (OSI) model. > > > >Do you need one, especially with only one computer hooked up to the >internet? Your choice, I have always recommended 'yes' because most routers >come with various security options (hardware and software firewalls, NAT >tables -- a version of a kind of, sort of firewall, it assigns private IP >numbers to the computers connected to it which confuse low and medium level >attempts to penetrate your network from the outside, caution: a NAT table >will only slow down a high level attempt to get in, not stop it, you must >not rest secure in the thought that just because you are behind a NAT you >are safe. > >Routers make it easy to have network equipment because each hardware piece >has its own distinct IP number (as opposed to using only a switch or hub). > >Confused yet? (just kidding) > > _________________________________________________________________ Gift-shop online from the comfort of home at MSN Shopping! No crowds, free parking. http://shopping.msn.com | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will | be January 27. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. | This list's page is <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup>.
