In networking speak, the term “routing” means determining the paths to get from one network to another. Higher end routers, such as those used by businesses, educational institutions and Internet server providers (ISPs) often need to be aware of a large amount of networks; these routers have protocols for collecting and distributing large amounts of routing information with neighbouring routers. Together these neighbouring routers build up a “collective map” of how to reach any network that any of the routers knows about.

Lower-end routers, such as broadband routers for use in the home, usually exist in very small, simple networks. These routers are sometimes capable of running the same routing protocols as their higher-end siblings, but most home users get by just fine without ever giving routing protocols a second thought. After all, a router in your home basically sees two networks: the local area network (LAN, which essentially refers to your home network) and the Internet. It’s a simple task for a router to decide between those two networks.

How do I pick the right router?

At Home
The first step in selecting a router is to determine what interfaces you need your router to have. For the home user, this is usually simple: You probably want a WAN Ethernet interface to connect to your cable modem or ADSL modem, a wireless access point to let your laptop and other wireless devices connect to the network and perhaps some Ethernet interfaces to connect the wired computers on your LAN. The inexpensive broadband routers sold by various vendors are designed to perfectly accommodate these needs.

Businesses
For business environments, the choices can be much more varied, and the process of selecting the right router for your needs can become quite complicated. You may want to contact the pre-sales support department for your preferred networking equipment vendor for help in selecting the right router for your business’s needs.

Then what?

Once you have identified the possible routers that can accommodate the interfaces you need, the next issues to consider are price and performance. For the average home user, a simple broadband router will provide all the performance they ever need at the lowest price of any router. This should make the choice quite simple!

However, if your needs are more complicated, then you may need the assistance of a network design professional to help you pick the best equipment. This is particularly true if your network goes beyond the basic “one router per location” that’s sufficient for many small businesses. Keep in mind that, if you’re connecting to the Internet, the speed of the Internet connection may be far slower than what the rest of your network is capable of. Make sure you truly understand your network’s needs, so you don’t spend vast amounts of money on a router that’s being held back by a comparatively slow Internet connection.