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Parts of a Network: Internet Access

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Internet access

When you want to access the Internet from one of your computers, the router looks at the location that you've requested and recognizes that it's a request for a computer that's not part of your home network. So it passes the request on to your Internet Service Provider through whichever kind of Internet connection you've chosen. Cable modems and DSL modems are the two most common high-speed Internet connections available for home users, though ISDN and satellite wireless connections are also available. Your Internet connection device is different than your router.

Most Internet connection devices use either Ethernet cables or USB cables to connect to your router (or to a single computer in your house). The difference is in what sort of cable (if any) they use to connect to the Internet.

56K dialup, ISDN, and DSL modems use telephone cable; cable modems use coaxial cable, the same sort that your television uses; and satellite wireless connections may use a wire that runs inside your house from an antenna or dish, but the connection from your house to the service provider is made through radio-frequency airwaves.

In any case, though, you can use an Ethernet cable or USB cable to connect your router to the service provider's equipment, and most service providers will help you set up the connection from their equipment to their system.

(You can also use a 56K, ISDN, or DSL modem with a telephone line to access your ISP in the illustration above.)

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