A router connected to a DSL or cable modem provides internet connectivity to multiple machines connected to it. There are a large variety of devices available covering a wide range of prices, features, and reliability.
For small installations it is possible to use a retail device such as the Linksys WRT, extra functionality can be achieved through different firmware such as OpenWRT. However with multiple users with a low bandwidth connection will require some form of traffic shaping to share the connection fairly. For users who wish to access the network remotely, or if there are multiple offices a VPN connection will be necessary. These features are available from software products like m0n0wall, pfSense, smoothwall, or IPCop. For commercial products see sonicwall, Junpier Networks NetScreen, or WatchGuard Firebox.
The software products can be installed on embedded hardware like WRAP or Soekris, either built yourself or pre-built like the m1n1wall appliance. Performance for embedded devices vary from 20-40mbps which is far greater than most DSL or cable modem connections. To support 100 or 1000mbps you will need faster hardware like a regular PC or server from Dell.
A router appliance may include a switch that allows multiple machines to communicate with each other.
Router appliances will often have their own DHCP server to provide IP addresses to clients on the network. If you are connecting the miru directory server to the same LAN segment you will have to turn off and disable it.
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