Router as the name indicates is a device that will route web traffic. Traffic means the data that comes and go and in other words being transmitted. So what exactly does a router do and how does it work and what are the advantages of using this device and most importantly What is a Broadband Router and what is the role of this broadband traffic router.

These are common day questions and comes to our mind on daily basis. Router is a device which will contain routing tables and has the capability to transmit the data and has the ability to read the information that where should it send the traffic. Consider internet as a set of routers. Say you open xyz.com and the site server is physically present in USA and you are trying to open this site from Some where in Europe inside from UK, Germany or some other European country. Then these are the commonsense things that will happen.

As you soon as you write xyz.com in your browser this request will go on to your home Broadband router which will know that it has to pass this to your Cable provider or ISP internet service provider. As soon as the request will reach your ISP or Boradband service provider they will have the servers present with them which will know that xyz.com is located in USA .

Not will it know that this server is present in USA but it will also know the exact address of that server . By exact address we mean the IP address of that server. By the way IP address is a unique address assigned to every host connected to internet. So in order to bring you data your the request have to go from your ISP to xyz.com server if you have to get xyz.com loaded in your browser.

So what will happen is that your isp will send that request to that particular host or IP address. Now in reaching that IP address where xyz.com is present there will be many router present on the way and each router or node will decide that whats the best and efficient way to pass that dat on to the end IP address.

This information is called routing table in common language. So each time your request is being transferred to the next router it is called a hop. The rule of thumb is that the far is the server more of the router will be involved in the way and more will be hops which clearly indicates that the information will take some time to reach you.

Now when the request will reach xyz.com it will reply back in a same manner and will send packets of data which will reach your internet service provider company and then ultimately will be provided to you and reach your browser.

Usually now a days we have more that one computer in our homes and each of them will have to be connected to the internet. We will use the Broad Band router which will enable all the computers connected to the network to access the internet at the same time even on a single internet connected. These routers used for home networking or office networking we usually uses at our home or offices have their own routing tables. Most of them will have a WAN input and multiple outputs as well as they can be connected through wireless connection. One Wide area network input will by plugged in the input and multiple outputs (multiple people using the internet) will be the basic achievement of this type of router.

With the advancement in tech. the routers are getting advanced too and there are like wireless N routers, Dual Band routers, Multichannel routers and many other different types of Broadband routers available in market and one have to choose according to his need. You must read the reviews or must seek for an expert advice before you buy a router.

This article is available in other languages . German Version Breitband Router, French Version routeur haut débit .