SOHO network and SOHO Router in computer networking?

The SOHO full form is a Small Office/Home Office. If you look both are similar networks. A home office or small office, both have a limited number of network devices.  There may be only, 3 PCs, one printer, and maybe some other one or two devices.  In this tutorial, we will discuss the SOHO network and a specific router for a small network.

What is the SOHO network?

We have a very simple and small network in our home or office. In that network, there is a router with 2 or 3 LAN ports, a WAN port, and wireless access point connect devices over, wireless.   WAN port connects to the ISP for the internet.  If we have a PC attached to the LAB port, the PC and wireless devices can communicate with each other using LAN IP addresses.

But what if we want to use this network for a small business or need to convert to a SOHO network? For that, we need to connect more, PCs,(max 5), printers, maybe a VoIP phone, etc.  There may be a need for a firewall, DHCP server, and other functionalities to run a small business network.  So the existing basic network is not sufficient, as it doesn’t have sufficient LAN port and PCs and other devices, does not have a firewall, etc.

A SOHO network has switches, firewalls, Access points, and DHCP servers.  So that along with the internet, the computers can access other resources over LAN.

What is a SOHO Router?

Before letting know about the SOHO router from Cisco or any other vendor. Let’s understand where the SOHO router fits.  For residential use, a simple ADSL router works well and for enterprises, there is a need for high capacity equipment.  SOHO router fits between these two types. It’s a little expensive than residential but very less expensive than the enterprise. Bur covers almost a similar functionality for a small are network.

It a package (switch, router, etc.) of all devices in a single router. It has easy to use web interface rather than a command-line interface.