Just What Is A Wireless Router???

A wireless router is a device that extracts the destination of a packet it receives, selects the best path to that destination, and forwards data packets to the next device along this path. They connect networks together, a LAN to a WAN for example, to access the Internet. A more precise definition of a router is a computer networking device that interconnects separate logical subnets.

Routers are now available in many types, though all are fundamentally doing the same job. A router is a computer whose software and hardware are usually tailored to the tasks of routing and forwarding, generally containing a specialized operating system. High-end routers contain many processors and specialized Application-specific integrated circuits and do a great deal of parallel processing.

For a more common answer to what a wireless router is, it is a little box separate from the computer that connects to an Internet connection and sends out radio frequencies over a certain distance depending on which kind of router you bought. Your laptop can then pick up these frequencies if they have a wireless receiver installed on it.

Just think of a wireless router as a radio station antenna. The receiver is your little radio box in your house, and the speakers on the radio is like your laptop, where you can view what you are receiving.