Routers Take Over From Operators To Make The Right Connections
[author:zyk06 Public time:Mar 12, 2007] |
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Nowadays, people can literally bring the operator home with them in the form of a router. These boxes not only regulate broadband wireless internet access among multiple computers, they are also increasingly taking over jobs from the telephone system and toggling between internet telephony and landline calls.
Until recently, broadband users had to use a splitter and cope with a tangle of cords to manage their DSL modem, network router and telephone connection. Now, one device handles all those functions.
Customers who still have an older broadband modem might benefit from buying a simple DSL router. The routers connect computers into a household network.
Cables are still an option for connecting computers to routers, but many newer models have wireless capabilities.
Some devices, like the Speedport W 500V from T-Com in Bonn, still operate at data speeds of 54 Megabits per second, while others, like Siemens' Gigaset SE Series, process information twice as fast.
The Berlin-based AVM plans to introduce a new generation of its Fritz routers at the Cebit this year, equipped with N-Draft technology. These new devices should transmit data even faster, making them ideal for multimedia households and online gaming.
But a test by Computerbild magazine says that the connection broke down regularly in practise runs.
Routers are also starting to fill in for the telephone system, determining when phone calls are routed via the internet or a landline. Users need to ensure they have the right kind and number of connections, according to Michel.
Depending on the kind of telephone, customers need plugs for ISDN or analogue telephones. Some models, like the Fritzbox Fon WLAN 7170 have both. Others have an integrated DECT base station for cordless telephones. In addition, they come with USB connections for a printer or fax machine.
"With the right connections, a router can let an analogue telephone make calls via the internet," says Senft from 1&1. They also let users punch in special codes to make calls to mobile phones cheaper.
Michel says most of these devices are easy to configure using a web browser. "There's usually a default service mode for novices."
If a consumer plans to use wireless internet, they should be sure to set up security options. Many routers come with their encryption deactivated says Matthias Gaerter of the Bonn-based German Federal Office for Security in Information Technology.
Without encryption, users run the risk of their neighbours surfing on their signal or worse, making their computer vulnerable to hackers.
Author: Tobias Schormann
Source: http://www.playfuls.com/
Printed From:http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200703/1173686345.html
Source:Free Press Release
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