After reading Ator's excellent home-networking
installation guide, I started to realize how dysfunctional my home network
was. Up to this point, I was relying on a dual-NIC configured Win2K box
running the (very good) Wingate
connection-sharing software. I had one NIC going out to the Internet (via my
1Mbps DSL modem), and the other NIC going directly to a Win98-based laptop,
which ran the Wingate client.
Recently, I've added a Linux/WinCE box and an Amiga 3000 system, both
configured with Ethernet connectivity. I wanted to be able to have a LAN
running between all four machines, and adding additional NIC cards to my Win2K
box was now out of the question. Additionally, I wanted these machines to
be able to share my Internet connection. Obviously, I needed a router and
a hub. Luckily, Linksys provides both a router and hub combination in
one device, along with NAT/DHCP/firewall functionality.
After considering the Netgear RT311 Internet Access Gateway Router (I hadn't
discovered the Netgear RT314), and the D-Link DI-701 Gateway/Firewall, I settled
on the Linksys model reviewed here. Why?
Overview of Features
The Linksys BEFSR41 has the following feature-set:
NAT functionality, allowing multiple IP-addresses on the private LAN to
access the Internet over a single connection.
Built-in firewall via port-inspection/blocking.
10Mbps connection speed to the Internet (IEEE 802.3 10BaseT).
Built-in 10/100Mbps four-port switch (IEEE 802.3 10BaseT, 802.3u
100BaseTX). Devices on the LAN which are
equipped with 100Mbps NICs can communicate with each-other at maximum speed,
while Internet communications occur at a maximum of 10Mbps.
DHCP client functionality built-in, for configurations where the Internet
connection's IP-address is dynamically assigned.
DHCP server functionality built-in, with up to 253 DHCP-assigned
IP-addresses.
PPPoE support (not tested).
Up-link port for secondary switches/hubs (like the $30 Linksys EtherFast
5-port Switch), or connection to the cool (but overpriced) Linksys EFG20
20GB Network Attached Storage (NAS) device with built-in print-server
functionality.
Supports a De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) for a single LAN-based computer.
Blocking of specific LAN-based computers from Internet access (great for
when Junior has misbehaved).
Comparison of Features
Features
Linksys BEFSR41
D-Link DI-701
Netgear RT311/RT314
Price
~ $150
$90
$120/$160
Built-in Switch or Hub?
Yes
No (add $50)
No/Yes
Supports VPN/PPTP?
Yes
Maybe
Yes with configuration
Graphical Configuration Tool?
HTTP-based
Requires Windows
HTTP-based
Stackable?
Yes
Sort of
Yes
What's Included
Documentation:
User's Manual
FAQ Sheet
Quick Installation Sheet
Product Registration Card
Cables:
Only a power-adapter and power-cable was included.
The Linksys BEFSR41 device
RTFM
The documentation is quite good. For the tech-savvy types that read Ars, the
manual is MORE than adequate. For a complete computer beginner, I think the
manual is quite good, and the setup/configuration is no more complicated than
configuring Dial-Up Networking or the Network Control Panel stuff. Indeed,
Linksys even provides a Quick Installation sheet which covers most of the common
configurations (Win95/98 screen-shots), step-by-step. Still, there were some
presentation issues that I'll mention for the benefit of Linksys and as a
warning to potential buyers: the use of bolding could have been
better where it discusses certain features. Important information, e.g.,
like the fact that
certain router features only work when the router is configured in non-DHCP mode,
was often buried in the middle of a seemingly innocuous paragraph, where it could be easily
overlooked. If you want to have a look at the docs, they're available online
from Linksys in PDF format.
Cabling
The power-cable is almost perfect, since it doesn't terminate in a
wall-wart the size of a brick. Instead, it consists of a small
power-adapter that connects to the Linksys, and a standard 3-prong
male-to-female power-cable that mates the power-adapter to the wall-socket.
Why did I say near-perfect, then? Because the cable on the power-adapter
is too short compared to the 3-prong standard power-cable you attach. What
tends to happen here, at least for me, is that the power-adapter ends up hanging
in mid-air behind my desk, providing a pendulum-like weight which drags the
router backwards towards the abyss. If the cable was longer, then the
small brick could rest on the floor, and provide less drag on the back of the
device.
Look and Feel
The Linksys itself is fairly compact, although I believe it could have been
smaller. Because of Linksys' stackable format for many of their devices,
they're forced into following that form-factor. You can see from the
picture on the left that the unit is relatively small, and it's light--it weighs
about 12 shots of tequila (12 ounces). Those
indentations on the top of the device support the feet of other stackable
Linksys devices.
While I think that the stackable format is uber-cool, I've noticed that
Linksys has four incompatible stackable formats for their devices, which is
ultra-crappy. The interesting 20-Gig NAS EFG20 won't stack here, although
it'll happily stack with other EFG20 devices. The nice
Keyboard/Video/Mouse (KVM) switches from linksys won't stack here either (which
is too bad, since I'm going to be buying one shortly). With such devotion to
stackability, one might expect their products to stack better!
About the only devices you'll be able to stack nicely with the BEFSR41 are
the simple 5-port hub, 5-port switch, or the integrated 4-port switch and 2-port
print-server device.
Front 'n Back
The rear of the device sports the WAN connection to your external cable/DSL-modem,
the four-port switch with uplink option, and the power connector. You can get a
closer look by clicking here. The front of the device sports a number of useful LEDs, including:
Power - duh!
Link/Act (x4) - Solid-green indicates a connected device is powered-on,
and flickering-green indicates RX/TX activity on that connection.
Manufacturer:
The power-cable is almost perfect, since it doesn't terminate in a
wall-wart the size of a brick. Instead, it consists of a small
power-adapter that connects to the Linksys, and a standard 3-prong
male-to-female power-cable that mates the power-adapter to the wall-socket.
The Linksys itself is fairly compact, although I believe it could have been
smaller. Because of Linksys' stackable format for many of their devices,
they're forced into following that form-factor. You can see from the
picture on the left that the unit is relatively small, and it's light--it weighs
about 12 shots of tequila (12 ounces). Those
indentations on the top of the device support the feet of other stackable
Linksys devices.
