Advantages: Awesome Value for Money, Great Setup Utility Disadvantages: Not the best looking object in the world!
When you purchase an all-in-one solution for broadband in your home these days, you want something that will sit in the background, quietly providing you with fast broadband - whether wired to your desktops, wireless to your laptops or networked to a whole range of bandwidth hungry appliances. You want it to work and you want it to be reliable and of course it must be simple to set-up.
The 3ComOfficeConnect Wireless Router ticks all these requirements. I originally purchased one for a client, and I was surprised at how easy the installation was, especially since they used dreaded AOL! Many manuals for routers are usually of two distinct formats: horrendously complicated jargon-spewing bohemoths aimed at network professionals with accreditation from Cisco, or are partonising pamphlets covering the "perfect" install, which we all know ...
Advantages: High speed sharing of internet connection. Free on-line and phone help Disadvantages: A bit tricky to set up for me at first..
on and off and data is sent and received to the worldwide web.
Other capabilities is has is that through the 10/100 4-port switch (I don't know what this means but we've got it!) we can share files, printer, music or anything either of us has on our hard drives. I can also plug the USB adapter into my laptop and carry it anywhere in the house and connect to the internet.
The router is also equipped with a firewall that will protect our network from hackers and such the like, although I still have Mcafee firewall/virus software installed and would not like to be on line without it.
Another available option is a parental control web content filter, so that parents can filter out undesired material when their children are on-line.
System requirement are?
Broadband Internet connection (cable or DSL modem) with RJ45 Ethernet ...
Advantages: Good price, reliable, lifetime warranty, easy setup Disadvantages: No way to add an external antenna
I bought the 3Comrouter after having countless problems with my previous router (Linksys WAG354G *shudder*).
The set-up is suprisingly easy to be honest, especially with the step-by-step instruction booklet (only a few pages long, and in 5 or 6 languages).
All that was needed was to plug in the ADSL filter (into the landline socket), connect the line to the back of the router, plug in the power supply and connect the ethernet cable (the large-ish square one) to the pc and router respectively. Then all that's left is to run the, very easy, set-up wizard. If my memory serves me right it's accessed by going to http://192.168.1.1 from your internet browser.
The basic information needed is time/date settings, ISP username/password settings, a password for the WiFi (or use the automatically generated one) and a few other bits ...
Product Information for "3Com OfficeConnect Cable/DSL Router - router" »
Manufacturer's product description
The 3Com OfficeConnect Cable/DSL Secure Router lets small offices, branch-offices, and home offices benefit from reliable and cost-effective shared Internet access. Up to 253 users can securely share a single cable or DSL connection. The router offers a four-port 10/100 Ethernet LAN switch, plus an Ethernet WAN port for connecting to a broadband modem (not included). Multiple security features, including Stateful Packet Inspection firewall, VPN initiation/termination and passthrough support, provide high level of protection at affordable price. The unit comes with preset defaults, setup wizards, and other features that simplify installation, configuration, and administration.
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