Last year, we reviewed the
Linksys 4-port broadband router. Today, we've got the comparable Netgear
product for your viewing pleasure. Like the Linksys, it's a hardware-based
router designed to share a 'net connection among 4 Ethernet ports via Network
Address Translation (NAT). In fact, the two devices have a lot more in
common than they differ from one another. So, let's get on with their
differences, 'cause otherwise this'll be a pretty lame review.
One quick note: you may notice that the price listed for this item is much
lower than the price for the Linksys. Don't be fooled. Their pricing
is comparable, but the amount of time between the reviews has led to a drop in
price, probably because of the release of the wireless-enabled models from both
companies.
What you get
The actual router is wider and flatter than the Linksys model and fits in a
little bit better with other components (like, say, a cable modem). It has
a similar set of lights on the front, covering the information you need to know:
power, signal from outside, signals from inside, and connection speed.
Likewise, the ports in the back are what you expect: power input, line in, and
four lines out...with one addition: a serial port. We'll get to the issue
of setup in a bit, but what this serial port allows you to do is to manage the
router without a networked computer. It's a nice little addition that I
don't expect to have need of, but more options is always good. It should
be noted that Netgear does not include an actual serial cable with the RT314, so
if you're ever desperate enough to need this option, you'll have to provide your
own. The Netgear folks were, however, kind enough to include a nice Cat 5
cable...a thoughtful touch, since you'll likely be adding this as a new item to
your networking loop.
What you can do
The following image pretty much explains it all. Provided that you have a
connection to the Internet, you can connect boxen of all sorts, and share a 10
Mbps to the outside world (which is currently greater than most DSL and cable
companies are offering consumers). Internally, your network can pump up to 100
Mbps, which is quite nice for all us MP3 sharin' fools.
A word about ISPs and their policies. As you can see, your cable modem
attaches directly to the router. In most cases, that means that you will have to
share the MAC address of your router with your ISP. Savy ISPs will know if you
are using a router from the MAC address, so you might want to check with them
first to see if this is even allowed. If not, all is not lost, as you can spoof
your MAC address should you choose to.
Installation
The only paper documentation that ships with the RT314 is a simple install
guide. More detailed documentation can be found in PDF form on an included
CD, but most users won't have to go that far. The install guide walks you
through the web-based installation wizard, which is accessed by means of a web
browser pointed to http://192.168.0.1 (helloooo cross-platform
compatibility). This is all that most users will really have to deal with,
since it includes options for static IP, DHCP and PPPoE. It, like the
Linksys, includes an option for spoofing a MAC address. Unlike the Linksys,
you don't have to type one yourself, just point the router to the IP address of
whichever computer has the MAC address to be spoofed. It's a bit of a
trade-off: more user-friendly, but less flexible than the Linksys way of
doing things. The other down side is that the RT314 needs to be able to
communicate with the NIC from which it wants to steal the MAC address.
User machines are configured either statically, or by means of the
RT314's DHCP service. In most cases, you'll want to allow your clients to
get their luvin' from DHCP. If all goes well, that's all the user will probably have to do. There
are a few other configuration options available in the web interface, but you
don't get into the real guts of the RT314 until you break out the Telnet
client (click the image to the left for a larger shot). It is a bit disappointing that Netgear couldn't get all of their
configuration under one interface. After all, there you are, moving from a
slick web interface to a menu-driven CLI, but that fault is more than made up
for by all the cool stuff you can do within that interface (though old-skool Mac
types who haven't already downloaded a telnet client may find themselves a bit
stuck if they need to do advanced troubleshooting). Oh, and I should point
out that there's nothing you can do via the web interface that you can't do via
telnet.
Last year, we 
The actual router is wider and flatter than the Linksys model and fits in a
little bit better with other components (like, say, a cable modem). It has
a similar set of lights on the front, covering the information you need to know:
power, signal from outside, signals from inside, and connection speed.
Likewise, the ports in the back are what you expect: power input, line in, and
four lines out...with one addition: a serial port. We'll get to the issue
of setup in a bit, but what this serial port allows you to do is to manage the
router without a networked computer. It's a nice little addition that I
don't expect to have need of, but more options is always good. It should
be noted that Netgear does not include an actual serial cable with the RT314, so
if you're ever desperate enough to need this option, you'll have to provide your
own. The Netgear folks were, however, kind enough to include a nice Cat 5
cable...a thoughtful touch, since you'll likely be adding this as a new item to
your networking loop.
