Wireless networking has really taken off in the last year. As we learned from mobile phones, wireless brings with it a whole new level of convenience. In theory and in practice, with a wireless-enabled computer, you can walk into a wireless hot spot and be connected to the network automatically, without any intervention. With an encrypted network, you will have to enter a password and perhaps some other information. But in the majority of situations, the technology just works, enabling connectivity with a minimum of fuss. No cables. No sockets. It’s even easier than Plug & Play. Its just Play!

Of course, wireless networking technology has been around for many years. But only since 1999 have wireless networks been able to achieve broadband data rates. In 1999, the IEEE, an engineering standards body, ratified the 802.11b standard, the backbone of all wireless networking activities today. The standard provides for a maximum data rate of 11 Mbps, with a minimum data rate of 2 Mbps. Clearly, not as fast as today’s 100 Mbps Ethernet networks, but faster than most broadband Internet connections, making it ideal for a small office or home solution.

A Wireless LAN Backgrounder
Before I go into my review of the BEFW11S4 itself, I am first going to provide some background information on the current state of wireless networking technology. I will describe the different general options available today and explain some of the more popular wireless buzzwords. If you are interested, please read on. If this is all extraneous information for you, then please skip to the core of the review below.

A Few Basic Terms
First, let’s get some basic terminology out of the way. The wireless networking technologies discussed in this review are all for the intended purpose of enabling local area networks (LANs). LANs consist of collections of spatially close computers. Examples are an office network, a college university network, or perhaps your home network. In contrast, wide area networks (WANs) center around technologies that connect computers over relatively large geographical areas, the prime example being the Internet. WANs are typically comprised of multiple LANs and often employ similar, or even the same hardware, so the differences are really just a matter of semantics.

A Little Alphabet Soup
For wireless networking, the current big name in town is 802.11b, otherwise known as Wi-Fi. As I mentioned earlier, 802.11b is the IEEE designation for a specific protocol. The numbers “802” denotes the general category of data networking. The suffix “11” specifies wireless local area networking, and the letter “b” the particular flavor of technology.

In 1997, the IEEE completed the basic 802.11 specification. The result was a protocol that was the foundation of the early 1 Mbps wireless networking products. Keep in mind that these standards were designed to operate in indoor environments at distances of up to 300 feet. Naturally, the farther the signal has to travel, the more degradation it will experience, resulting in reduced data rates. In 1999, the IEEE completed both 802.11a and 802.11b. The prior was a high data rate standard, boasting maximum data rates of 54 Mbps, and operating in the 5 GHz radio band. The latter was a more modest standard, with a maximum data rate of 11 Mbps, and operating in the 2.4 GHz radio band. Please note that the stated data rates are theoretical maximums based on absolute best-case conditions and scenarios. Real implementations are likely to achieve only half of the maximum data rate. Exceptionally designed systems may get you up to 70-80% of peak efficiency. Please also note that both operating radio bands are unlicensed spectrums, meaning that you are free to do as you please (almost) without FCC intervention. This allows system designers to save costs by avoiding paying the government huge licensing fees. But freedom does have its drawbacks, which I will go into later.

As it turned out, because 802.11b was less technologically demanding, it hit the market first. 802.11b products have been able to benefit from the tremendous cost-down processes of the networking and communications market, resulting in highly functional products at a very attractive price point. Because it is an open standard, a large number of vendors released 802.11b products almost simultaneously, and initially there was quite a bit of chaos. Everyone had their own interpretation of the specification, resulting in incompatibilities between the initial products. Fortunately, a number of vendors got together and created the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA). WECA formed the Wi-Fi brand as a seal of interoperability for 802.11b products. Now, Wi-Fi has essentially become synonymous with 802.11b and is the preferred name as marketers feel that the general populace is not into memorizing numbers. This guarantee of interoperability helped to propel wireless networking into one of the few booming industries in our country’s sad economic state.

And with any booming technology field comes evolution. At last, 802.11a products have begun to hit the market in volume, bringing with them the promise of greater speeds and increased performance. But since they operate in an entirely different radio band, 802.11a products are not backwards compatible with Wi-Fi networks. Upgrading to 802.11a will therefore mean replacing all existing Wi-Fi hardware. This doesn’t look likely with the popularity and ever-growing installed base of Wi-Fi users. To handle this issue, the IEEE is working on the 802.11g specification. The standard hopes to achieve the same 54 Mbps as 802.11a, but operates in the 2.4 GHz radio band, allowing it to be backwards compatible with existing systems. Last I checked, this standard was not yet completed, but was very close.

Finally, there is 802.11i, a security update for wireless networking standards. It is also incomplete currently, but will serve as a replacement for the WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) standard currently used in Wi-Fi systems. The WEP standard has been shown to have very serious security flaws, making it very easy for an intruder to decrypt information being transferred on your wireless network. In practice, if you are really worried about security, you will use virtual private networking (VPN) software in conjunction with your wireless LAN to provide robust security for your network. Intruders will still be able to view your network, but they won’t be able to decrypt your data.

And Now…The Main Attraction!
If you read through the background information, I hope you found it useful. Please feel free to use email or the comments area to ask questions on things that were unclear or not explained to your satisfaction. But now, it’s time to talk about the BEFW11S4.

Wireless…
The Linksys BEFW11S4 is a fusion of a couple of devices. The most glamorous piece is of course the Wi-Fi access point (AP). The AP is the hub of a wireless network. While Wi-Fi networks do allow you to set up peer-to-peer networks without an AP, if you want to connect to the Internet or to a company network, you have to have one. The BEFW11S4 includes two antennas mounted on the rear of the device. In theory, two antennas coupled with a smart way of transmitted the wireless signal should allow for much better range and performance than a single antenna solution. The settings for the BEFW11S4 include such a special diversity transmission mode, but in all honesty, I don’t really know how much of a difference it makes. The limiting factor on wireless performance is generally the card you have in your PC or laptop. In an effort of get to the cheapest price possible, the first thing that often gets scaled back is the quality of the antenna. If you’ve followed my previous reviews, you’ll know that I have a first generation Linksys Wi-Fi PCMCIA card, which has a notoriously bad antenna. As I understand it, Linksys has fixed this issue with in its 2nd and 3rd generation cards. But even with a lousy antenna, I find that I have excellent speed and coverage throughout my house and yards. The real world data rate never drops below 3 Mbps and can get as high as 5.5 Mbps. Admittedly, this is a far cry from Fast Ethernet, but it is still far more bandwidth than my DSL connection, the ultimate bottleneck in my home network.

Wired…
The BEFW11S4 also includes a 4-port switch. Unlike a hub, a switch allows each port to operate independently. If you have a mixed setup of 10 and 100 Mbps LAN cards, with a switch, each link will run as fast as possible. With a hub, you are limited to the lowest common denominator. The BEFW11S4 has four auto-sensing ports and a fifth uplink port for adding an additional switch or hub. The device also includes a broadband router. What this means is that there is a 6th port for you to plug the output of your DSL or cable modem into. The BEFW11S4 will automatically negotiate all the necessary information with the modem and get your network up and running in no time at all.

No Hassle Home Networking
And that is the beauty of the BEFW11S4. It really is a device that you just plug in and it works. Naturally, as with any computer peripheral, there are many different settings and adjustments that can be made. But unless you are really doing something rather fancy, you will likely have no need to touching any of the settings. You just plug all the cables into the device, check the front panel to see that all the connections are recognized and live, and it just works. The BEFW11S4 includes a DHCP server, firewall software, and anti-virus software, which means that it automatically and securely shares your broadband connection among your various machines.

If you have need of changing the settings (you will have to do so if you want to enable WEP encryption) the BEFW11S4 is accessed via your browser. You just type in an IP address into your browser and it takes you to your BEFW11S4 settings. The menus are simple, clean, and easy to navigate, but there is definitely a lack of readable documentation on what certain settings do. Occasionally, Linksys will update the software (called firmware) that runs the BEFW11S4. Upgrading the firmware is extremely easy. You just download an updater program and the new firmware from the Linksys web site, run the program, specify the new firmware file and click OK. A couple minutes later, the device is updated and reboots automatically, re-establishing all your connections. Unfortunately, any custom settings you had will be lost, so you’ll have to remember to record the original state.

In terms of the box itself, the BEFW11S4 is small and compact and surprisingly light. The front panel display is clean and simple. The construction is solid and sturdy. The case also includes grooves for easy stacking of other Linksys devices. I’m big on low noise electronics because fan noise bothers me. If you feel the same way, then you’ll be happy to know that there is no fan on the BEFW11S4, as the device doesn’t generate much heat.

Wrap Up
Finally, the BEFW11S4 comes at a great price. You can find these puppies for less than $150. If you catch it on sale, you can probably get it for as low as $115. Either way, it’s an incredible value for all the functionality that you get. Admittedly, having all the features integrated into one package does limit your flexibility. Corporations will likely have specific requirements on how they organize their wireless features, which may not be achievable by the BEFW11S4. But that’s not the target market. The BEFW11S4 is really for home users and small offices looking to share an Internet connection and get wireless connectivity along with it. And in that regard, the Linksys BEFW11S4 is a perfect solution, providing a ton of features in a simple to use package at a great price.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 149
Driver Availability: Windows, Linux, and Mac