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: Bargain bundle with wireless card for my laptop Disadvantages: Just an access point, no modem/hub/etc
I use the 3ComOfficeConnect Wireless 11g Access Point in my home wireless network, and bought it as part of a bundle with a laptop wireless card - check my other reviews to see if I've got round to reviewing that too...
It used the IEEE 802.11g standard (data transfer speeds of up to 54Mbps), plus is backwards compatible with IEEE 802.11b (upto 11Mbps) so works with older equipment (such as a slightly outdated laptop from a previous employer) with no problems.
The included CD installed all the necessary drivers very quickly and also contains all the manuals in PDF format. Once the drivers were installed, the configuration wizard runs in a standard web browser. This involves configuring IP addresses, encryption settings, DHCP settings and other techy bits and bobs. This was pretty straightforward, although a basic knowledge ...
Advantages: Simple, dual speed, small size Disadvantages: Only 5 ports (?)
Not much to say about this really. I bought this for a pound (!) on Ebay to connect to my router giving me 4 more ethernet ports to connect stuff to my network. That's all it does, gives you more connection; there's no firewall, DCHP, nothing, but then that's all in my router.
Its 5 autosensing ports (Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45)automatically detect the speed of the attached device to maximize network performance - with a data transfer rate of up to 100 Mbps.
It really was a "plug-and-play" installation with no configuration needed, it connected straight into my network - I didn't even ned to read the manual ! The auto-sensing feature means that you can plug the "in" cable into any socket - another 3Com switch I have has a specific "in" port.
It's nice and small (Weight 0.6 kg, Height 4.2 cm, depth 13.5 cm, Width 22 ...
Product Information for "3Com OfficeConnect Remote 520s - router" »
Manufacturer's product description
OfficeConnect Remote-Access routers offer high-speed, digital ISDN connections linking small offices, or branch offices to corporate central sites, the Internet, and information services. OfficeConnect products can be up and running in minutes,and include free telephone assistance. Each OfficeConnect product has its own set of unique LED diagnostics, such as a network utilization display. A small footprint and the ability to clip together up to four OfficeConnect units in a single stack conserves space. OfficeConnect products are designed to work together as an integrated system.
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