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0 pointsfulafel7y ago0 comments

Heh, eventually the tech changes enough that the "wifi router" misnomer might become correct.

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7 comments · 4 top-level

penagwin7y ago· 3 in thread

To be fair a lot of people only have a cable box (one ethernet port) and plug everything into their wifi router, which is also the DHCP server, firewall, etc.

I'd guess this is the most common setup for residences, it requires next to no technical skill other then plugging in the cables. Should definitely count as a router here no?

progval7y ago

That's also what I do.

Not that I lack the technical skills to do otherwise, but my ISP's router works remarkably well (biband 802.11ac, IPv6, no packet loss, 4 ethernet ports, ...), so it's all I need.

And if I have a weird issue, that's a single device that I need to reboot (and I can even do it remotely).

penagwin7y ago

Same situation for me too. I've done a bunch of networking stuff before with pfsense and plan to again, but I just moved and wanted something working. And it works great!

To be honest it's all most residences need, even if you're a technical person. Half of common home devices (xbox, printers, laptops, etc) have wifi, so for most people 4 ethernet ports is all you need(if any). It's almost 0 setup other then changing the passwords, and it works.

The only reason why it wouldn't work for you is if you have many wired devices, or want to get into the networking stuff.

1 more reply

fulafelOP7y ago

Mostly they have a box that does NAT, firewalling and dhcp, but not routing. Well, it might do ipv6 routing.

jdietrich7y ago

With MU-MIMO, it technically changes from a hub to a switch - MU-MIMO prevents spatial collisions, allowing the router to transmit to multiple stations simultaneously.

As whatshisface alludes to, a wireless router acts as both an access point and a router.

whatshisface7y ago

"Wifi router" seems reasonable to me because the box in my living room that does the wifi also routes.

zitterbewegung7y ago

Then someone builds a new router called a smart router and the cycle repeats itself .

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