If we want to know exactly what routers are we need to come back at the age at which the internet began, It that time we had many local offices and in those offices connected computers. Each computer had its own Network interface card (NIC) and each NIC had its own MAC address.
That system worked fine until someone came up with the idea of connecting two offices. The problem was the fact that in those two offices we had two computers with the same Mac address. You can not communicate if you do not know which of those two computers is going to take the frame you sent him, We needed a system above the one we had.
Instead of physical Mac address, IT tech freaks came up with an IP address, a logical name for your PC that was given to you within the system. A device that gave you your IP address was called DHCP server and his location was usually in the router.
Routers are the main devices that control communication between you and the rest of the Internet. As I just wrote, SOHO (small office home routers) usually contain DHCP servers that grant you your IP address and other network information, but that is not all that it does.
There are many functions related to routers. I will not cover them all here in this article.
Today’s most common types of CISCO SOHO routers contain not just that device but a series of connected devices within the box. modems, wireless access points, switches, firewalls are all part of it.
Configuring such a device can be a mess sometimes and you should never touch something you do not understand. For those of you who still want to know how to do it, do not worry it is simple.
Router, just like your PC or any other network connected device in your local area network has its own IP address. If you want to change settings all you need to do is to access it. You can do that by typing in an IP address in address bar of your browser.
Usually, that address is the first one on your list of network devices and they start with 192.168.1.1.
In your router, you can manage your network and do many dangerous things with it. You can organize your traffic so all bandwidth is coming to your phone and change WiFi password. You can see all other devices on your network.
Someone who hacked it can open ports and control all cameras in your household. Do not ever lose your router password and always change the default one.
If you ever have problems with your access to the internet the case can just be you are having problems with your router. The first thing you should do is to check if all lights are on and connection cables are connected.
In case everything is fine with that. I recommend that you restart it and check your network information. The process can be different depending on which system you use, Linux, Mac X or Microsoft…
