When you reset the wi-fi router, why does it take so long to turn on? What happens during that time?
In: Technology
Most people in this thread seem to think that just because a router is a “mini-computer” it obviously means that all answers to all problems has to be technical in nature – not so.
A router is a product – it was produced in a competitive environment. Someone said “this is what we need”, then someone else said “do we really need all that?” and then a minimal specification was created which internal and external parties competed on “who can make it cheapest?” (How formal or organic the process is differs but it’s still the same.)
Low boot-time was not an important part of the specification, probably not even considered at all, and as such suffered because there was no need for it and it would’ve cost more to make it faster – maybe not a lot more, but more is still more.
The router is a small computer. It‘s task is to negotiate all the information that is sent through your network. That requires some specific tasks that are carried out by different modules. And those power up in a specific sequence. Between those steps, there are also set timers, to make sure one step is finished before the other starts.
The big ELI5 is that a router is designed to stay on for a long, long time so optimizing the time it takes to start up isn’t so important
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