Access point and router
The access point is essentially a wireless base station that provides the user wireless access to the existing network. In addition, the access point is designed to create a new wireless network Wi-Fi. As for the router or router, that device that already has built-in access point.
Advantages and disadvantages
It is worth noting that the differences between these two devices lies in the fact that if the user gets directly access point and installs it, then it will be necessary to install provider settings for TCP/IP, and also, he will not be able to connect to the access point more than 1 device. The thing is that to connect more devices to one access point, the user will need to obtain additional address (MAC address) from your ISP, often to achieve which is simply wrong.
The main disadvantage and one of the differences is that the access point is not able to protect your device (e.g. laptop) from various invasions, and to ensure a good level of security when working online, the user will need a firewall. Naturally, this point has some advantages, among which worth noting is the fact that the user no need to configure or port forwarding for DC or torrents.
As for the router, the settings it obtains automatically, and to operate in a network, it is enough to configure the router only once. All other devices that will be connected to the router will use its settings. For security the router uses hardware protection, which protects the user from various threats from the outside.
Most often your access point is acquired solely in order to increase the working space of the router. In the end it turns out that the router distributes the Internet on a certain area, and connected to the router the access point expands its borders.
In conclusion, we can say that the access point acts as a hub, meaning that it can connect several devices over a wireless network Wi-Fi one, but in order to access the Internet, you will definitely need a router, as it specifies the IP address for each device.