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Re: Basic Info Required Before Buying Wireless Router
WAN port - the Wide Area Network. Routers will have one port so marked which is connected by ethernet cable to the STB (modem).
Most routers have 4 LAN ports - Local Area Network. Thus you can connect by ethernet up to four separate computers, each with their own wire between one of the LAN ports and the network ethernet card port on that computer.
A wireless router also enables you to connect, as an *alternative* to a wired connection, a computer or laptop wirelessly to the router. A wireless router will support many wireless connections simultaneoulsy so you can have two or more wireless computers in addition to up to 4 wired computers.
To connect wired you computer needs an ethernet port, to connect wireless your computer needs a wireless adaptor. You do not need an ethernet port if you are connecting wirelessly, or vice versa.
There are ways to connect more than 4 computers wired, but that is beyond the needs of this thread
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