I can move the laptop anywhere in the house and have a 10 Mbps connection to my network and router. Wireless connections also can be used with my hand-held devices. These devices also use infrared and will be capable of Bluetooth connections in the near future. Home networks are almost a necessity in today s computing environment at home and in the small office and will become more so in the future. Routers used in conjunction with today s high speed home network and broadband Internet connections offer the ability to have more than one computer on the broadband connection at one time.
Routers are also smart devices and know who is on both sides of a connection.
Routers also provide network firewall security against hackers in that they are programmed with security protocols. I use an ISDN router now and will switch to a broadband router when the cable and DSL connections are completed. Routers will be standard on most home and small office networks in the future. Server capability Many home and small office networks contain file and print servers. Servers are computers, whose function is to provide services to users on the network.