The Router Connection for home users can be complicated, particularly those who have no or less networking experiences. Basically there are view things to pay attention to in connecting the wireless network devices to the network, particularly the network that use separate modem and the wireless router. Wireless Broadband Connection using the all-in-one modem-router either using Wireless DSL modem or Cable wireless modem would be less work to do since the all-in-one modem-router integrates the function of the modem and the router.

Router Rear Panel

To successfully configure the broadband wireless router firstly you need to understand how the wirings go from the router to the modem and from the router to the computers or any other Ethernet-based devices. The figure 1 shows an example of wireless router rear panel, in this example Belkin N750 DB is used which supports two USB ports.

The WAN port (or some routers mark this as the Internet port) must be connected to the Ethernet port of the modem using the UTP Cat5 or Cat5e network cable or cable that comes with the modem.

Mostly the broadband wireless routers come with 4-port switch as general, but some routers come with different number of ports for example Apple Airport Extreme is embedded with 3-port gigabit switch and D-Link Dir-632 come with 8-port switch. Connect this LAN ports to any Ethernet-based devices such as computers, switch, XBOX console, or HDTV with Ethernet ready.

High end wireless broadband routers generally come with one or two USB ports to let you connect an external disk storage or printer for sharing across the network. Read the manufacturers spec to see if the router support USB port for sharing storage only or you can share a printer.

Connection Diagram

To understand the router connection diagram, you should understand what devices are involved in home wireless router that uses wireless broadband router. As general the wireless broadband connection consists of DSL or Cable modem (as an interface between the subscriber premises to the central office of the ISP), the router / firewall (as the private network protection against the internet threats), the LAN Switch (as the wired network infrastructure), and the wireless access point (as the bridge between the wired network devices and the wireless clients). Have a look at the connection diagram on figure 2 below.

This is a basic wireless broadband connection diagram and the main components to create a wireless network to share the broadband internet connection with the computers on the network.  Depends on the broadband services you subscribe, either DSL or Cable, the modem should support the Internet connection. You cannot use Cable modem for DSL connection, and vice verse. Connect the Ethernet port of the modem to the Switch port using the UTP cable (included with the modem when you purchase the modem), and you can connect the computers to the Switch using the straight-through UTP cable. To extend the network wirelessly you can add a wireless Access Point such as TP-Link TL-Wa901nd to allow the computers with the wireless-enabled device connect to the network. This is a typical Wireless Network Connections to share the broadband internet by using separate modem, router, switch and wireless AP.

Figure 2 Modem, Router, Switch and Wireless AP diagram

Note: you need to assign the IP address manually to the computers with the same subnet as in the LAN port of the Modem (the IP address assigned by the ISP which will act as the gateway IP address) if the modem doesn’t provide the DHCP service.

Fortunately for home users, you can purchase the Wireless router that combines the function of router / firewall, a Switch LAN, and a wireless access point. The following is the Wireless Router Connection diagram with the modem.

Connect the RJ-45 LAN port of the modem to the RJ-45 WAN (internet) port of the Wireless router (typically marked with the yellow port). You can use the UTP cable that come with the modem as the media connection between the modem and the wireless router.

The advantage of using the wireless router is that all the wireless routers support the DHCP server to provide the IP address configuration to the computer clients automatically.  You don’t need to worry about the DHCP server if you know nothing about the DHCP services, because the DHCP service is enabled by default and typically the router support automatic ISP detection.

Figure 3 shows you a typical wireless broadband connection diagram, in this figure the TP-Link TL-Wr2543nd N900 router is used as the center of the network which connects to the Surfboard DOCSIS 3 cable modem. You can connect up to four desktop or All-in-one computers direct to the router’s LAN ports for high speed and reliable connection. Any home theater devices can also be connected but if you prefer wireless connection to the network to reduce wires cluttering, you can add multiport wireless Bridge device such as Linksys WES600N. Any mobile devices such as your Touchpad or Table computers (iPad, Samsung Galaxy, Motorola Xoom and more) ca n connect wirelessly to the router (internet).

Figure 3 broadband wireless router diagram

The more practical device to use in sharing the broadband internet connection at home is using the all-in-one device that combines the function of modem (either DSL or Cable), router /firewall, Switch, and wireless access point such as Dgnd3700 ADSL wireless modem or Cable wireless modem.

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