If at the dawn of the development of computer and mobile technology, local networks were connected through a wired connection, today wireless technologies are the most popular. In addition, in the terminology that describes the possible types of connection, a lot of new concepts have appeared. And users confuse some basic terms very often. So, for example, ordinary users will not really answer what is the difference between an access point and a router, believing that it is one and the same. Indeed, these concepts are related and very close to each other, however, the cardinal differences between them are enormous.
What is the difference between a router and an access point: basic knowledge
To begin with, we will not particularly delve into the detailed technical description of each term, but try to describe them in the simplest language. What is the difference between a router and an access point? The main difference is that the access point (AP) is a splitter or, if you want, a repeater (repeater, repeater) of a wireless signal from the main equipment. In turn, the main equipment is precisely the router (a router or modem that works in wireless mode).
Cardinal difference
However, all of the above can be attributed to general theoretical information. Now a few words about the equipment itself. First, consider the equipment used.
If you carefully look at the router and the access point, it is easy to notice that the router is equipped with several inputs for connecting, and the access point in the form of a corresponding device, despite the external resemblance to the router, has only one input for connecting a network cable, which, as already understood, It comes from the router.
But speaking about what a router and an access point are, what is the difference between these two devices, it is especially worth noting that the point only broadcasts traffic (sometimes it receives), but it does not perform absolutely any operations with it.
In this sense, the router is a more “smart” device, since it is able to redistribute traffic between networks and subnets, assign IP addresses to connected computer and mobile devices, limit data transfer speed, set its own connection limits, provide protection for connections based on the built-in firewall, etc. .. etc. Roughly speaking, one can imagine an access point in the form of a kind of antenna, transmitting or amplifying the signal, and a router - in the form of a full-fledged computing device vypol yayuschego a lot of additional functions.
Key Comparative Characteristics
But that is not all. If we consider how the router differs from the access point, the easiest way is to look at the image below, which shows the main positive and negative sides of each device.
From this, we can immediately conclude that the use of an access point is connected with the configuration of connected devices and the inability to use the full potential that the router has. For example, as can be seen from the example, the AP point does not allow you to organize a home wireless network in which it could act as a DHCP server.
In general, most experts are inclined to believe that confusion in concepts arose only after standard routers began to be equipped with wireless Wi-Fi modules. In their original form, such devices could only use a wired connection. However, despite this, sometimes it is advisable to use the same router or ADSL modem precisely as an access point, and not as a router. Why this is needed, and how to make the appropriate settings, we will consider separately.
Is it possible to make a full-fledged router from an access point?
Indeed, many users very often ask such questions, considering that buying a device in the form of an AP point for money will cost less. Alas, the prices for such devices are approximately the same in their class, but you won’t be able to add additional functions to the translator device, no matter how you want it. Why? Yes, only because initially by itself it was not intended. In any case, you will need to get a distributed signal from somewhere (this is not a problem), but to make the necessary settings, protect the connection or configure the options for some specific software, for example, if port forwarding is required, it will not work.
Types of Access Points
With the "iron" equipment a little figured out. Now let's look at one more aspect that concerns access points. In addition to specialized devices, other devices can also play the role of access point. So, for example, a router (router) can also be an access point.
Also, probably, many people know that the distribution point of the Internet can be made even from a regular computer, laptop, mobile phone or tablet. Moreover, the essence of organizing such a structure is that it is completely optional to use some third-party software to perform such actions. Sometimes the built-in tools of the Windows operating systems will suffice, while working with which the setup takes only a couple of minutes.
In addition, it is necessary to distinguish between household and industrial repeaters. The former are intended only to increase the number of simultaneously connected devices and coverage area, but the latter provide powerful broadcasting over fairly decent distances. True, when you connect a large number of computers and mobile devices, this may affect the speed of access to the Internet, but there are some advantages to this.
Router or access point: what to prefer for home and office?
In matters of choosing a device for home and office, you should also build on what you want to get in the end. For a house, of course, an ordinary router is enough, because it is unlikely that the apartment or house has such areas that the router signal does not reach a distant point (the average radius of action in direct visibility, even for a simple household router, is about one hundred meters).
For offices and industrial facilities, the router will be few. In this case, of course, you need a powerful repeater. Among other things, it’s advisable to purchase or organize an access point in cases where the company needs to create a “seamless” Wi-Fi network or Hot Spot with a sufficiently large number of connected work terminals. Finally, you cannot do without an access point even if you only have a router with a wired connection, in which signal distribution in wireless mode is not provided at all.
Some important settings
Finally, a few words about some important settings. First, let's see how to configure a router as an access point. The simplest case is the situation of device settings, in which the use of two operating modes is provided: normal (router) and AR (access point). In the web interface of the router, just switch from one mode to another and save the settings.
You can also combine two routers, when the connection between them will be carried out using wireless technology. In this case, one device will remain a router that controls the main connection parameters, and the second will play a purely repeater role.
In some models, an even simpler method can be used.
The point is that the AP point mode should not be turned on, but the DHCP server and, if enabled, the UPnP function will be disabled. In this case, get the most common switch with four ports, but without the possibility of using WAN.
Note: if you turned the router into a Wi-Fi access point using two routers, their own addresses will sometimes need to be changed manually (they must belong to different subnets). For example, if one device has the address 192.168.1.1, the second needs to be assigned either 192.168.2.1 or 192.168.0.1. Without this, a combination of a bunch of devices will not work.
How to create an AP point in Windows systems
Which is better - a router or Internet access point, I think, many have already figured out. Now let's try to configure a regular computer so that it acts as a repeater.
To do this, in the network and sharing management section, you need to create a new connection, and from the list of possible options choose a wireless computer-to-computer connection, indicate the network name, encryption type and password.
Just in case, so that the connection does not break, in access control, you can mark the points of allowing the use of the connection and managing it for other users. You can also use the command line or third-party software, but the described option looks the simplest.
Note: if you want to create a private network, you can set up a connection to the workplace using a VPN. In this case, the PC or laptop will play the role of a VPN server operating on the basis of tunneling, ensuring complete anonymity of users.
Total
So, what is the difference between a router and an access point, I hope that many people understand. To summarize, we can say that the access point is a regular repeater, and the router combines both a router (modem) and an access point.
As for the practical use of such devices or software settings, the AR user point, in general, is not needed. But in large enterprises with their extensive network computer organization, creating an access point may be the best option for combining a large number of terminals with each of them having Internet access and communication with other devices on the network.