Is There A Best Router For You? | The Communication Blog

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Is There A Best Router For You?

By James Edward Hamilton

The best router in the world is the router that meets your preferences. Because of the router, it is possible to hook up your computers into a network. You can imagine the router as the heart of any network. Information sharing among computers in the network is made possible through this device. Routers are of two types, each of which serves its kind of network. The two router types are wired and wireless. If you are looking for the best router for your network, you must have some basic understanding of both of these kinds of networks and what they can provide you.

Both wireless and wired routers perform exactly the same function: to direct the data flow inside the network, to make certain that the data is sent to the expected recipient, and to make sure that the data will never get through to an unintended destination. For your network to function, you will definitely need a router; but, which of the two varieties is the best router for you?

In a wireless network, the computers use radio waves to send data to and fro. With no router, the computers will not be able to "talk" to one another in this network. The best router for this kind of network is a wireless router.

If flexibility to wander around and freedom from lengthy cables are of great value to you, a wireless router is the best router for you. As long as your computer is within the coverage of the wireless signal from the router, your computer can access your network and use the services on that network. A wireless network can actually also be cheaper since you won't have to use cable connections for your computers.

However, you will need to pay for the flexibility that a wireless network enables you to enjoy. Wireless routers are often higher in price than their wired counterparts, but they're also the best router for a network that needs no restriction from cables and wires.

On the other hand, a wired network consists of computers that can send information to and fro. As in a wireless network, the computers are able to send and receive data to or from other computers because they are all connected to the router. For this network setup, a wired router is the best router. Information being sent back and forth in this network goes via data cables (also called CAT5 cables or Ethernet cables).

Wired networks use the Ethernet protocol that makes higher data transfer rates possible, much higher than a wireless router's data speed. On a standard Ethernet cable alone, it is possible to achieve transfer speeds all the way to 100 Mbps. The data transfer rates can rise ten-fold (up to 1000 Mbps) if you use a Gigabit Ethernet cable.

If your networked computers will be sharing large quantities of data, the best router for your network is a wired one. Playing network games and sharing multimedia files such as videos will be smoother and faster if a wired router is used.

The prices of wired routers usually aren't as high as those of wireless routers. However, you will have to employ wires and cables. If you don't mind the hassle of wiring up, then a wired router is the best router for you.

Both wired and wireless routers have their benefits and drawbacks. For this reason, you have to know very well what the kinds of routers are and what benefits they can offer to your network setup so that you can select the best router that matches your network's requirements.

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