The evolution of the Internet is one of the biggest game changers in the way we interact with technology today. As we’ve moved from the highly primitive ARPANet to America Online to browsing and streaming from a highly sophisticated wireless network, it’s hard to imagine life without going online.

What routers have an abundance of are reliable ports through which to feed the Internet connection. All routers have a WAN port, the cabled connection that connects the router to your cable or DSL. Then, there’s a multitude of LAN ports — local area network connections that allow you to wire everything, from your Xbox to your DVR, to the Internet. Looking for the magical wireless device? That’s usually the antenna flanking the modem, operated often at radio frequencies of both 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz to accommodate all devices without interference (thus the term “dual-band” router).

The way a router runs is fairly straightforward, since the system has become incredibly efficient over time. By taking in the cable or DSL information through a WAN connection, the router directs the information flowing through to ensure that all of the data is transmitted to the various devices connected to the Internet at any given time. The router is able to do that by individually assigning local ISPs to every comp