What is the difference?
- Thread starter tintin40
- Start date
A modem's what connects to the 'outside world' - be that a cable connection, or a phone line for ADSL. A router's what creates a network within your house / office / whatever, & shares the connection to the outside world, with anything connected to it. Lots of (most?) routers these days have modems built into them, so the confusion's understandable! 
Another way of looking at it would be:
Imagine all to post coming into your town gets delivered to the central sorting office. The job of the sorting office is to distribute the mail out to all the recipients. Well that's your router sorting out the right network data to the correct destination.
Now imagine that you were the only person living in that town. All the mail wouldn't get sorted (no need) and would all be passed directly onto you.
Modems (MOdulator / DEModulator) were necessary to place digital data over the analogue phone system but now most of us no longer use dial up as it has been replaced by ADSL. An ADSL modem is still required to send and receive the digital data down the phone line. Some areas of the country have internet access via the cable tv network and thus you still a cable modem in order to access the internet.
To put it simply, a modem will connect you to the interent, a router connected to a modem will sare out your internet connection and also act as a firewall.
Imagine all to post coming into your town gets delivered to the central sorting office. The job of the sorting office is to distribute the mail out to all the recipients. Well that's your router sorting out the right network data to the correct destination.
Now imagine that you were the only person living in that town. All the mail wouldn't get sorted (no need) and would all be passed directly onto you.
Modems (MOdulator / DEModulator) were necessary to place digital data over the analogue phone system but now most of us no longer use dial up as it has been replaced by ADSL. An ADSL modem is still required to send and receive the digital data down the phone line. Some areas of the country have internet access via the cable tv network and thus you still a cable modem in order to access the internet.
To put it simply, a modem will connect you to the interent, a router connected to a modem will sare out your internet connection and also act as a firewall.
Vitorzip
Senior Retro Guru
Also when we talk about a modem, we´re reffering to just one line connected to your computer with a cable, and a router is usually Wireless, with 4 to 6 lines (channels) to link with 6 diferent users. Personally, i consider the router a much more useful and practical device. Mine is currently working at 32 mbps, and let me work with all freedom in my home´s office, while my wife is on the living room with her laptop too, for example.
It´s a very good aquisition.
It´s a very good aquisition.
