The wired router transforms the wired signal into a wireless one. Modern modems, if not already integrated with a router, will be connected via a high-speed Ethernet cable to a router.
Some integrated modems/routers also broadcast a WiFi network and are thus an Access Point to your network. Some modems are integrated into routers, so you don’t have two separate devices. In order for the router to send and receive data from your ISP to the devices within the local area network, the router must be connected by an Ethernet cable to the modem. In the olden days, routers allowed wired connections only, and so if you had wireless devices you wanted to connect to the internet, this would require a wired Access Point (aka Wireless Access Point, or ‘WAP’) to emit WiFi. Today, most routers allow users to connect devices both via Ethernet cables (wired) or wirelessly (using WiFi). Router is Wired to a Separate Access Point WiFi is an abbreviation for wireless fidelity, meaning you can access or connect to a network using radio waves, without needing to use wires so, an Access Point allows devices to use the internet by connecting to the network wirelessly. We sometimes use the word WiFi as synonymous with Internet, but WiFi is really just a network signal and not the internet itself. Surge Protector VS Line Conditioner VS UPS Access Points typically only provide access to the router’s established network. Access Points: Extend the Network and Enable ConnectivityĪccess Points are used for extending the wireless coverage of an existing network (one that has a router and a modem), and for increasing the number of users that can connect that network. So to put it clearly again, your typical home WiFi router is a router with an Access Point. An Access Point is just a single Ethernet port (or an Ethernet switch) and the WiFi radios. To make things less clear, some devices are integrated modem/routers, and most modern routers are also Wireless Access Points. However, your typical residential or small office router is not only a router, it also has an Ethernet switch (which makes that 1 LAN port into 4 or 8), and WiFi radio(s) - 2.4 or 5GHz - all in one box. The router then routes the internet and data to your devices it acts as a traffic manager (for traffic flow and web security) between the WAN and LAN network (this function is called NAT). The main role of a router is to take the incoming network (the WAN internet connection) and create a separate local network that can then share that single WAN connection.Ī router does this by creating a completely separate IP address pool for said local network and providing your connected devices with an IP address from that pool (this function is called DHCP). An Access Point Adds Wireless Connectivity A Router Connects Your Devices to the Modem (and Each Other)ģ. utilize many Access Points to provide WiFi access across a large area.Ģ. An Access Point simply allows you to add more wireless devices to an existing network. It is fully dependent on a router to provide addressing and an outside connection to the internet. So, a LAN is set up by plugging in a router and connecting (wirelessly or by Ethernet) one or several devices to it.īy itself, an Access Point is just a radio with an open Ethernet port. The router creates a managed LAN, and can be wired or wireless. 
An AP allows your wireless devices to connect to your Local Area Network (LAN), and thus to the Internet.Ī Router is: a network device that allows all your devices (computers, phones, tablets, etc.) to connect to the Internet. RouterĪn Access Point (AP) is: a physical network device that emits a WiFi signal to which other devices can connect to a local area network. It has a WAN (wide area network) port for an outside connection (your internet connection from your ISP), and a LAN (local area network) port for an Ethernet cable to attach to your local computer network. and sometimes a modem (some DSL or cable internet companies supply combo routers)Ī commercial-grade router is only that, a router.often, a wireless access point (this is what makes a router into a wireless router).almost always a wired switch (so you can use Ethernet cables to plug into your desktop, NAS, or another switch).But a typical home router box often has additional features built-in: Home Router VS Commercial RouterĪ router connects two networks. If you wish to expand your home network, you do not need a repeater wired to the router.Īnd a router can function as an AP, but an AP is not necessarily a router - I will explain.
Other connectivity points that are meant to extend the network range are connected to the AP via WiFi, and are called extenders or repeaters. But technically, a router is wired to the network, and an AP can be wired or not to a router. An Access Point (AP) or WAP is sometimes referred to as anything that your device can connect to wirelessly, to access a network.
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