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appendix a: identifying your equipment
The Router
If you have just one computer in your house, the computer may be connected directly to your modem by a
cable. In this case, you do not have a router.
If you have multiple computers in your home, or if you have wireless Internet access, you have a router. A
router splits the Internet connection into multiple connections, or ports, for your computers to connect to.
Most routers have four (sometimes more) Ethernet ports on the back panel. Routers can connect directly to
computers with a cable, or indirectly through a wireless connection. If your router makes wireless connections,
it may have an external antenna. To nd your router, look for a device that has one Ethernet connection to
your modem, and multiple connections to your computers or has an antenna.
Integrated Routers
In some cases, the modem, router, and wireless transmitter are all combined into a single integrated device.
In this case, you will have a single device with one connection to the DSL or cable wall jack and either cabled
connections to your computers, wireless connections through an antenna, or a combination of both.
The Phone System
Identifying your phone system is the easiest part. If you have more than one line or phone number in your
home, you need to determine which wall jacks work with which number to ensure all your ooma devices are
installed on the same phone line (the line which you registered your ooma system). If you have more than one
line, you will have either two-line splitters or dual-jack wall plates that allow you to connect to different phone
numbers.
Splitters
Telephone splitters are small devices that plug into a telephone wall plate and split that jack connection into
two jacks. There are three kinds of telephone line splitters you might nd in your home, single-line splitters,
two-line splitters, and dual-jack wall plates.
Phone Jack
1 line line 1
line 1
Phone Jack
2 line line 1
line 2