Multitech VoIP User's Guide download pdf (Page 6)

Routers and IP Addresses

A router is an advanced networking component that determines the route that IP packets of data will

take. It has two separate, but related, jobs:

•

It ensures that information doesn’t go where it’s not needed. This is crucial for keeping large

volumes of data from clogging the connection.

•

It makes sure that information does make it to the intended destination.

In performing these two jobs, a router is extremely useful in dealing with two separate computer

networks. It joins the two networks, passing information from one to the other. It also protects the

networks from one another, preventing the traf c, on one, from unnecessarily spilling over to the

other. Regardless of how many networks are attached, the basic operation and function of the router

remains the same. Since the Internet is one huge network made up of tens of thousands of smaller

networks, its use of routers is an absolute necessity.

In order to route data through a network, routers need a way to locate each other. Therefore, every

device on the Internet has a unique identifying number, called an IP Address. A typical IP address

looks like this: 200.2.9.1. An Internet Service Provider (ISP), or network administrator, permanently or

dynamically assigns an IP address to a network device.

Using our company example, the following diagram maps out their existing data network.

Local Area Versus Wide Area Networks

We can classify IP data network technologies as belonging to one of two basic groups: Local Area

Networks (LANs) or Wide Area Networks (WANs). A LAN connects many devices that are relatively

close to each other, usually in the same building. A WAN connects a smaller number of devices that

can be many miles apart. Different transmission facilities can be used in a WAN to support remote

operations — everything from digital connections (e.g. ISDN, cable and DSL) to dedicated T1/E1 and

frame relay connections. This is one of the reasons that IP data networks offer so much  exibility and

cost-effectiveness in reaching all types of remote locations and workers. See the chart below for a

bandwidth comparison of various WAN connection types.

WAN Connection Types

Company Data Network

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ... 28 29

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Multitech VoIP User's Guide Page 6