This device is a classic example of taking a simple idea and doing it well, rather than packing it over the top with features and getting carried away with it. It is simply a network router and switch to share an internet connection between multiple computers.
The "input" socket for the internet connection is a network (ethernet) connector, so you have to have a modem with a network socket. This is why it is called a "Cable/DSL" router - as the two main UK Cable providers (NTL and Telewest) both provide modems with network sockets, so you can just plug this device into them and it is ready to work. WIth ADSL providers things are more complex - most ADSL modems only have USB connectors (no network connectors), and some do not supply one at all, so you are better off getting the slightly more expensive model with the built in ADSL modem. Then you can plug the router straight into your phone line.
Anyway... The device could scarcely be easier to set up. Literally, you plug the internet connection into one socket, each of up to four computers into the four sockets for the router, plug it into the mains, and you are away. There is very little configuration to do, since with wired-only routers there is less potential security risks than with wireless. That said, it has a comprehensive web interface to configure the firewall, port forwarding, MAC address cloning etc etc, but you probably will not even need to use it.
It comes with a setup wizard CD for Windows machines which I somehow managed to lose and never used, but the instructions card in the box gives very straightforward manual setup instructions, so it is perfectly easy to manage without it.
Once set up, it just sits there and does its thing, and you never have to touch it or worry about it at all. It has never crashed on me or shown the slightest hint of malfunction in all the time I have had it. It cost me £50 originally, though I believe they are much cheaper now.
My only complaint with this device is that the LED lights on the front of it (which show which computers are connected and transferring data) are in the opposite order to the sockets on the back. So, if you have a computer sitting on the left of the router, in the leftmost socket (when viewed from the front), then it is the rightmost LED that flashes to tell you this fact. The only way round this is to plug everything into the back the opposite way round to would seemingly make sense.
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Looking closely at the picture (not supplied by me) I realise it is of a different model, because there are too many lights on the front. The model I reviewed (and own) has just one row of lights: one for power and five, for activity on the five connectors.
christophe81 08.08.2005 23:32
Good review - Thanks
I've got D link and that works pretty good
tractor-boy 08.08.2005 23:06
Sounds like it does an adequate job, I use Netgear myself. S
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