Looking for an easy way to extend that broadband connection to more of your organisation’s PCs? One of these broadband routers could be the solution.
The increase in availability of broadband connections, combined with the greater amount of data that can be moved through this larger connection has seen an explosion in the use of broadband routers as people find they can connect multiple computers at a site and use the one connection to the rest of the world (be it the Internet or their internal network).
Sharing a broadband (or even a modem) connection between multiple computers can be achieved in many ways:
- Using an existing computer. Using a PC that is already connected to broadband connection, you can add “connection sharing” software to make it become a router. The advantages of this approach are that it’s the cheapest and is not too difficult to set up. The main disadvantage is that the computer that is acting as the router must remain switched on in order for the other computers to access the Internet.
- Adding a low-cost PC as a router. You can take an old 486 or Pentium, install software to turn it into a router, hide it in a corner somewhere and forget about it. You can install Windows, Linux, whatever you like on this “router”. This is basically the same as the first option, but costs slightly more (for the old computer, and for the extra electricity). Its advantage over the first option is that each of the workstations can connect to the Internet without needing any of the other equipment to be switched on. This avoids problems such as when the connection sharing router needs to be rebooted (or crashes) while a workstation is in the middle of a long download. There is also the additional benefit that you can use this machine as a file server as well, and your files can be centrally located.
- Buying a hardware router. This is a special piece of hardware that can connect to the broadband modem and then share that connection (route) with other computers at the location. It comes with a built-in switch, so all you need to buy in addition to the hardware router are some cables. The advantages here are that it’s easy to set up, each computer can connect independently of one another and it uses less power than having a computer running all the time. The main disadvantage compared to the other two options is the cost. Even though hardware routers have come way down in price, they still cost more than a US$50 486.
The best option depends on your situation and priorities. Prices increase with each option, but so does reliability. Ease of setup is probably greatest in the third option. Many home users and even some small businesses select option 1 or 2 (see the sidebar on DIY routers) but recently hardware routers have significantly increased in functionality and dropped in price so many people are heading in this direction.
Some of these devices are designed for the home users, where there might be two to three computers in the house, and for home offices that often have multiple computers and a need for more bandwidth. However, they are also seeing use in larger businesses, where they are used to connect up a small branch office with a better connection and a smaller price tag than installing an ISDN service.
There is more to being a good broadband router than just passing the packets backward and forward to the workstations. It is very useful if the interface you use to configure the router is friendly, helpful and easy to use. The manual may be very important, especially if the person setting up the unit is not a technical expert. Even small things like the type of power connector is important. Bulky plug packs are annoying, as they do not fit with anything else in a powerboard, and if you need to plug them into a UPS, you often need to buy a special cable to connect it.
There are a number of other benefits that routers provide:
- They provide a variety of security-related features that are available on many of the routers (See the sidebar on security).
- In a business, it is often preferable to be able to manage a variety of devices centrally, so that each branch does not require a specialist. The remote management functionality of many of these units would allow one IT department to manage all the remote connections.
- If you have a printer server you can plug a printer directly into the router and share it amongst the local users.
- Some routers have manual failover to a modem so that if the Cable/DSL connection is broken, the link can stay up.
All the units tested include a DHCP server that will allow the user to plug the unit in, set their workstation for DHCP, and then boot and connect to the router via a Web browser to configure it.
Another problematic application for use across firewalls is the RealOne media player.