SMC2804WBR Barricade g 2.4GHz 54 Mbps Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband Router Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have been using the 2804WBR for several months now, and it has worked flawlessly. The difference in throughput between it and our 802.11b base stations is quite obvious.
Some observations on the other reviews of this product:
1. Current product does not appear to have any unresolved bugs, and should new firmware be released, the firmware upgrade process is extremely easy, requiring only a web browser.
2. The statement that the 2804 "cannot act as an access point" is simply incorrect. If you do not connect anything to the WAN port on the 2804, all it can do is act as an access point, and unremarkably, that's all it does. Mine is doing just that -- we have two other 802.11b routers on our network, one of which is our internet gateway and the other (an original Apple Airport base station) is acting as an AP.
Note that if you are going to use the 2804 as an access point, you probably want to turn off its DHCP server, because you probably already have another one operating.
One of the unheralded features of the 2804 (and all recent SMC routers) is that the router does not have to be rebooted for configuration changes to take effect -- you just press a button on the appropriate configuration page, and the change is saved and active. This means that in a multi-user environment you don't trash other users' connectivity when making configuration changes. Very cool, and fairly rare in consumer-grade routers.
All configuration is via web-browser, with separate "easy" and "pro" configuration systems. The 2804 configures and operates flawlessly with Macs as well as PCs, and presumably Linux boxes also.
The 2804 also has removable antennas, making it possible to add an external antenna without breaking out a soldering iron or cracking the case.
I would recommend the 2804 to anyone who needs its capabilities -- it is economical, simple to configure, and yet offers sophisticated capabilities if you want to delve into the settings a little.
The only criticism that I have of the unit is that it does not directly support dyndns.org -- but since that can be handled by a free client daemon on your computer, that is of little consequence.

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Siemens SS2604 4-Port Ethernet DSL/Cable Router with Print Server Review

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(More customer reviews)Worked fine for a couple years - a lot better than my previous (different brand) router - then a few days ago (May 2005), it just stopped working.
Now the Status and Print Err lights remain red (I never had a printer connected to it), and the Power and Print Act lights remain green, and any ports with computers connected just flash slowly. I tried holding in the reset button for a long time, and I even tried letting is sit completely unplugged for a few days, then resetting again, but it is still dead.
I have my router and cable modem connected to my UPS, and there were no power problems the day, so I don't think it was a power surge that caused it to die.
I see that one other person had this exact same problem. I would love to know what the problem is, so contact me if you have an idea (It's pretty simple to find my web site).
Fortunately, I already had another good router (3rd brand) to replace it with, so I'm still online. And I just bought an additional router (4th brand), at a very good sale price, to have as a backup.

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ASUS WL-520GU Wireless Router Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This router router can do a lot more if you replace the original firmware with DD-WRT, Tomato or OpenWRT:
VPN, OpenVPN, NAS, BitTorrent, radio output power control, Wireless Print server, etc. It is possible to use a USB hub to connect several devices including printers.
Possibilities are endless.

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ASUS WL-520gU - EZ Wireless Router with All-in-One Printer Server: All-in-One Printer Server: Wirelessly and simultaneously share printing and scanning functions for multiple users; Auto-detection and New EZ UI (Easy User Interface): delivers the easiest and fastest way to setup your router; EZ QoS - Powerful and easily-operated BOD (Bandwidth On Demand) streamlines your Gaming/Audio/Video experience.

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Cisco-Linksys WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router (Compatible with Linux) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This wireless router, besides supporting Linux firmware, is a tested and true wireless router with 802.11 b and g support. It supports WPA, WPA2 and the older WEP encryption schemes. In addition, it has a built-in firewall, MAC address filtering, and supports access policies (such as "don't allow FTP connections to this computer on Sundays").
When I installed this wireless router, setup was very straightforward (I did not use the Setup Wizard because it didn't work for me). I changed the IP address range (because the DSL modem uses the 192.168.1 address space), set the administrator password, chose a name for the Wireless network, enabled WPA2 encryption and picked a passphrase.
After that, I connected my laptop to the router right away, and received an excellent signal and throughput of 100 KB/sec (for comparison, my DSL connection maintains a throughput of 300 KB/sec when I connect straight to the DSL modem).
I've been using the router for several months now, and have not had any dropped connections (my older Netgear router dropped connections fairly frequently and did not support the newer WPA encryption scheme) and have consistent throughput. The router has been running constantly for these past few months.
For the real tech-heads, this router has customized Linux firmware available from third parties. I haven't tried this firmware, since the base Linksys firmware more than meets my needs.
Finally, good security practices are to: Change the administrator password, disable Universal Plug and Play, disable Remote administrative access, use a unique name for the access point, and if the network is only for a small number of personal devices (i.e. a laptop you own), enable MAC address filtering. A MAC address uniquely identifies a network card, so this only allows certain computers to access the network.


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The Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router is really three devices in one box. First, theres the Wireless Access Point, which lets you connect both screaming fast Wireless-G (802.11g at 54Mbps) and Wireless-B (802.11b at 11Mbps) devices to the network. Theres also a built-in 4-port full-duplex 10/100 Switch to connect your wired-Ethernet devices together. Connect four PCs directly, or attach more hubs and switches to create as big a network as you need. Finally, the Router function ties it all together and lets your whole network share a high-speed cable or DSL Internet connection. Once your computers are connected to the Router and the Internet, they can communicate with each other too, sharing resources and files. All your computers can print on a shared printer connected anywhere in the house.

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ZyXEL P330W 802.11g Wireless Home 4 Port Firewall Router Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this unit because my linksys cable modem/wireless router combined unit was not working (despite being brand new) with my system. I hooked back up my motarola surfboard and this unit, and within 20 minutes I had internet on my wireless notebook and on my desktop. Very easy set up, easy to follow book and instructions, and CD support software is excellent also. I go this for a steal with rebates. Highly recommended.


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NETGEAR WMB521NA 802.11b Wireless Kit for Notebooks Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have to say, I was a little concerned about this product after reading about some of the difficulties other buyers have experienced. I was also a bit nervous about installing it myself, since I am not what you would call a computer expert.
From Day One after installing it, though, I have been impressed. It gets fantastic range throughout my entire house, even through walls and heavy, metal objects. Signal strength on my computers is almost always between 90-100%, and has NEVER dipped below 73%.
As for the network installation itself, it was easy and took a total of about an hour (and that includes installation and configuration of wireless cards on 2 computers).
And you can't beat the price on this thing. I highly recommend this and other Netgear wireless network products.

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NETGEAR's Wireless Router and PC Card Kit offers the speeds of 802.11b and the convenience of a getting a NETGEAR Wireless Router (MR814) and Wireless PC Card (MA521) at the same time. Our standards-based 802.11b wireless products allow you to be connected to your network through your notebook PC from just about anywhere in your home or office. These easy-to-install, 11 Mbps, 2.4 GHz wireless products give you an always on, always connected wireless network.NETGEAR's MR814 Wireless Router, winner of Cnet's Editor's Choice award, is an easy-to-use device that comes with four wired ports for connecting any combination of four computers or printers. You can also connect up to sixteen users wirelessly using 802.11b or 802.11g clients. With the MR814, you can share one broadband connection for high-speed Web surfing and file sharing. And Setup is quick and easy with NETGEAR's Smart Wizard you'll be up and running in fewer than five clicks. With its best-in-class security features the MR814 monitors user activity with logging and e-mail alerts, and provides URL filtering controls.

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