SMC2655W 802.11b 11Mbps Wireless Access Point Review

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(More customer reviews)I have purchased Linksys products in the past and other than the fact that it took 3 tries before I finally received a working DSL/Cable Router, I have always been pleased with the performance but the technical support was a complete joke.
I decided after reading the reviews on Amazon.Com and other sites that I would spend the extra $10 and go SMC because of it's ease of installation and tech support.
I purchased the Linksys PCMCIA card as part of my wireless solution and it took less than 5 minutes from opening the box to surfing on the web to get it and the wireless acces point up and running. The speed performance is beyond expectations. I have the basic cable modem attached to a Linksys DSL/Cable router and plugged the SMC Wireless hub into one of my available Linksys ports and that was it.
I made the choice to go the SMC route after vowing never again to deal with the inept "Hope Desk" offered by Linksys. If you had any thoughts about buying Linksys, think again. SMC is THE way to go.

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The SMC 11 Mbps wireless Access Point is designed for both business and home users, with a maximum operating range of 1,800 feet.It acts as a bridge between the wired network and the wireless clients.The Wireless Access Point enables the desktop wireless PCI card users and the laptop wireless PC card users to obtain seamless network connectivity.

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Netgear DS106 6-Port 10/100 Dual Speed Hub with Uplink Button Review

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(More customer reviews)An earlier review stated "this hub only appears to provide half-duplex support".This is part of the definition of a hub vs a switch, thus the product is not flawed. A switch will provide full duplex and is more appropriate for multiple high bandwidth devices. If you're attempting to decide HUB vs SWITCH, do a google search before you buy.
I have been a fan of Netgear products since they were originally under BayNetworks. They make high quality devices, attractive design, and they normally offer long warranties. This product is no different. I've had it serving up a couple of machines now for over a year without incident. It's remained on 24 hours / 365 days and performs nicely.
The only downside I've seen with Netgear is their on going support (Firmware upgrades, etc.). Obvisouly that won't be an issue with this device, but something to consider if your also looking at them to provide a router solution. Also, the power adaptors seem to go a little too often.
All and all, this is a great hub and wonderful price. I can think of no reason for some who needs a hub to not pick this up.

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The Netgear DS100 series of 10/100 Mbps dual-speed hubs connects multiple PCs to share printers, files, Internet access, and e-mail communications. One can mix and match 10 and 100 Mbps PCs, servers, and peripherals with these hubs, all without any configuration required. The DS100 family combines many capabilities in little space, and the units are designed for price-conscious small-business owners. One can connect 10 or 100 Mbps network devices to the hub. Each port individually senses and adjusts to run at the proper speed.
Each unit has a built-in self-learning bridge that provides the communications link between the 10 and 100 Mbps network devices. The intelligent bridge automatically manages network traffic so that 10 Mbps traffic and 100 Mbps traffic do not crowd each other's segments.

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D-Link DI-714P+ Wireless Cable/DSL Router, 4-Port Switch, Prnt Server, 802.11b, 22Mbps Review

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(More customer reviews)Setup: fairly straightforward. There is a "wizard" setup for those who don't like to go through every single option screen. The screen navigation is laid out in a simple, but not intuitive manner - it takes a few moments to realize the buttons on the left change with tab options at the top, but the buttons on the left don't change if there are multiple screens on the right (like "next page" or a button to press). There is no "go back a page" - they expect you to hit the button to the right that is still visible. All my complaining about that aside - it's as easy, if not easier, to navigate and find settings than both netgear and linksys.
Print server: no setup available on the router - it either is or is not plugged in. Software setup for PC works fine. Did not try it with linux yet.
Wireless: finally, something that works with 64/128 bit WEP. Netgear never worked. Linksys was so-so. This works. NOTE: For those who want to limit ACCESS to the WIRELESS by MAC ADDRESS - this unit cannot do it. It can limit by MAC to the INTERNET, but that will also limit who can attach to the unit, both with wireless and with a physical connection. Most other units only use this filter to limit access to the wireless portion. If used, you have to put in all the machines connecting to it - both wireless and physical....
Firewall: Syslog, email logs available. Nice. SPI works. DMZ support. Passthrough ports available. Works great with my nortel VPN client (this is always a good test of PPTP and so on).
FIRMWARE NOTE: I had the hardest time getting this thing to work with windows terminal services. No matter what setting I used, it would lock up then drop the connection until I rebooted the router (software reboot). Some settings would go longer, but I could get it to lock up within 2 minutes. Nothing seemed to fix it - a few people have reported this on the internet, but since most people aren't using the terminal services part of windows on a regular basis - they would never know it.
The fix was to load the 1.22 firmware, not the 1.23 that came with it. This REMOVES the 802.1X authentication tab (some type of shared radius key BS - if you want radius support, get a REAL wireless device) and it removes the 4X mode for the B+ series of wireless adapters (which I do not have anyway).
TO LOAD FIRMWARE: you would need to run either executable (one for MAC or the other for PC) OR use the web browser to upload the file (requires either java or activeX - not sure) because it opens up the "open file" dialog box - meaning - experimental browsers, like those in my beloved linux box - don't work well with this. ALSO - it states in no unclear terms DO NOT UPGRADE USING A WIRELESS LINK. Use a hard wired computer. I went from 1.23 to 1.22 and back and forth and so on testing this remote desktop issue.
FINAL FIX: load 1.23, hit the button to reset the router to the defaults, load 1.22, reboot, hit the button to reset the router to the defaults, then type all your configuration back in.
Why the crazy steps? If you loaded 1.23, typed ANYTHING in the boxes that aren't available in 1.22 - it remembers and will cause problems, even though that option isn't availble in 1.22 (I tried this - several times for fun). 1.23 -> load setup defaults -> load 1.22 -> load setup defaults -> configure.
Live without their crippled version of RADIUS (if you don't know what this is you don't need it) and who cares about the crappy 4X mode for the B+ stuff? Another marketing ploy anyway.
Bottom line - with some experimentation, I figured out the firmware thing. IT has worked BETTER than the linksys ever did (can we say firmware of the week?) and improved over the netgears I have used (you can print and not be disconnected from the internet - thanks a lot netgear).
4 stars because firmware is supposed to fix stuff, and their two listed updates should not have affected the RDP stuff in 2000/XP. But it did.

Click Here to see more reviews about: D-Link DI-714P+ Wireless Cable/DSL Router, 4-Port Switch, Prnt Server, 802.11b, 22Mbps

D-LINK DI-714P+ - The AirPlus Enhanced 2.4GHz Wireless Router combines next generation 802.11b Digital Signal Processing ( DSP ) technology from Texas Instruments with D-Link's own robust firewall security features, for simple installation and comprehensive management settings.Fully compatible with the IEEE 802.11b standard, and interoperable with all existing 802.11b compliant devicesSupports 64/128/256-bit WEP encryptionBuilt-In Print Server -Includes Parallel port to connect a printer, along with Windows based print server software applicationDimensions -1.3H x 6.5W x 9.25L; weighs about 2 poundsThree year limited warranty

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Belkin F5D6230-3 Wireless Cable/DSL Router Review

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(More customer reviews)$129.99 is a "hot buy"????
I bought this on clearance from the Belkin website 2 months ago for $30.
I wouldn't even recommend it at that price.
The firewall will not close off everything it leaves "port 0" open no matter what. And the only way to stealth port 80 is by redirecting it to a fake ip address.
It also slows down such that browsing the web becomes an excruciatingly slow experience. The only way to fix it is to unplug the power and plug it back in whenever it goes slow. I have read reports that turning off the router's DHCP server might prevent that from happening... but DHCP is not something you should have to do without.
This is an out of date product. Badly put together. Definitely not worth what Amazon is asking for it.
Try to find a good deal on a Linksys or something... do not walk, RUN away from Belkin products.

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The Belkin Wireless Cable/DSL Gateway Router is the perfect solution for Mac or PC users to share files and a broadband Internet connection among all your computers-without using cables. It's never been easier to access files and networked peripherals such as hard drives, printers, CD-ROMs, and DVDs. An integrated, 3-port 10/100Base-Tx Ethernet switch also allows you to connect wired computers to the network.The Router uses the 802.11b wireless Ethernet standard to let you share broadband Internet connection and is interoperable with any 802.11b - compliant wireless device. It also offers NAT firewall to protect your network from outside intrusions by hackers, and an IP Sec pass-through for remote access through Virtual Private Networking (VPN). DMZ hosting lets you play accelerated games over the Internet. * Simple installation that enables networking in buildings with solid or finished walls, or in open areas where wiring would be difficult or problematic * Auto-sensing for future scalability of 10Base-T networks into 100Base-T Networks * Dedicated bandwidth for each port to let you enjoy an efficient and error-free network * Compliance with Ethernet IEEE 802.3 and 802.3u standards * LED indicators for monitoring network traffic * Plug-and-Play compatibility * Compatible with Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP and Mac OS up to Mac OS X and AppleTalk.* Works with popular game consoles including Playstation 2 Online and Xbox Live!

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NETGEAR MR814 802.11b Cable/DSL Wireless Router - Wireless router - 802.11b - desktop Review

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(More customer reviews)when buying this i thought it was going to be a ok router that would reach about 100 feet but when setting it up it only reached to my kitchen about 30 feet away and then couldn't receive a signal even when u were right next to the thing it makes your internet 10x slower! if your going to buy a router just put a few more dollars in and by a linkys router never have problems with them very fast and reliable!

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Siemens SpeedStream Wireless DSL/Cable Router (SS2624) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have used this router for three years and it works great, except ...
If you use VPN and want it to continue to function, don't upgrade your firmware to Release 10 (released in late 2003). Otherwise, you will be like me with a crippled router.

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Cisco-Linksys BEFSRU31 EtherFast Cable/DSL Router with USB & 3-Port 10/100 Switch Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is really an "out of the box" peripheral. I plugged it in, followed the instructions, and in no time, I had my desktop and my laptop sharing my cable modem.
The biggest advantage of this is the USB port. If you want to hook up a laptop, it'll save you as much as $50 or more because you won't have to buy a network adapter card. It's plug-and-play compatible with your USB port (though you do have to load a special driver).
The added bonus is that it creates a back-end LAN for all the machines hooked to it. That means for PC's with 10/100 cards and category 5 cables, you've got a 100 megabit highway for transferring files between those PC's.
If you want to know how fast that is... Imagine you have a 48x CD-ROM. Even with network overhead (there's next to no latency because there's only one router/hub and a few feet of cables between them), you'll be able to read files between PC's faster than you can read them off your CD-ROM.
I'm getting a new PC next week. With the transfer rate on the LAN, the entire time for copying files will be about 1/3 the time needed just to write them to a 16x CD-ROM. That's not including the time to break them into CD-sized chunks, move them between machines, and then copy them off the CD. The time savings on a few gigs translates into hours. Just from that, this thing will pay for itself.
It also makes synchronizing files on my PC and laptop a breeze. No more writing files to a CD-ROM or floppy to copy them over. Boom, baby! Just suck it down via the LAN. And if I want to download something big from the net onto my laptop, no more doing it at 56k or downloading it on the desktop and copying it over via CD. I now have high-speed internet access on both PC's... at the same time if I want it.
If you want to establish your own home LAN that shares a Cable/DSL connection to the Internet, getting a router like this is *totally* worth the money. And if you want to network in your laptop without having to buy extra equipment for it... the BEFSRU31 is the router for you! I'm loving it!
UPDATE - 6 weeks later: I now get a "network cable unplugged" error in Windows 2000 if I try to connect a PC to it via USB (I've tried on 2 PC's with 2 different USB cables to be sure). USB connections worked previously. I did everything they suggested including upgrading the firmware and re-installing the latest drivers off their web site.
Not having time to go through a return process because I needed to transfer some large files to my laptop the next day and back to my desktop a couple days after that, I bought a LAN card for my laptop. When all three of my PC's (2 desktops and my laptop) were plugged in via RJ45, the router started looping and slowed LAN transfer rates between my PC's to around the same speed as a 56k modem, though the broadband internet access does not appear to suffer.
Essentially, I can have 3 PC's connected for internet access, or 2 for LAN purposes. I should be able to connect 4 for both and even uplink it to a second hub/router for even more connectivity (theoretically, it's supposed to support up to 253 PCs). I e-mailed Linksys on Sunday. It has been four complete business days without a response. I tried calling and when I chose the option to hold for a rep (instead of leaving a message), that option was ignored and I was told to leave a message.
I have e-mailed them again, sending every bit of info they request (proof of purchase and date, online and offline contact info) and will see if they deign to respond this time.
In view of the person who wrote a review claiming his BEFSRU31 burned out twice and my recent experiences with it losing functionality (with Linksys providing most shoddy customer service), I have had to lower my rating from a 5 to a 2.

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The Linksys EtherFast cable/DSL router with USB and three-port 10/100switch lets you connect your desktop or notebook PC to your router easily with aUSB cable--without installing a network card. Configurable as a DHCP server,this router protects networks of up to 253 users with its NAT firewall. You canmanage and modify your router's network with IP filtering, forwarding, and DMZhosting. With PPPoE compatibility, IPSec pass-through, and PPTP support forsecure VPN connections, this router provides key Internet functions formaximizing your online capabilities.
In addition, three 10/100 switched ports allow you to connect more networkdevices directly to your router without buying extra hubs and switches.
The EtherFast cable/DSL router comes with a one-year limited warranty.
Note: All Linksys routers now include a special edition of Norton Internet Security! Claim your free CD-ROM by calling (800) 814-0180, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific, seven days a week.

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Best Data CMX300 SmartOne Cable Modem Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have actually had a CMX300 for some time - probably about 5 years or so. For a reason I forget now, I bought a Motorola SB5120 about two years ago and it seemed a little faster so I put the Best Data on the shelf. A little over a year ago, Time Warner (Roadrunner) replaced Comcast in my area, and I began having intermittent connectivity problems. Naturally I blamed Time Warner. I had to reset the cable modem sometimes 10 times a week. Well, recently, my service went completely out and was out for several days while I waited for Time Warner to come figure out what the problem was. I don't know what made me want to try the old Best Data modem, but I figured "what the heck" and plugged it in. Wouldn't you know, it worked, I called Time Warner with the "new" MAC address, and here I am writing this review. The old standby to the rescue. I may at some point replace the CMX300 again, but I think I'll continue to hold onto it for its reliability and the fact that it has never let me down completely like the Motorola did.

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D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N Gigabit Wireless Router Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First off, the really tough thing about wireless routers is that your performance can vary dramatically from someone elses. Whether its your hardware, your software, spyware, configuration of your house, your ISP, what type of cordless phone you use, or a myriad of other things, your experience may be entirely different from your best friend's. So, this isn't so much a review of the router as it is a review of my experience with it.
The Good
This router has all of the bells and whistles with the exception of dual band broadcasting. QoS, WISH, VPN, Port Forwarding, all levels of security, etc. It has Gigabit wired ports. You cannot get anything more elsewhere without doubling the price. It is all packaged within an attractive set up that provides hope that this will be your last router for quite some time. Set up is easy and straight forward. And, most importantly, you literally cannot get a faster router when within 30 feet.
The Bad
I really wanted to keep this router but I couldn't. My main problem was heat. After a few hours of use (just being on at all), this router was almost too hot to touch. I actually exchanged it figuring it must be a bad router but the new one was the same way. And, more importantly, when it got hot, I got intermittent lag via my wire machine on my internet traffic. Games that played flawlessly on my old Buffalo router started lagging; video started stuttering; downloads started pausing. Diagnosed it with my ISP as being on my side of their modem. When my old router was plugged in, all problems went away. D-Link tried to help me but there was a language barrier and no matter what we did with QoS and WISH, it didn't go away. I had to return the router.
The Ugly
FYI: Blue lights are pretty but REALLY bright. Seriously, you could read by them.
Like I said, I really wanted to keep it but I had to replace it instead. Your experience may vary so I would encourage you to try it because it is a very feature-rich router. Just keep your old one handy just in case.
P.S. Owned it for three weeks before returning it.

Click Here to see more reviews about: D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N Gigabit Wireless Router


The D-Link Xtreme N Gigabit Router (DIR-655) is a draft 2.0 802.11n compliant device that delivers up to 14x faster speeds* and 6x farther range* than 802.11g while staying backward compatible with 802.11g devices. Connect the Xtreme N Gigabit Router to a cable or DSL modem and provide high-speed Internet access to multiple computers, game consoles, and media players. Create a secure wireless network to share photos, files, music, videos, printers, and network storage.

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