The Complete Handbook of Wireless Routers

Chapter 1: Understanding Wireless Routers

A wireless router is not a single device. It is a tightly integrated assembly of three or more distinct functional components that work together to connect your devices to each other and to the internet: a network switch, a router, a wireless access point, and usually a network firewall. When you lose connectivity, the source of the problem is often that one of these components is failing, and being able to isolate which one is the first, and most valuable, skill you can develop. Understanding what each of these parts actually does, and how they differ from the separate devices you might find in a data center rack, will determine whether you can effectively troubleshoot, upgrade, or secure the network you are responsible for.

Let us start with the path data takes when you open a web page on a laptop. The laptop sends a request. That request is in the form of a packet, which contains the destination address and the data you are requesting. If the laptop is connected via Wi-Fi, that packet first travels over radio waves to the router. This radio transmission is handled by the access point component. The access point is functionally a radio transceiver and an antenna system. It is responsible for converting the digital electrical signals in the laptop's memory into radio frequency (RF) energy, transmitting it, and receiving the RF energy back from the laptop. The access point does not route anything yet; it is simply