If you want to know what a WAN is, or how a WAN differs from a LAN, then you have come to the right place. Now let’s try to figure out what these technologies, connectors, connections are, what they are needed for and what the difference is.

I think that in most cases, when someone is looking for information on WAN, they are referring to the connector on Wi-Fi router e. After all, in almost every instruction for setting up a router you can find this abbreviation. Everyone writes about connecting some cables to WAN connectors, or LAN. Let's go in order:

WAN(Wide Area Network) is a global computer network. Simply put, this is the Internet. If we talk about the WAN connector, then this is the connector on the router into which the cable from the provider is connected. The network cable through which the router gains access to the Internet.

On almost all routers this is a blue connector, and it looks like this:

In the photo above you can see that the connector is even labeled. Also, the router usually has an indicator of the connected WAN cable. During normal operation, it should blink actively. And next to the indicator itself they usually draw an icon in the form of a planet.

Now you know what WAN is. Let's take a closer look at how it differs from LAN.

What is the difference between a WAN connector and a LAN connector?

Everything here is also very simple. What is LAN?

LAN(Local Area Network) is the local network. Simply put, these are computers that are not very connected to each other. long distance. For example, computers, televisions, mobile devices, which are connected to each other through a router within a home or office. This is a local network.

On routers you can usually find 4 LAN connectors. They are yellow and look like this:

They serve to connect devices to a local network via a network cable.

The difference between WAN and LAN is that WAN is access to the Internet, and LAN is a local network to which devices that are located close to each other can be connected.

I think that's all you need to know about these two designations. You can of course go deeper into technical points, abstruse definitions, etc., but this is unlikely to be of interest to anyone.

I noticed that in the comments to various articles on the site, they ask questions about Wi-Fi connection routers to regular ADSL modems. Many people have problems setting up such a connection. But, there is nothing difficult there. In this article we will look at the connection diagram and configuration of the ADSL modem + router combination. We will connect using a regular network cable. Which you can buy, or take the one that comes with the router/modem.

Why connect two similar devices at all? If you have ADSL Internet, then it’s clear that you need a modem. There are many modems that do not have the ability to distribute Wi-Fi, but we need Wi-Fi, it’s difficult without it now :)

So, there are two options:

• Buy a new ADSL modem that has the ability to distribute the Internet via wireless technology. There are a lot of such devices on the market now. If you don’t want to worry about making a choice, then call (or go) to your Internet provider, and he will advise you on a specific model and manufacturer. Or offer your device. Many providers have network equipment that they seem to recommend using.
• And the second option (which this article will be about). You can buy a regular Wi-Fi router, any one, and connect it via a network cable to the modem. The modem definitely has network outputs (LAN). The router will simply take the Internet from the modem and distribute it over the air.

As you can see, everything is very simple. We need the modem itself (which should already be configured and distributing the Internet), network cable (which is included with the router), and the Wi-Fi router itself. Now we will connect and configure all this.

By the way, we already have a similar article on. You can view.

Connecting the router to the ADSL modem

Before connection, Necessarily do it on a Wi-Fi router. Even if it is new, from the store.

Next, take the network cable. We connect one end to the modem in LAN connector (it is usually signed and highlighted in yellow). Your modem may have several LAN connectors. You can connect to any.

We connect the second end to the router in blue WAN connector. Look carefully.

Here is the entire connection diagram. If you reset the settings on the router and your modem distributes IP automatically, then the router should already distribute the Internet via Wi-Fi. And via cable, to the router, you can connect the devices that you had connected to the modem. Here are the instructions, just in case.

Router settings

If it doesn't work automatically, then let's check the settings. We will only configure the router, we will not touch the modem. But your modem must be configured, and the Internet must work through it.

You need to check whether the router settings are set to automatically obtain an IP address. Provided that the modem distributes IP automatically.

Go to your router settings. If you don't know how, then...

Go to the tab WAN. Depending on the company and model, this tab may be called differently. Internet, network, etc.

And see what's in the field WAN Connection Type (WAN connection type) it was found Dynamic IP (Dynamic IP address). Set and save settings. This is the example of TP-Link.

Router is network device, intended for distributing the Internet to several computers or laptops connected to it by cable or via wireless connection WiFi

Before using the router, you need to install it correctly

With setup prices network equipment you can find it in the "" section

You can get additional instructions and solutions to problems associated with poor working Internet in the section

This port, depending on the router model, is used to connect:

Data storage medium (flash drive or network storage NAS)

3G/4G modem for Internet distribution

Printer

Details about ports and setting up routers for the largest providers in Moscow and the Moscow region are described in our materials

Please note that the router can only have one of two types of ports for the ISP cable - WAN (Ethernet cable with connector) or DSL(telephone cable with connector). A router with a DSL connector is suitable for use only with a provider that provides Internet via. Routers with a connector are suitable for providers who offer Internet services over a dedicated line (Ethernet)

Don't confuse it with a telephone cable

The RJ-45 connector is 2 millimeters wider in width than the RJ-12

One of the main criteria when choosing a router is the type of cable that carries the Internet to your apartment or office. It is this cable that needs to be connected to the WAN/Internet (or DSL) port of the router. There are two most common types of wired Internet connections: via a two-wire telephone cable and via a leased line (twisted pair cable category 5e or 6)

On a computer or laptop with operating system Windows press Win+R, in the "Open" field enter the command " ping 8.8.8.8 -t" without quotes (this is the Google DNS server address), then click OK. If you have an Internet connection, you will see lines with in the console window. Readings are measured and displayed every second

If there is no Internet connection yet, you can ping the router itself with the command " ping 192.168.1.1 -t". Your router's address can be downloaded to the other two octets: 192.168. 0.1 ... 192.168.10.1 ... 192.168.100.1 ... 192.168.1.254

You can find out the router address in the settings network card- this is discussed in

As you move away from the Wi-Fi signal source or when the interference pattern between the laptop and router changes, the ping will change

If you are far away from the router, the PING console command will display lines with errors “Interval exceeded...”, “Transmission failed,” “General Failure” and others.