What functions do home broadband routers require?

How to choose a home Broadband Router that truly suits your needs? Here we will give you a detailed analysis. With the increasing popularity of Home Networking, home broadband routers that are easy to use and secure to access the Internet are increasingly reused by home users and become the first choice for shared Internet access.

In this wave, Internet sharing has become a real topic. The current home Broadband Router only needs an external IP address to connect multiple computers in the home to the high-speed Internet, saving time and money. It is no longer as complicated as sharing a computer as a proxy server. Currently, vrouters generally have built-in full-duplex 4-port 10/100 M switches. When there are less than 4 computers, they can directly connect to four devices to share the Internet, making it easy to build a home network; you can also connect to the HUB or vswitch to allow more computer devices to share the Internet. You can also use a wireless router to build a wireless LAN without wiring problems.

With the continuous development of network technology, the functions of home broadband routers are also constantly expanding. In the face of a variety of functions, how can we rationally choose their own functions? We need to be aware of the application positioning of the home Broadband Router. This application positioning is related to the router's functional performance and is the most critical step in the entire purchase process. For average home users, the network speed and performance requirements are not too harsh, and the requirements for special functions or other aspects are not too high, therefore, low-price broadband routers in the market are enough to meet the needs of ordinary home networks. For high-end home users, choose high-price home broadband routers with special features; if you have mobile Internet access requirements, you can select a Wireless Broadband Router. The following features are commonly used in common home broadband routers. These are basic and practical functions.

1. Data tunnel and control functions. This is a router with two typical functions. The data tunnel functions include forwarding decision, backplane forwarding, and output link scheduling, which are generally completed by specific hardware. The control functions are generally implemented by software, it includes information exchange with neighboring routers, system configuration, and system management. On the basis of the same price, the large functional indicators are of course our selection objects.

2. firewall functions. Network security is currently the most important concern. The firewall built in the router can provide basic firewall functions. It can shield the IP addresses of internal networks and freely set IP addresses and filter communication ports, it can prevent hacker attacks and virus intrusion. Users can have a secure network environment without having to install other virus protection devices. Therefore, the firewall function is an important function of the home Broadband Router, because if there is no firewall for security protection, the probability of the home network being infiltrated by viruses and hacker attacks increases, this may cause network paralysis and bring a lot of trouble to users. Currently, vro firewall functions include anti-IP address filtering, URL filtering, MAC address filtering, binding IP addresses to MAC addresses, anti-Black capabilities, and security logs. With the built-in firewall function of the router, you can set different filtering rules to filter all abnormal information packets from the Internet, so that internal network users can access the Internet with peace of mind.

3. Virtual dialing function. There are two ways to connect ADSL to the INTERNET: Virtual dialing and leased line access. Users using virtual dial-up methods use dial-up programs similar to MODEM and ISDN, which is similar to the original method in terms of usage habits. users using leased line access can access the INTERNET as long as they start up. The so-called virtual dialing means that the user name and password (the same as the original MODEM and ISDN access) need to be entered when using ADSL to access the INTERNET, but the ADSL connection is not a specific access number such as 16900, instead, a dedicated dialup program is used to establish a connection with a specific network server. This function ensures the security of users' Internet access and makes rational use of network resources.

4. DHCP function. DHCP (Dynamic Host Allocation Protocol) is a standard TCP/IP protocol that simplifies the allocation and management of Host IP addresses. It can avoid errors caused by manual IP addresses and subnet masks, it also avoids address conflicts caused by assigning an IP address to multiple workstations and is a safe and reliable setting. You can use the DHCP server to manage dynamic IP Address Allocation and other related environment configurations (such as DNS, WINS, and Gateway settings ). Using a DHCP server greatly shortens the time required to configure or reconfigure the workstation on the network, and allows you to flexibly set the address lease period by setting the DHCP server.

5. Website filtering function. With this function, you can monitor and record Website access on the entire network, and manage computers in the network through permission groups. Each user has their own permissions, thus, the scope of the website browsing by members in the network is determined. websites that are not allowed to access will be blocked and a clean network environment will be provided for you.

6. web interface management. Most home users lack relevant network expertise. Therefore, when purchasing a vro, be sure to pay attention to the vro instructions or ask the merchant for web interface management, otherwise, family users may have difficulties in configuration or maintenance. The router maintenance interface in Chinese is more user-friendly, making operations easier.

7. Internet access permission restrictions. In the current home network, in order to limit the children's Internet access time and improper network applications, You need to restrict the access permission of the children's dedicated computers, when purchasing a vro, you need to check whether the selected vro has this flexible configuration function (that is, the corresponding proxy service ).

8. Traffic control function. It can allocate network bandwidth. It can use an Optimized Routing Algorithm to balance network load, so as to effectively control congestion and avoid network performance degradation due to congestion. This allows users to adjust the bandwidth of their computers for download and Internet access, so that the entire network speed will not be slowed down due to download.

9. Multiple connection modes are supported. Currently, there are various network connection methods. Different connection methods require different protocols. Therefore, selecting a router that supports multiple protocols saves us a lot of trouble. Currently, home broadband routers generally support TCP/IP, PPPoE, DHCP, NAT, ICMP, and SNTP protocols, which can basically meet the needs of common access methods such as ADSL and optical fiber.

10. transmission speed. The transmission speed of information is often the most important concern for users. Therefore, selecting the transmission speed of a router is a problem that must be carefully considered by our users. Currently, 10/100 Mbps adaptive routers have become the mainstream. Generally, routers can provide all or part of 10/100 Mbps ports. vrouters that simply provide 10 Mbps ports have gradually faded out of the market. The optical interface speed of a Gigabit Switch Router can reach 622 Mbps, Gbps or even 10 Gbps. This speed has long left the ATM switch behind, but the gigabit core router is generally used as the backbone of the enterprise network, in addition, the price is much higher than the average household router. Therefore, the general 10/100 Mbps adaptive router is enough to meet the needs of the home network.

11. Number of LAN ports and WAN ports. LAN ports are LAN ports. because the number of home computers cannot be too large, the number of LAN ports can only meet the requirements. Too many LAN ports are a waste for the family, in addition, it will increase unnecessary expenses. The WAN port is the broadband port, which is the WAN interface used to connect to the Internet. Currently, most home broadband users do not have high network requirements. Therefore, only one WAN port is required for a router. Of course, for some family users with special requirements, special features are the scope of their consideration. For example:

(1) If the user's network is billed based on the Internet access time, the router's function of automatically connecting to and disconnecting the Internet is quite important. During the network connection period, the system can be automatically disconnected when there is no Internet connection. Click ie again to restore the Internet access function. In this way, the Internet cost can be well controlled and the cost can be reduced.

(2) If a printer exists, the printer must be used as a shared printer (all computers with permissions in the LAN can be used for printing, you can purchase a printer router with a printer port (parallel port. However, the price of such products is usually higher than that of the average home Broadband Router, whether to choose depends on the specific needs.

Summary: home broadband routers on the market provide a wide range of functions, in addition to some of the above common basic functions and some special functions, some functions, such as DMZ and VPN, are basically ineffective for home users. In short, for the purchase of home routers, the function can be applied, there is no need to waste money, there is no need to leave the advanced functions vacant.