Freedom from the wires, At last!
Written: Nov 16 '02 (Updated Dec 23 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Installation: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Wireless freedom, while still providing wired ports. Good web-based setup interface.
Cons: Initial seutp can be difficult in "upgrade" situations, No power switch.
The Bottom Line: Tons of features all put together in an excellent peice of hardware. Very big bang for the buck, unfortunately a clunky setup can possibly make the initial installation frustrating.
|
|
|
| pepper99's Full Review: Linksys (BEFW11S4) 802.11b Wireless Access Point |
I've had my home networked by a regular (wired) router for a period of time (See review on SMC 7004ABR Router here at Epinions), and everything worked well. However, I decided that the time had come to go fully wireless, and enjoy the freedom of being able to take my laptop anywhere in (or out of!) the house, while still enjoying the internet, and being networked with my desktop PC upstairs.
A recent sale on both these wireless base stations, as well as the WPC11 Wireless PCMCIA cards for laptops (See my review on this unit here at Epinions) made the prices so attractive that I finally decided to make my move.
Initial Thoughts:
- Once unpackaged, the hub is physically much larger when compared to most other 4 port hubs, wireless and otherwise. None the less, it appears very sturdy, although "Compact" isn't a fitting description.
- I was surprised to find that the quick reference manual enclosed was only in *french*. Although I live in Canada, and receiving french manuals with new products isn't out of the ordinary, not receiving an *english* manual at the same time is very strange - especially considering I live in Ontario (Not a french Province), and don't speak (and barely read!) french. When I needed to refer to the manual (Which was unusually often during setup), I had to use the included PDF version on the included CDRom, which strangely, was entirely in english, with no french option. Strange indeed, and Linksys doesn't get any points in my book for this gaffe. The extra few cents involved in including manuals in all applicable languages to the area in which they are being sold would have been well spent.
Setup:
- Initially, as with many hubs, it seemed very straightforward - hook up the relevant wires, power on, log into the hub, set the basics up, and that's it. Unfortunately, this seemingly wasn't the case.
The first problem that I encountered during setup was that the IP used to login to the hub was different then what I was used to with my old SMC. Although this is a very trivial matter, trying to find out how to login to the hub when one only has a french manual to refer to can be difficult. Eventually, I did find the relevant information on the CDRom version of the manual, and proceeded to try to login. Nothing - no response from the hub whatsoever, even after repeated attempts.
Unfortunately, the best I could gather was that it appears that until the included installation disc is run, and the setup procedure it entails is completed, the hub will *not* respond to login requests. This frustrated me a little, as hub "setup" software is not usually necessary for advanced users, and is often clunky. I was right.
I could be entirely mistaken regarding the fact that the setup program needs to be run in order to "initiate" the hub before being able to log into it, however, my experience was that the hub refused to respond untill after this was complete.
As soon as the software started, it automatically *assumed* that the PC I ran it on was still connected to my DSL modem, and the setup program wanted to verify this. However, with having a previous hub that the DSL modem had been running through for quite some time, this wasn't the case. The software insisted on "verifying" my internet connection none the less. As there was no physical DSL or cable modem connected to *either* computer on my home network, the software repeatedly errored at this point, and aborted the setup - highly frustrating!
I was eventually forced to physically disconnect my DSL modem from it's current setup, plug it straight into the computer (Which hasn't been the case for a very long time), and then run the setup again. Moments later, once the software was actually able to verify the internet connection was alive on the PC I was running the setup software on, it continued past the "internet verification" setup, and instructed me to plug the DSL modem back into the new hub. Argh!
Unfortunately, Linkys's included software automatically assumes that the purchaser of their hub has never previously owned a hub before. For someone in my case, this made getting past the 'verification' step very difficult. Unfortunately, as it seems to be a required step in order to initialize the hub, it doesn't seem to be an avoidable step. I'm sure that there are many people having similar experiences every day after upgrading from a wired hub, to this wireless version.
Once this step was done, the setup software proceeded to setup a few other options, as well as verify the internet connection again. It then completed. The whole process from initially powering on the hub, through the setup problems, to actually being "operational" was over an hour - much more then should have been necessary - my old SMC hub took 3 minutes to setup. The setup software needs work, or at least an option to skip the internet verification setup for people with previously existing network setups.
In the case of someone who doesn't *HAVE* highspeed internet, and simply wants to use this unit for straight networking of computers, this step could completely halt the setup, making it seemingly impossible to continue.
For someone purchasing this hub as their first venture into networking, presumably the included software would not encounter such problems, as one would probably still have their DSL/Cable modem connected to the host computer. For someone in my situation, upgrading from a wired hub, where the DSL/Cable modem hasn't been connected to a physical computer for a very long time, it can turn out to be frustrating, as in my case.
I proceeded to hookup the rest of the wiring as desired - a 10/100 Cat5 cable to my laptop docking stations wired connection, and another wired connection to my desktop upstairs. I also encountered more probems at this point, due to a feature that the Linksys router was lacking, again when compared to my old SMC.
When the primary upstairs/downstairs CAT5 cable was laid in my house, I had crossover cable installed, instead of patch cable. Crossover cable is wired differently, and is used to connect two computers *directly* together, versus connecting through a hub.
Many hubs have automatic Mdi / Mdi-x sensing, which will allows the user to use virtually any CAT5 cables for any use (Straight cables, or crossover), and the hub should automatically sort it out, and adjust itself accordingly. Unfortunately, the Linksys wireless unit does not do this.
Thankfully, there is a single "Uplink" port on the back, which is shared with port 4. This effectively allowed me to use my existing crossover cable to my PC upstairs, instead of running new wires, which would have been a major inconvenience. None the less, it works, but automatic patch/crossover sensing, or at least a manual switch for each individual port would have been a great extra feature - one that is fairly common on many other hubs nowadays.
Router Setup:
The web-interface for the router is very flashy, and very functional. Once logged in, all of the standard features of the hub are easilly setup, including setting passwords, etc.
By default, the wireless features of the unit are disabled, so they need to be turned on in the web interface in order to utilize.
Also by default, the wireless security is disabled. What does this mean? Basically, it's very important that you enable it *RIGHT AWAY* if you plan on using the wireless networking features, otherwise anybody within range of your base station will be able to connect to it, and as a result access your computers, and your internet connection. Obviously, this is not a desirable situation.
It's strange that Linksys chose not to enable wireless security by default, however this seems to be a theme amongst wireless access points, as many populated areas have "open" wireless networks easilly and widely accesable - a huge security issue. Unfortunately, for some novices installing this sort of hardware, they are often unfamilliar with the problem of not making their wireless network secure, and leave them wide open for abuse. All it takes is a laptop computer with a wireless card, and you neighbour, or a complete strange sitting in a car in front of your house could be accessing your personal network (And hogging your internet bandwidth) in seconds.
Remember to enable security! Help with securing an 802.11b wireless network can easilly be found online - it's as simple as searching for "802.11b network security" on Google, or virtually any other search engine, such as Yahoo.
Also in the web-based setup are many other features, more then can easilly be mentioned here, and many which will not be used by the average user. I tend to try to keep my reviews fairly straightforward, containing "hands on" information, instead of a lot of technobabble, which often doesn't mean a great deal to the beginner, or someone who doesn't yet own the actual hardware.
For those wanting highly detailed information on the features of this hub, it can be found at the Linksys website at the following URL:
http://www.linksys.com/Products/product.asp?grid=23&prid=415
As with most newer hubs (Wireless and otherwise), this Linksys model includes a standard WAN port, which is used to connect the unit directly to a cable or DSL modem, the service of which is controlled directly by the router at that point, and distributed to all connected computers, wireless and wired alike. In the router setup screen, simply supply your ISP's userID and Password, and it takes care of the rest!
External Features:
Externally, the unit is very straightforward, with the usual complement of indicators on the front of the unit showing the status of all 4 wired ports, as well as the WAN (Internet) connection, and lastly, connectivity and activity on the wireless portion of the router. Nothing fancy, but enough to provide any information that could be required for troubleshooting.
Strangly enough, there is no power switch on this unit, which makes rebooting a bit of a task, as one needs to either pull the power cord out of the rear of the unit, or push the tiny reset button, which is also on the rear of the unit. Both are a pain, and be carefull utilizing the reset button, as if you hold it in for more then a few seconds, the hub will completely reset back to factory defaults! Any custom setups that you had in place (Which in some cases can take considerable time to setup) are erased!
Although seldome used by most accounts, a proper power switch is a major oversight that many routers seem to suffer from - my new Linksys, as well as my old SMC router, neither of which have a proper power switch, only a tiny (often difficult to depress) reset button.
The standard power supply has a decent length of cord, and should be easilly replaceable in case of failure.
One small patch cord is included, although it's length makes it virtually useless unless the router sits directly beside, or on top of a connected computer.
The unit has two seperate antenna's, and how they operate can be setup in the router configuration screen. The manual was fairly nondescript as to exactly what these different operational modes actually accomplish, however the default "Diversity Spread" selection is what I have used with success. There is also a "Left Spread" and "Right Spread" feature, although they remain a mystery.
(Update 12/7/02 - I was able to find more information regarding the antenna "Diversity Spread" setup. In this mode, the router automatically selects whatever antenna (Out of the two) is transmitting/receiving the best signal, and then uses only that antenna. Both antennas are never used at the same time, as seems to be a common misconception).
The antennas are detachable, which leads me to beleive that if required, external (without doubt, better) antennas could be utilized. I will certainly look into this possibility.
(Update 21/7/02 - I have looked into the possibility of external antennas, and came to the conclusion that they are fairly expensive for the short (Albeit increased) range omnidirectional version. A highly direction version is very inexpensive and can be made at home with a handfull of easilly available items, however a decent omnidirectional model (Suitable for mounting outside) is much more of a challenge. I'll keep my review updated...)
On the rear of the unit is the standard complement of connections - One WAN port, 4 Standard CAT5 10/100 ports, as well as a single Uplink port, which is shared with the 4'th standard connection. Both port 4, and the uplink port can not be used at the same time.
In Use:
Once setup was complete, everything else fell into place - the Linksys logged onto my DSL service, and passed the internet connectivity on to my two connected computers - my desktop (Via Cat5 cable), and my laptop, which was connected wirelessly via a Linksys WPC11 wireless card. It worked flawlessly right from the start, and the internet blazed on both computers.
Standard Windows networking also worked immediately, providing access to my network printer, as well as all shared drives from both connected computers.
The wireless access has proven to be the most interesting part of this new setup, obviously. I had mixed expectations to begin with, however the 802.11b connectivity that this base station provides has proven reliable, and fast. Actual transfer rates do not appear to near the 11 Megabit connection speeds that this unit is capable of, however, even when the actual wireless card in my laptop shows that is operating at it's full 11mbit speed. I attribute most of this to the limited hard-drive. memory, and processor speed of my older laptop, and feel sure that if my laptop could keep up with a full 11mbit data transfer and all the involved overhead of running a wireless network, that the network would provide the full bandwidth.
Reports on range with this unit may be somewhat ambigious at this point, due to the fact that from reading other reviews, it seems to vary greatly depending on many aspects - the wireless cards used, base station placement, obstructions, etc.
Having taken my laptop onto the adjacent street behind my house, I was able to obtain a useable connection at about 250 feet from the base. This was virtually line-of-sight to my base station, however, with only a patio door and a single wall between where I was parked in my car a street away, looking between two houses directly at the back of mine.
This seemed fairly impressive to me, however I needed to hold the laptop at an angle in order to acheive this, as then antenna on my Linksys WPC11 card seems very directional towards the top of the card. Sitting the laptop flat again made the connection dissapear. Regardless, 250 feet is fairly impressive, and will certainly provide more then adequate connectivity anywhere on my own property.
The abilty to take my laptop outside in the back yard next year and surf while lounging in the hammock is very appealing already... :-)
On the flipside, taking my laptop to my nextdoor neighbours house resulted in dismal performance, with barely a signal to be found. Bricks, drywall, and all the other construction materials that a house consists of severly limit the usable range. Since extending my range outside of my house is a priority, I will be looking into an external antenna, as mentioned above.
Read more about the wireless performance of this unit in my accompanying review for the Linksys wireless WPC11 PCMCIA card, here at Epinions.
Overall:
I was dissapointed by the attempt at a fully "Automated" setup that ended up making the process much more frustrating then It truly needed to be. Linksys should revise their setup software to take into consideration that some purchasers of this product are probably already using a *wired* home network, and not require the DSL modem to be reconnected to the PC for setup to continue. I'm sure that their support lines are kept busy with users experiencing problems at this point of the setup.
I did perform a firmware upgrade on my base, which although seemed to be a lengty process, did complete successfully. A few new features (Mainly AOL related) appeared in the setup screen, and presumably a few minor bugs were fixed.
The router has crashed once in the two weeks it has been operational - the "Diag" (Diagnostic) light simply glowed red, and the unit refused all connections. I tapped the reset button, the hub rebooted fine, and things have been OK since.
To wrap things up, once the clunky setup software finished doing what it wanted, the rest was fairly straightforward, and it has worked well since. This hub really has *tons* of features, many of which I won't even use myself, even being fairly well versed with networking in general. For a business environment, or someone demanding maximum features for minimum price, this unit certainly delivers.
As always, if I experience any major problems or changes in the way this unit operates, or have anything further to add, I will revise my review.
Generally, I beleive I'll be very happy with this Linksys unit for years to come.
Thank you for reading my review - I would greatly appreciate it if you could take a second to click on a rating button below! This helps me with feedback as to the quality of my reviews.
Thanks!
Regards;
Mark
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 110.00
Driver Availability: Windows, Linux, and Mac
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
pepper99
|
|
Member: Mark Morissette
Location: Canada
Reviews written: 55
Trusted by: 8 members
About Me:
30-something married guy with 2 kids.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.