How to Choose Wireless Router
Routers are network devices that provide connection between two different LAN (Local Area Network) which may be your home network and the internet or two separate office networks. When a router has built-in wireless capability, it can also function as a wireless access point. Choosing a wireless router that’s right for you may not be easy since there are many different wireless router models available today.
Here is how to choose a wireless router.
Instructions
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1
wireless standardsDetermine the wireless standard that you need. Different wireless routers support different wireless standards such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n (most recent). Keep in mind that each of these standards may differ in transmission rate, frequency, bandwidth, or even backwards compatibility. If you want to read more about the details, check out the link at the end of this article.
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wireless networkCheck the compatibility of your existing devices like network interface cards (or NIC), mobile devices, or other network devices and make sure they can connect to the wireless router that you are going to purchase. Plan your deployment carefully because if you bought a wireless device that does not support your existing wireless devices then it will cost you a lot.
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FrequencyDetermine the speed and frequency that you need for your network. Buying a super fast wireless router is not practical if your wireless network cannot support the maximum transmission rate. For frequency, take into consideration that 5GHz radio band is less noisy than 2.4GHz but the distance is also significantly shorter. This is very important especially if your networks are far apart.
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wireless securityThe last but not the least is wireless security. Go for wireless routers with firewall feature, higher level encryption, or filtering (IP, URL, or MAC Address). Wireless technology has been around for decades but the reason it did not become popular immediately is due to security concerns. That’s why you have to take wireless security seriously and having many levels of security should always be part of consideration when choosing a wireless router.
The brands that dominate the wireless router market are Linksys or Cisco, D-Link, and Netgear. These router brands are also very robust so if you want to save some money, buying used wireless routers are a good option.
