If you're using a wireless network with Windows' built-in Internet relationship Sharing, you're probably quite happy with it -- but there's a problem. The qoute is this: the computer the modem is related to needs to be turned on before any of the other computers can get Internet access! It's alright for a while, but it gets annoying nothing else but fast. I had one of these annoying setups at home for years and the occasion I upgraded to using a router was like a breath of fresh air. Now my son does not complain every time I need to reboot or do extensive maintenance periods. His engine could not care less weather my engine is active or not.
So what should you do about it? Well, a wireless router is the sass to your problem.
What is a Wireless Router?
A wireless router is basically a small, low-powered computer dedicated to nothing but providing Internet access to your wireless network. Once you've got a wireless router, you can connect any of the computers on your network to the Internet anytime, regardless of which other computers are switched on! Because this is the only thing the wireless routers do, they don't commonly need any configuration to get started.
Choosing a Wireless Router
When you're selecting a wireless router, you should think the same things as you would with any other wireless equipment: range, speed and standards. Remember, though, that speed is far more foremost with a router than it is with other tool -- the router might be providing Internet access to more than one computer at once, meaning that it needs to have sufficient speed to share in the middle of them. When it comes to standards and range, on the other hand, it is pointless to get anyone good than your current wireless tool has -- you won't see any improvement.
It's probably worth noting here that the Linksys Wrt54G router is fast becoming a standard. It's the most beloved router out there, and it's the easiest to use out of the lot. It's not as cheap as some of the others, though, so it's still worth shopping around. As ever, the most foremost thing is to read as many reviews of what you're buying as you can.
Installing a Wireless Router
Wireless routers are designed to work nothing else but out of the box: in most cases, it should be a matter of plugging the router into the power provide and then connecting it to your cable, Dsl or other modem. That's it -- in 99% of cases, you're ready to start using your wireless Internet.
Sometimes, though, there might be more things you need to do. The most coarse qoute is that your Isp uses extra software to confirm who you are before giving you access to the Internet. This is called PppoE, which stands for Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet. It's basically a way giving you broadband access while still requiring you to enter a username and password first, and you need to go straight through a short process to use a PppoE relationship with a wireless router.
Most routers support PppoE, but you'll have to read the hand-operated and do some fiddling. You may also have to download an modernize for your router's firmware (on-board software) from its manufacturer's website.
Problems with Wireless Routers
Wireless routers generally solve more problems than they cause -- but there are still some problems that you may need to work around.
One that a lot of habitancy run into sooner or later is that there are some programs that need a direct Internet relationship for some functions. Using a wireless router instead of Internet Connecting Sharing at least lets you use these functions if you configure it, but it can be a pain. Wireless routers have built-in firewalls that only allow data straight through on inevitable ports (for example the web port, 80, and the email port, 110), while holding all the others closed.
Although programs that need you to open ports come to be rarer every day, you might need to do it at some point. Your router's hand-operated will tell you how to do this if it comes up.
I hope you enjoy your new wireless router -- I know I enjoy mine!
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