The Router also called router or router, are those devices that have the function of establishing the path for each information packet, shared between two nodes of a network. In addition to connecting computers to each other and allowing internet access. And many times, in order to make the connection possible and the information is received; you need to access the drive connected to the USB port of the router.
However, there are home routers that offer basic operations, but also, there are professional ones with more advanced functions, and you might think that they are very expensive; however, this is not the case, they are accessible as a homemade one and sometimes even cheaper.
The latter is recommended for those parents who need a good control of the use of the Internet in relation to their children; it is also an option for company managers, who must limit the connection to social networks during working hours.
What are the differences between home and professional routers?
Some differences between the two is that in the professionals, the processor is faster, as well as, it has a greater memory capacity, many ports and superior programming options.
In addition, you can allocate more bandwidth, set up visits on the wireless network, protect the network from unauthorized entry, distribute the load between several internet provider connections, among others.
What uses does the router’s USB port have?
A port designates a connection that makes it possible to both send and receive information; USB or Universal Serial Bus, is a type of port that serves as a physical interface from which different devices are accessed; such as mobiles and computers.
This port can be used for different purposes, including connecting a 3G or 4G modem device to obtain the Internet, without the need for an ADSL or fiber optic connection. Also, a printer can be connected to the port, which is very useful.
Because it offers us the possibility of printing from any device that is part of our local network; we just need the router to have a firmware that allows us to use the “print server” service.
Also with the USB port of the router, it can be used as a storage unit, using the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol with which files and printers are shared between the nodes of the same network remotely, via FTP.
How can I access the drive connected to the USB port of my Router?
To expose this question, it should be clarified that it will be explained based on a D-Link router, model DIR-880L; This procedure can also be applied in a similar way with other brands and commercial models.
The first thing is to verify that the USB drive or flash drive is correctly connected to the router’s USB port, then open the browser and enter the URL in the address bar.
The latter is found on the label located at the base of the router, in this case it will be http: //dlinkrouter.local or http://192.168.0.1; but for other cases the URL is usually http://192.168.1.1
Then enter the password, which, if it has not been changed, you must leave the space blank for this case; in other models the word “admin” is placed for both user and password; then click on “Lon in”.
Now the map appears with all the connected devices, we click on the “USB Device” icon and the detailed information about the connection and storage of the flash drive will be observed.
We exit the browser and go to the following path: in Windows XP we will go to “Start > Run”, in Windows 7 we go to “Start > All Programs > Accessories > Run” and on Mac we look for the option “Go > Connect to server ”.
We finish by typing the URL in the dialog box in Windows “\192.168.0.1” or in Mac OSX “smb: //192.168.0.1”, and then press the “Accept” or “Connect” button depending on the case; if they ask us for the username and password, we put the router credentials.
To conclude, we can say that connecting a USB drive to our router is useful for storing, viewing and editing common files for all people on the same network; this facilitates our daily activities and avoids the duplication of files.
