Single or Dual Band Wireless Router - Which is better?

Almost every broadband router destined for the home these days has Wireless LAN (WiFi). It's been ages since we reviewed a router that didn't include wireless communication for home wireless networking. That means you've got many feature when you have to selecte the suitable router for home or work place.

One way not to choose is to go by the speeds. Some vendors use the 300 Mega Bits speed that's not really speed. Your best bet is to avoid any pitch that tells you about the speed of the router. Instead, you should look at many features that you might need and that might be buried deep down in the feature chart. Fortunately, the market is flooded with WiFi routers, so finding a good one could be simpler than you might think, if you know what you're looking for. I've put together a list of the ten key points you should consider when choosing a WiFi router:

The 802.11g WiFi router, which uses a technology that has been around for 7 years!, is still popular. (802.11 is the IEEE's technical name for wireless networks; the brand name used for products is WiFi which encompasses many different types of 802.11 technology.) Small businesses buy G routers because they are cheaper and perform adequately. Some 802.11g routers include specialized functions that are essential in business, such as powerful policy-based firewalls and threat-management features. In the home, however, speed is far more important, and there the 802.11n WiFi router is king. Some N routers, such as the TrendNet Gigabit, can deliver upwards of 200 Mbps, and can theoretically reach 300 Mbps. 802.11n routers often deliver as much as five times as much throughput as G routers in real-world testing.

802.11n, by the way, was only recently ratified by the propeller-heads of the IEEE. So look on the box for the seal of certification from the WiFi Alliance. Soon, instead of "draft-N" Certified it should indicate full 802.11n Certified for the faster products.

802.11n routers come in two single band vs. dual band. Single band routers use the 2.4 GHz band, the same frequency used by G routers. Dual band N routers support 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Even at 2.4 GHz, 802.11n routers are faster than G routers because they make better use of the frequency range in the band, and they're better at bouncing signals off surrounding surfaces such as furniture and walls. Average throughput for single band N routers is usually five times as fast as G routers. And switching a dual band N router from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz is like trading a Toyota for a Maserati. Some routers can achieve as much as 100 Mbps more by switching up. The answer is, therefore, an overwhelming yes: Dual band band routers, though generally more expensive, outperform single band routers.

Simultaneous dual-band routers are also more efficient in their throughput. Some, such as the D-Link router, can even manage the bands without any input from users. Simultaneous dual-band can help stabilize the overall throughput on your network. These routers are generally more expensive than regular dual-band routers, but are worth the extra few bucks if you've got the cash to spend.

How To Set Up a Network Router in 13 steps

This guide explains how to set up a (wireless or not) router for home computer networks. This general procedure will guide you through the process for the common kinds of home network equipment.

1. Choose a suitable location to begin installing your router such as an open floor space or table. You may need to adjust position after installing it as the signals may not reach all areas needed.
Tips: Choose a location where the easiest to work with the router before and worry about the best placement later.


2. Plug in the router to power source, then turn on the router.

3. Connect a computer to the router. Using a cable during router installation ensures the maximum reliability of the equipment. Even if the router is a wireless model, connect this first computer to the router via a network cable. Once a wireless router installation is complete, the computer can be changed over wireless connection.

4. Open the router's administration tool. From the computer connected to the router, first open your Web browser. Then enter the router's address for network administration in the Web address field and hit return to reach the router's home page.

5. Most routers are reached by either the Web - http://192.168.1.1 or http://192.168.0.1. If not work, check on router's documentation to determine the exact address.
Tip: that you do not need a working Internet connection for this step.

6. Log in to the router. The router's home page will ask you for a username and password. Both are provided in the router's documentation. You should change the router's password for security reasons, but do this after the installation is complete to avoid unnecessary complications during the basic setup.

7. If you want your router to connect to the Internet, you must enter Internet connection information into that section of the router's configuration (exact location varies). If using DSL Internet, you may need to enter the PPPoE username and password. Likewise, if you have been issued a static IP address by your provider (you would need to have requested it), the static IP fields (including network mask and gateway) given to you by the provider must also must be set in the router.

8. If you were using a primary computer or an older network router to connect to the Internet, your provider may require you to update the MAC address of the router with the MAC address of the device you were using previously. Read How to Change a MAC Address for a detailed description of this process.

9. If this is a wireless router, change the network name (often called SSID). While the router comes to you with a network name set at the factory, you will never want to use this name on your network. Read How to Change the Router SSID for detailed instructions.

10. Verify the network connection is working between your one computer and the router. To do this, you must confirmed that the computer has received IP address information from the router. See How to Find IP Addresses for a description of this process.

11. Verify your one computer can connect to the Internet properly. Open your Web browser and visit a few Internet sites such as

12. Connect additional computers to the router as needed. If connecting wirelessly, ensure the network name (SSID) of each is computer matches that of the router.

13. Configure network security features for guarding your systems against Internet attackers.

Do you need Wireless Rounter for your home?

The benifit of using router is not only expand the number of sharing network or internet using. There is some protection between your computers and your broadband for protection. Here's why you need one for safety, plus all the other benefits a router provides.


First, Networking all devices.

The reason to have a router that you have computers, devices and multiple peripherals. The router is the center of interchange communication. The wireless router can handle not only Internet traffic but it has Ethernet switch and an access point(AP) for wireless. The AP is the part that handles all the Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) traffic and watch for security. A wireless router is muti functions in one device. In non broadband situation, the AP can still get every device on the network communication.


Second, Using as Internet Splitter.

First and foremost, you have multiple devices. They all want—nay, NEED—Internet connectivity. The router is the "splitter" that makes that happens. By plugging the broadband into the WAN port, you can then get Internet out to all the other devices, both wired and wireless.


Third, PC safe guard.

Routers typically have two built in firewalls. The first is simple NAT for network address translation, which isn't so much for protection as it is for simply making the Internet connection work to all your computers. The second is SPI or stateful packet inspection. Most modern routers have SPI, which keeps extra track of data in network packets and makes sure it's kosher (i.e., you requested it), protecting both the router and your computers by filtering out the bad. Note that these are not a replacement for software firewalls on your PC—every computer should have one running. Windows comes with a weak firewall built in, but you can always get a freebie from Comodo.
Other security you get from a router is: limiting a network to just computers you trust with MAC address filtering, secure wireless transmission, parental controls, web site filters, and more.


Forth, Roaming with Wireless

Modern Wi-Fi is the brand name for a technology called 802.11, which comes in many flavors, all with different speeds and ranges. Buy 802.11n products, especially if they're dual-band, and you'll be covered. They're slightly more expensive, but you get what you pay for. In this case, you'll have speed almost as good as a wired network, with extended range. Even the performance is improved in spots where signals used to get hung up. All that means is: you can move around and stay connected, even in your own home or office.


The last, Sharing Connectivity

It's very useful to share with friends. The right router can let you do that with your own Internet connection. You effectively get two networks, one that's just for you and one for guest access. That way outsiders can use the Web and e-mail, but can't see your stuff. Small retail establishments can use this to be a free hotspot for customers. Offices can use it for visitors in for meetings.

Website and Network Monitoring

In today's world, companies are quickly accepted, the Web and related applications, as part of its overall strategy of the company. You will understand that the Internet offers them the opportunity to target a very focused set of customers spread over a very diverse geography.

For a successful presence on the Internet, it is important that the web server and web applications, reliable, scalable and always available, regardless of the volume of traffic on the site.

To do this, you should all hardware and software with the tools to your website, control is usually called stress-Web-based tool. These should ideally be used even before the site is located on the World Wide Web may be able to offer a reasonable estimate of the performance of your website and a company to identify problems before they arise.

These issues could be able to surf the slow response time when opening the page, a limited number of users simultaneously on the Web, or an upper limit on the number of applications processed by the application of the treatment. Based on the results, a webmaster can identify bottlenecks and take corrective action before losing revenue.

What is the test site for stress?

Stress testing site provides performance reports for the various elements. For example, users might complain that your site is taking ages to load for commercial and most of the results of error messages. Using a web stress tool, you can check whether the performance of web servers. To your surprise, the CPU utilization on the server May, only 20%. But if you are also monitoring the implementation of the database you will find already operates at 100% and is the most likely reason for poor performance.

Tools of stress can be implemented as software solutions where the most important elements of the server, how can such as CPU, memory control and uses hard drive. They are built with user-defined reports that are activated when a certain parameter exceeds a threshold defined by the user. For example, you can configure it generates an alarm when the CPU utilization exceeds 80%. While these are useful for identifying bottlenecks in the system, the results on the Web server limits are linked to the internal network.

Why Stress Monitoring Network?

If the goal is the entire planet, or even across the country re-examines an entity on its website and applications of loads of stress from various locations around the world. The Web server must have a reasonable return, in which the customers are located. In such a situation is the software solution unlikely to meet the needs of society.

Organizations should use a tool for monitoring the external web site stress to give detailed reports on the performance on the servers that were tested in different positions. The results of these tests can help to refine the settings of your provider and to optimize server performance. In addition, infrastructure external evidence of stress and the monitoring of different network, enter the Web server, in order to invite such as routers, firewalls and leased lines, the connection to back-end.

Dotcom-Monitor, then load stress testing tool provides customers test agents of stress in different countries like USA, UK and Germany. This service provides performance data on the website of these and other locations around the world.

Cisco: Introduction to ISDN

rom the CCNA to the CCIE, ISDN is one of the largest TECHNOLGIES you go to work. It is also very common in the area of ISDN is frequently used as a backup connection in case of an organization set up frame relay links below. Therefore, it is important to know ISDN basics not only for its special examination, but for professional success.

ISDN is between two Cisco routers, the BRI or PRI interfaces are used. Basically, with ISDN router is a call to another router. E 'key to understanding not only what takes a router to choose another, but what makes the connection down.

Why? Since ISDN is basically a phone call from one router to another, you get billed for that call - to the minute. If one of your routers dials another and not blocked, the connection can theoretically last for days or weeks. The network manager then receives an astronomical phone bill, the bad things leads to all!

Cisco routers use the concept of interesting traffic to decide when a router should make another call. By default there is no interesting traffic, so that if one is not set, will never call another router.

Interesting traffic is defined with the dialer-list. This command offers many options so that you can tie interesting traffic is not only the protocols that can provide the link available, but what the source, destination, or even port number must be in the mount line.

A common error that occurs when connected. Interesting traffic is required to create the link, but all network traffic can be an ISDN connection.

What is the connection down? Once again, the concept of interesting traffic is used. Cisco routers have a minimum of upheaval, their interfaces for remote access. If no interesting traffic across the link for the time specified by the timeout, the connection between the bottom.

To summarize: Interesting traffic brings the link by default, the total traffic the connection as soon as it as a lack of interesting traffic intersection is what brings the link below.

Equally important is knowing what keeps the connection when it made. Why? ISDN, because it is like a telephone conversation between two routers and the beak in this way to the customer. Both routers are connected by this phone call, can be represented in different area codes, so now talking about a long distance call.





If your ISDN connection, it is not a reason for the separation, the connection could theoretically last for days or weeks before anyone notices what is going on. This is especially true if the ISDN connection as backup for another type of connection is used, as often happens with Frame Relay. If the frame relay fails, comes to backup ISDN connection when the frame relay link back to not put all this time into account.





To understand why an ISDN connection remains, if not required, we must understand why you continue to work time. Cisco ISDN interfaces use the idle-timeout to determine when an ISDN connection needs to be demolished. By default, this value is two minutes and it also uses the concept of interesting traffic.





After some interesting traffic brings the link, all network traffic can cross the link. However, only interesting traffic sets the idle timeout. If no interest in the traffic on the link for two minutes, the minimum timer to zero and the connection between the bottom.





If the protocol is running on the ISDN link is RIP version 2 or EIGRP, the most effective way to prevent the routing updates is to keep the line explicitly prohibits update their multicast routing address to the access list, the definition of interesting traffic. Not prevent all or via the link protocol used much of the work properly.





With OSPF, Cisco offers IP OSPF demand circuits interface level. OSPF adjacency will form the ISDN connection, but once formed, the hello packets will be dropped. However, the neighborhood is not lost. A review of the connectivity table with show ip OSPF adjacency shows the still nearly full, even though Hellos are not sent over the link. ISDN connection can fall without loss of proximity. If the connection is requested, the area is still in force and the data can not wait to OSPF, are sent to go through the usual steps for the formation of an adjacency pair.





This OSPF command is for Cisco certification candidates at all levels is crucial, but it is especially important for the CCNA candidates. Learning this order now, get to the fact that proximity remains in force, even though Hellos are suppressed, and add this command to use your valuable toolbox Cisco.

One myth is that maintaining Cisco ISDN discovery packets is an ISDN-up. CDP is a Cisco proprietary protocol, which is connected directly between the devices of Cisco. There is a school of thought, the CDP packets on a BRI interface must be disabled to keep the connection to prevent or composition, if it is not really necessary. I worked with ISDN for years in the field and laboratory investigations, and I've never seen CDP establishment of an ISDN connection.