00:00Hello everyone. In this video we're going to talk about the difference between a wireless access
00:05point and a wi-fi router. Now a lot of people think that these two devices are the same thing,
00:12but even though they do look similar and they do similar things, they are in fact different.
00:18So let's first talk about a wi-fi router. Now almost everyone who has an internet connection
00:24in their home would have a wi-fi router. Whether that wi-fi router is a separate device or if
00:31it's
00:31built into their modem. A wi-fi router is what allows multiple wired and wireless devices to join
00:38together in a local area network. It'll broadcast a wi-fi signal so that wireless devices can connect
00:45to it and it'll also have a built-in switch with several network ports so that wired devices can
00:52connect to it using ethernet cables. And then that wi-fi router will directly connect to a modem to
00:59give those devices internet access. Wi-fi routers are mainly used in homes and small offices. So here
01:06we have a typical home where a couple of desktops are connected to the wi-fi router's built-in switch
01:12using cables. And we also have laptops and tablets that are connected wirelessly to the router. So
01:19now let's talk about a wireless access point. A wireless AP relays data between a wired network
01:26and wireless devices. It's basically a wireless hub that's used by wireless devices to connect to an
01:33existing wired network. A wireless AP connects directly to an organization's router where the router
01:41is then connected directly to a modem which gives the wireless devices access to the internet. Now wireless
01:48access points are primarily used by medium to large organizations. And typically an organization
01:55will have multiple access points to make sure it covers the entire building. So for example here we
02:01have a medium-sized office. And this office has desktop computers, laptops, and tablets. So the desktop
02:09computers will connect to the organization's router using ethernet cables. But in order for the wireless
02:15laptops and tablets to connect to the network this office is going to use wireless access points. So
02:22the access points are going to be placed in strategic places and each of them will connect to the router
02:28using an ethernet cable. Then once that is done they will all broadcast a wi-fi signal so that the
02:35laptops
02:35and tablets can connect wirelessly and join this network. So now all the desktop computers and wireless devices
02:44are joined together in one network. And that one network is managed by one single router. And because
02:52wireless access points are managed by a single router, that is one of the main reasons why larger
02:58organizations use wireless access points instead of wi-fi routers. Now in reality this office here can use wi-fi
03:08routers instead of wireless APs and it would work just fine. But the problem with using wi-fi routers instead
03:16of wireless APs is manageability. If the network administrator wanted to manage this network and make
03:23certain changes, he would have to log into each wi-fi router to make that change. And that could be
03:29a hassle
03:30and time consuming especially if there were a lot of wi-fi routers. But if this office was using wireless
03:37access points instead, then all the management and all the changes in the configuration would be done
03:43by this single router. Which makes managing a network a lot easier. So all the wireless devices can be
03:51treated as a single subnet instead of being treated as multiple subnets if wi-fi routers were used.
03:59Another difference between these is how devices are able to connect to them. Wireless access points are
04:05strictly for wireless devices to connect to, whereas wi-fi routers are able to accept connections from both
04:12wireless devices and wired devices. Because in addition to having a wi-fi antenna, wi-fi routers will
04:19also have a built-in switch to accept ethernet cable connections. Another difference is a firewall.
04:26Wireless access points don't have a firewall while wi-fi routers will have a firewall.
04:31Wi-fi routers will also have a built-in DHCP service. A DHCP service is what automatically assigns
04:40IP addresses to devices that are connected to it. So when devices connect to a wi-fi router,
04:47its built-in DHCP service will directly assign those devices an IP address. But since wireless APs don't have
04:56a DHCP service, the devices that are connected to it will get its IP address from the organization's router.
05:03So once a device connects to the wireless AP, the router will send the IP through the wireless access
05:10point and then to the device. And another difference is that wi-fi routers will have a WAN port or
05:18internet
05:19port. A WAN or internet port is where you would plug in a network cable coming in from your modem.
05:25And this is what gives your wi-fi router an internet connection so it can pass it on to other
05:32devices.
05:32Whereas a wireless access point doesn't have a WAN or internet port. So it cannot directly connect
05:40to a modem. It has to connect directly to a router instead. And then the router is what connects to
05:46a modem.
05:47And on a final note, wireless access points are often used to further extend a network's existing
05:55wireless signal. So for example, if this home needed to extend its wi-fi signal further into this home,
06:02you can attach a wireless access point using a network cable to the wi-fi router so that distant
06:09devices can connect to the wi-fi signal.
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