3COM Corp U.S. ROBPTICS 802.11G 54MBS ( USR5450 )

by 3Com

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 7.3 x 3.5 inches ; 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00009ETKW
• Item model number: USR5450
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #331,670 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 26, 2003

Product Description

MODEL- USR5450 VENDOR- US ROBOTICS FEATURES- 5450 802.11g Wireless Turbo Multi-Function Access Point The U.S. Robotics 802.11g Wireless Turbo Multi-Function Access Point is a professional-grade access point that has the power and features to make a wireless network out of an existing wired network and wirelessly extend the reach of the Internet throughout your home or office. Includes Wireless Turbo Multi-Function Access Point Two removable swivel dipole antennas with reverse polarity SMA connector Power supply Quick Installation Guide. * Exclusive 100Mbps Accelerator Technology Includes Accelerator Technology to send and receive data at performance levels equivalent to 100Mbps - all on a single channel to ensure greater network capacity and the highest data throughput. * Greater 802.11g/b Compatibility Use the speed you purchased - greater 802.11g/b compatibility allows each device to connect at the fastest speed possible. * Superior Security Up to 10 times more secure than standard wireless networks! Your data is secure with advanced features: - Built-in 256-bit Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption. - WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) protects your privacy and important data from hackers. - 802.1x network authentication support. * 5 Products in 1 This professional-grade access point is five products in one: - Access Point- wireless base station - Bridge- links two networks - Multi-Bridge- links multiple networks - Client- provides wireless access to any Ethernet device- great for gaming Linux-based PCs printers etc. * Professional-grade Access Point Includes full SNMP management for network administration configurable transmit/receive power control for the best possible coverage when multiple Access Points are used in a single network and a powerful class-leading ARM9 processor for maximum data transfer in large critical networks. * Greater Range Wirelessly network with 30% greater range and better area coverage than conventional 54Mbps wireless products. * Det...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unmanageable, July 22, 2004

By 

P. E Schwanz "Phinehas" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 3COM Corp U.S. ROBPTICS 802.11G 54MBS ( USR5450 ) (Personal Computers)

I'm a network engineer for a small business in Northern Virginia. We have about 40 users who connect to our wireless access points. We are expanding to a new floor on our building and purchased 4 x USR5450's for additional wireless coverage.

While the USR5450 may be adequate for a home networking solution, it was an unmanageable solution for our business. In addition to using WEP encryption, we use MAC address filtering for security purposes. It would have been nice to have been able to import a list of authorized MAC addresses without having to enter each individually by hand. It would also have been nice to have had more than 8 characters to use for the name/description of each MAC address. But these oversights are forgiveable.

Compounding the problem was the fact that the web interface wouldn't even allow me to cut and paste a MAC address, but required a tab between each pair of hex digits. In addition, for each address I added, the web interface would forward me to a new web page telling me that the system was resetting. After waiting several seconds, I could click on the "Back" link and enter my next MAC address. In frustration, I turned to the US Robotics supplied software.

Before continuing, however, I thought it best to update the firmware to the latest version. Perhaps a newer version would fix some of the glaring problems with the interface. I noticed that the new firmware was supposed to allow 64 MAC addresses. I hadn't seen anything previously about this limitation, but began to worry about running out of MAC addresses. I wondered what it had been prior to the firmware upgrade. I downloaded the new firmare and installed it--only to find that it totally wiped out all the MAC addresses I'd managed to input along with all the other configuration changes I'd made. Unbelievable!

So I downloaded the latest configuration software and gave it a try. I was pleased to see that I could cut and paste MAC addresses individually and that the system didn't reset after each one. However, the configuration software didn't let me enter any sort of name or description for the MAC address. (I would soon learn why.) In any case, the interface was still incredibly clunky, requiring me to hit the "refresh" button after each "apply" before I could make any additional configuration changes.

I loaded the entire list of MAC addresses and then opened the web interface to see if I could add a name/description there. To my surprise, I noticed that several name fields were already filled in with junk binary characters. I cleaned them out. However, when I then looked back at the configuration software, I noticed that several of the MAC addresses I'd entered had disappeared. It took me a few times of adding MAC addresses and deleting junk characters before I realized that the config software must be using the name/description space in order to store additional MAC addresses. Disgusted, I told my manager that I thought we should send back the USR5450's and try a different product and vendor.

I can't really comment on how well the hardware works, which is why I'm not giving this review lower than 2 stars. But for me, the software and web interface were enough to convince me that this product wasn't for me. It was just too unmanageable.

--Paul

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent product, lack of documentation a problem, September 20, 2005

By 

T. Shehan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 3COM Corp U.S. ROBPTICS 802.11G 54MBS ( USR5450 ) (Personal Computers)

To be concise; Great range (which is why I purchased it), lack of documentation was problematic in setting it up (product is shipped with a administrator name already entered which is not documented and I had to search the web for), seems a little flakey at times with its connection to laptops. For new users it would benefit the company to include a straight forward set of examples for setup. I know what I am doing but there were still some problems with documentation, a new user would have more difficulty for sure.

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the bother, March 9, 2005

By 

Bill Waff (MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 3COM Corp U.S. ROBPTICS 802.11G 54MBS ( USR5450 ) (Personal Computers)

When I first tried this item, it seemed okay. It came with a decent monitor applet, and the web interface worked okay. The administration was a bit cumbersome, as another review has mentioned, especially with the MAC addressing and general data input. But generally it was a speedy setup.

However, several problems started to pop up. I was never able to get WPA encryption to work. It was just not available at all, unless you use a RADIUS server, something our small business doesn't have. The box clearly advertised WPA as an option, but had a tiny little footnote on the side of the box that stated "available upon ratification" (which took place quite a while ago, from what I understand). So, we have some bait-and-switch going on here.

Next, the administration interface to the unit simply quit after about an hour's use. It would still work as an access point, but I couldn't get in no matter what I did. Yes, all passwords, MAC addresses, IP addresses, and WEP keys were all okay, but the web administration just would not work. I tried several times to hardware reset the unit (something which had worked earlier), but to no avail. It was locked out from every computer I tried it with. The unit went back to factory defaults, and would work as an open access point, but neither the default nor the reassigned IP address would get me into the web administration.

The final straw came when I tried calling the tech support number, which was on the box, the documentation and the web site. The line was disconnected. It wouldn't connect from any phone, including my cell. Repeated emails to tech support from their web site were not answered within three days. I finally gave up and returned it.

So avoid this product, there are plenty of other units out there for less that will perform better than this. USR has a long way to go before this one is ready for prime-time.