Consider a gateway in addition to the hub by 3Com. I look at both and preferred this extra capability. This opinion has been placed in this category because it is the closest product to 3Com's hub that I could find. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Introduction
Let me preface my opinion by say that this was my first attempt at home networking. After reading everything that I could get my hands on including Googling about the Internet, I decided to purchase the 3Com Ethernet Gateway. I have an Ethernet DSL modem with a connection to Southwestern Bell and I wanted to be able to connect both of my computers to the Internet. I have previously used one connection via an Internet Connection Sharing arrangement. This required the first computer to have two Network Interface Cards and meant that this computer had to be one in order to allow the other computer to connect to the Internet via this former. Long story short, this was proving to be cumbersome and low on the neato factor scale. For those of you who have played with Internet Connection Sharing, patience is a necessity.

Technical Stuff
Four 10/100 Mbps Ethernet ports, a parallel port to connect a printer, a COM port for external ISDN or analog modem access, and firewall technology to resist hacker intrusion. With this arrangement, you can add an Ethernet hub to connect up to 99 devices to the gateway. The four ports are autosensing 10/100BASE-TX ports using RJ-45 connectors. The gateway can be used on Windows Me/2000/98/95/3.x/NT 4.0, DOS, Macintosh, UNIX, or Linux. Notably, the specifications indicate that it will support TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, DHCP, NAT, DNS, IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.32, PPPoE client, PPTP, HTTP, FTP, SMTP, POP3.

Why I chose this one
I looked at all of the gateways out there and chose 3Com’s gateway based on name brand recognition and a good rebate coupon at the time. The instructions seemed simple enough and did not have much trouble with the connections. Cleaning up the software from the previous Internet connection sharing and the software used by my Internet Service Provider, Enternet, proved to be fairly time consuming. Once I finally cleaned out the computers, I followed the instructions and had no problem accessing the gateway.

Personal Preference
As a word of advice, you can operate the NICs dynamically, but I have found that it functions a little better if you assign static IP addresses to each of the NICs. From what I have gleaned, when you boot everything up, the cards register with the gateway. The gateway in my scenario is also negotiating with Southwestern Bell PPPoE for a dynamic connection, so my feeling is that the gateway has plenty of things to worry about without having to contend with dynamic allocation on this side of the network. For the record, SWB recommended keeping them dynamic so it is really your call. The real trick was making the first negotiation onto SWB. This is really off topic so I will not digress.

Networking in general
I have been incredibly impressed with the networking on my side of the gateway. You have a tremendous amount of features to control the security levels and configuration in general. It manages client services or can be configured as an HTTP or FTP network server too. You can even setup one computer as a demilitarized zone “outside” of the firewall for all to see. Frankly, I’m still a little paranoid, so I have not tried this yet. What is nice is that you call allow just HTTP access to one machine without opening the door on FTP or other protocol traffic. This is a nice feature for a device in this price range.

Concerns
I do have to reboot the system once in a while. I have a feeling that there is an internal buffer that fills up. Perhaps an update exists that will fix this problem. I am uncertain as to 3Com’s desire to remain in the home market, so I am not sure as to how much support I can expect for this device.

Final Verdict
For my first adventure into home networking, I have found this device to be a very pleasant experience. It has proven to be a good device and a good purchase. Due to the nature of these kinds of products and 3Com’s shifting away from the home market, you might consider your options before purchasing any gateway.

Recommended: Yes