Router, its Types and Benefits

We live in a world that is driven by technology and the advent of Internet has impacted our lives drastically. Internet has made it easy to always remain connected to the latest information as well as use it for the purpose of entertainment and business in ways that no one had imagined to be possible in the past. Today we browse a wide range of websites regularly to avail a range of services that cater to our different daily needs. These websites are hosted with web hosting companies that offer the server space to store the files related to these websites, for those to be available for online viewing.  Not only do these web hosting companies provide the server space but also the services and the technology that are needed to enable the websites to remain accessible over the Internet. Web hosting services can be of different types, such as Shared, Dedicated, Cloud, Reseller, VPS and WordPress. When one hears terms, such as, the “best Windows Reseller Hosting Company” or the best “Linux Reseller Hosting Company”, it is the web hosting companies that are being talked about, whereas when one hears the term “Media Streaming Servers Hosting”, it is a type of a hosting service that is being referred to. This hosting service is provided by a hosting company.

In the context of websites and Internet, one essential tool is a router which performs the function of directing traffic on the Internet. This blog is aimed at providing information about routers, their types and their benefits. A router is essentially a networking device. Its role is to forward data packets between computer networks by selecting the best route to direct the packets, so that these reach quickly. Any data that is sent through the Internet is sent in the form of an electronic packet which is forwarded from one router to another, till the time it reaches its destination, which is the communication endpoint. This happens through the networks that form the internetwork, for example, the Internet.

A router is linked to two or more data lines that are from different IP networks. The router reads the network address information that is in the packet header to determine the ultimate destination. This takes place when a data packet comes on one of the data lines. Then the packet is directed to the next network on its way, by making use of the information that is in its routing table or routing policy. The routers exchange information through a routing protocol about destination addresses, in the scenario when multiple routers are used in interconnected networks. A minimum of two networks is needed, within which the router would be connected. These could be either two LANs (Local Area Networks) or a LAN and a WAN (Wide Area Network). Usually routers are at gateways where the networks are connected.

The home and small office routers are the type of IP routers that most people are familiar with. These forward IP packets between the home computers and the Internet. On the other end of the spectrum are the enterprise routers which are more complex and forward data at very high speed.

There are different types of routers, such as, wired, wireless, edge, core or virtual. These will be touched upon briefly in this section of the blog. As is evident from the name, a wired router is connected to the network with the aid of wires. When a device is connected to the Internet using an Ethernet cable, it is using a wired router. It provides a separate Wi-Fi access point. On the contrary, a wireless router creates a wireless signal. This type of a router is also called a Wi-Fi router or a residential gateway and is commonly found in use in home networks. It unites the functions of an edge router with a distribution router. It combines the networking functions of a wireless access point and a router. When wireless routers are publicly accessible, many users can connect to these and benefit from these.

Edge routers act as network edge’s gateways and are also called a gateway router. These are a network’s outermost connection point with external networks, which includes the Internet. These are optimized for bandwidth. An edge router is meant to connect to other routers, so that the data can be distributed to end users. Edge routers usually neither provide Wi-Fi, nor the ability to manage local networks completely. These are specialized routers which are usually used at the WAN level and are also referred to as access or branch routers. The function of these is to enable connectivity between an external network and an enterprise network.

A core router is a router that is positioned within the middle of the network and not at its periphery. It forwards packets to computer hosts within a network. Core routers are generally not needed by small businesses and are used by service providers or cloud providers. These provide maximum bandwidth so that additional routers or switches can be connected.

Some router functions are allowed by a virtual router to be virtualized in the cloud which are then delivered as a service. A virtual router is a type of a router that is best for large businesses, which have complex network needs to be taken care of. These lessen the management of local network hardware and provide flexibility along with scalability.

Routers have many benefits in general, such as, these help to reduce network traffic, which is achieved by creating collision domains and also by creating broadcast domains. These are configurable. This enables the network manager to make policies that are based on routing decisions. Another advantage of routers is that these can choose the best path across the internetwork. This is done by using dynamic routing algorithms. Yet another benefit that routers provide is that these ensure sophisticated routing, flow control along with traffic isolation. Moreover, the connections between different network architectures, such as Ethernet and token ring, are provided by routers. Routers can also provide security. Additionally, routers can be used to connect hard drives. This enables one to use these as file-sharing servers or printers which can be accessed by everyone on the network.

To conclude, every type of a router is meant to direct network data. Since it is the routers that connect people to networks, without these, it would not be possible to use the Internet for any purpose. Hence, a router is an indispensable networking device, which this blog has tried to bring to light by providing information about it, its types and benefits.

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