Have you ever thought how does your cell phone, laptop, etc. get those internet signals without any actual cable connecting them? What makes a wireless router work in the back end? I am sure many of us have wondered about it. So, this article answers all the doubts entering our mind about the working principle of the wireless routers.
A wireless router holds many similarities to the old ordinary routers still in use. The main difference between the two is the wire connection. The cable limits the accessibility to the user whereas the router is the hub for setting the link to many systems simultaneously. You can select between the type of wireless routers if you know the technology behind them. Although, it also is a device that delivers the data packets between the computer networks but makes use of the radio signals for this purpose.
Technology behind the Wireless Router
The working at the back end involves the device, antenna and radio signals. The radio signals travel from a transmitter to the receiver. This signal contains the encoded message which could be an audio, video, picture, etc. The wireless router is an ordinary router that connects to the machine in the form of a radio signal instead of wire.
In wireless routers, the antennas on the routers act as the transmitter whereas the Wi-Fi pickers like cellular phones and laptops work as the receivers. So, the antennas transmit the radio signals to Wi-Fi receivers. The routers have a less power transmitter and receiver ranging up to 300fts. This range is dependent on the environment, the walls of surrounding and the electronic device arrangement.
The router provides efficient protection against hacking because the local IP address of the machine is not directly open to the Internet. While transmission the router extracts the local IP address of the computer from the Source address of the message and stores to a table. Now, the external IP address replaces the Source address place.
The router also stores the Destination Address IP and fits it in the table associated with the local IP. During the return of the packet, the destination address IP acts as the external address IP. It is a clear logic maintained while the exchange of packets.
The main components of the router that involve in the functioning are the network switch, WAP (wireless access point) and the router itself. The router is responsible for controlling and diverting of the traffic for the attached devices. The motive of the switch is to connect all the devices running the Wi-Fi.
WAP plays the role of the transmitter and receiver of the wireless signals. The frequency level of the transmission is either 2.4 GHz or 5GHz in the wireless network. The wireless technology applies 802.11 protocols to receive and send data.
1. 802.11a is one of the sequence of the wireless technology which describes the structure and format of the radio signals delivered by the WI-FI networking devices and antennas. It transmits data at 5 GHz frequency level.
2. 802.11b has a distinction in the bandwidth. It supports 11 Mbps bandwidth. It is a less frequency compared to 802.11a. Thus, it works reasonably well at a distance. The frequency level involved is 2.4 GHz
3. 802.11g supports bandwidth up to 54 Mbps over short distances. It uses 2.4 GHz frequency for a larger range.
4. 802.11n is the latest among the series of Wi-Fi technologies. It has an enhanced bandwidth up to 100 Mbps. The frequency level is 5 GHz.
5. 802.11ac is also one of the networking standards of the 802.11 families. Approved in 2014 this provides WLANs on 5 GHz.
The other noteworthy part playing a role in the functioning of the wireless routers is the band utilized for communication. Many times we hear of the single band, dual band, etc. using router models. Single band router works on the 2.4GHZ band only whereas dual band models connect to both 2.4 GHz and 5GHz. The currently prevalent tri-band routers operate at 2.4GHz and two at 5GHz.
Conclusion
There are many things which sum up the real technology behind the working of a wireless router.
Smith
