How Does My Router Get Me Onto The Internet?

Unlike a modem, which works almost peer-to-peer, interfacing your computer directly to the outside world, a router acts as a buffer between your hard disc and the internet.

Data to and from your computer and the internet is funnelled through the router. The flow of data traffic is controlled by the router, directing where each packet goes, either to the external network that is the internet or to the internal firewall-protected network of your computer.

To keep tabs of all the possible destinations both locally and remotely, a router uses standard addressing codes called IP addresses. These denote either an entire domain or an individual computer within a network.

Where the data traffic ends up hinges on the router's understanding of the networks to which it is connected. In other words, whether the address on a packet matches a known address, a server or desktop computer in its current field of view.