On Mon, 14 Oct 2013 21:12:32 -0400
Jerry Stuckle <jstuckle@attglobal.net> wrote:
Maybe where you are, but not in the world scheme of things.
A router is a specific box. A (A)DSL modem may also contain a
firewall, etc. But most (A)DSL modems, cable modems, etc., only have
one Ethernet port. So people install routers in addition to the one
which may or may not be in the (A)DSL modem.
Modems and routers are two entirely different things, with completely
different uses. One box may contain both - but that does not mean
all modems are routers (or vice versa).
Hear, hear, Jerry! This is how I have always heard them referred to when
I worked as a network admin. A router is a router, and a "cable modem"
may or may not (usually not!) have any routing capability. It is really
a bridge connecting two networks, as I mentioned previously. It doesn't
do any modulating or demodulating. It simply allows the packets to go
from one network to the other.