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Several vendors , such as Linksys and D-Link, sell dedicated routers for the SOHO market. These physically resemble network hubs, with one Ethernet jack for the connection to the outside world (cable modem or DSL) in addition to the Ethernet jacks for the computers on your LAN.

Walk into the home networking section of your local computer store or big box electronics store and it's hard not to trip over a plethora of wired and Wi-Fi routers designed for the SOHO market.

If you are purchasing a router for the first time, it's best to do some research up front and walk into the store with some general requirements you are seeking in a router. Some general requirements to consider:

• How many PCs are you planning to put on the network?

• Are you planning to put your employer's Wi-Fi-enabled laptop on the network?

• Do you have a Wi-Fi-enabled DVR like a Tivo or Windows Media Center PC that needs access to your network?

Wired vs. Wi-Fi Routers

We recommend a hardware router even if you are only connecting one PC to a broadband Internet connection for a complete Internet security solution. Wired routers are less expensive but lack the flexibility, and it's safe to say that these routers may get left by the wayside as consumers and small to medium- sized businesses pour their money into the latest Wi-Fi router technology.

To reach the broadest audience, we are focusing on Wi-Fi routers in the following sections because they offer users the most expandability options. However, many of the points about router configuration remain the same if for some reason you choose a wired router.

Choosing the Right Wi-Fi Router

Networking your SOHO via Wi-Fi can be a productivity boost because you have freedom to roam around your office. Also, going Wi-Fi means you can skip the intricacies of running network cable throughout your house.

Here are some considerations for choosing the right router:

• Shoot for the latest wireless standard support in your router of choice. While at the time of press, 802.llg is the popular Wi-Fi standard, is supported by the major Wi-Fi router vendors, and even entry-level laptop PCs include 802.llg Wi-Fi cards, the standards are always evolving. Staying on or a little bit ahead of the wireless standards curve offers you speed and flexibility in the future as you swap desktop PCs and laptops in and out of your network. Wi-Fi speed is always a good thing!

• Look for routers that include autoconfiguration software because nobody is expected to be a network engineer. Such router configuration software is wizard-driven and requires basic information to configure your router, such as your PC name and home network name .

• Check out the router vendor technical support sites to gauge their level of help content. While these router vendors do offer telephone technical support, viewing the web sites will help you to build your body of home-networking knowledge and help alleviate some of the frustration navigating the telephone support phone tree and divining exactly what the support rep is reading from the script on their PC. While home networking has become an easier proposition than years ago, a little bit of networking knowledge is power.

• While many Wi-Fi routers come with four network ports, consider expandability options for the future. Is VoIP, such as SunRocket or Vonage, in your future? How about additional network storage? These plans can dictate how many PCs you wire into your Wi-Fi router and how many PCs you equip with Wi-Fi network cards.

As home networking has grown more popular for SOHOs, broadband ISPs have gotten into the act by bolstering their support for SOHO routers through help content and even fee-based add-on services where the ISP will send a technician to your office or home to set up your router and home network for you.

Many major cable broadband providers like Cox Communications, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable offer home networking as an add-on service for their customers.

While going through your broadband ISP to get your SOHO network installed and running may be attractive to some, you do have to weigh the pros and cons of letting your ISP inside your home network. The plus side is outsourcing networking issues that you may not want to trouble yourself with. The minus side is allowing a stranger access to your personal and business data.

These same router vendors also offer hubs for plugging into your router if you have more PCs and peripherals, like networked-attached storage (NAS) devices and print servers, than you do router ports.