All About Surfboard Cable Modems
A cable modem is a device that acts as a bridging element between a "wide area network" (WAN) and a smaller home or business network, or Local Area Network (LAN). They are built by a variety of manufacturers, including Cisco-Linksys, D-Link, and Netgear. The most common are Surfboard cable modems built by Motorola. Various modems typically serve the same purposes, but each cable Internet provider typically only supports one or more specific models. Different types of modems may support different standards.
The design of the modem is fairly straightforward. It is typically a small boxlike device with a few connectors on the back, and some indicator lights on the front. Typically, the connectors are for a coaxial lead, a power adapter, and an Ethernet cable. The coaxial lead connects to a wall outlet in the same manner as a cable television would. This provides the bi-directional communications with the larger network, as well as the Internet. The power adapter connects to a wall outlet, providing electricity. The Ethernet cable typically connects to an individual computer, but sometimes also to a router.
Although the user is typically not aware of it, the internals of a cable modem are a rather intricate system. They typically incorporate a System-on-Chip (SoC), that is a tiny microprocessor containing all the hardware needed to constitute a simple computer. This computer runs a very small operating system, usually Linux-based, from a ROM (read-only memory) chip. The SoC handles the incoming and outgoing data packets, as well as authentication to the network. In addition, specialized hardware outside the SOC converts the digital signals sent from computers on the LAN to the analog ones needed to travel across the cable network, as well as translating incoming analog signals to digital ones. A cable modem is designed for highly efficient operation with low power consumption.
A router, if used, provides communication to the modem from more than one computer. These computers can be connected via Ethernet cables or a wireless network, such as 802.11x, commonly known as "Wi-Fi". In some cases, a modem incorporates an internal router, and even a wireless transceiver. This type of modem typically has numerous Ethernet ports for wired computers, as well as one or more antennas for connection to laptop computers, cell phones, PDAs, etc. Note that Surfboard cable modems, which are the most common models, do not typically incorporate routing or wireless hardware.
The modem used can determine the type of performance achieved on a cable network. For this reason, it is best to investigate the types of modems supported by your cable Internet provider, and to make sure you have the most up-to-date model.
About the Author
Victoria Vohn, http://mygrannygeek.com/ has been researching potential purchases online since the early days of the internet. She has owned and operated an IT company for the past 20 years and has developed extensive expertise in internet research. Now she is sharing that research with you. Visit her website featuring Motorola Surfboard Cable Modems at http://motorolasurfboardcablemodem.com/ .
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