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Linksys networking products are eight-time winners of the PC Mag Editors' Choice Award.
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Product Details
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Product Description
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To protect your data and privacy, the Wireless-G broadband router can encrypt all wireless transmissions, and it supports the industrial-strength wireless security of 802.1x authentication and authorization. The router can serve as a DHCP server, has NAT technology to protect against Internet intruders, supports VPN pass-through, and can be configured to filter internal users' access to the Internet. Configuration is a snap with the Web browser-based configuration utility.
With the Linksys Wireless-G broadband router at the center of your home or office network, you can share a high-speed Internet connection, files, printers, and multiplayer games with the flexibility, speed, and security you need!
Wireless-G is the 54 Mbps wireless networking standard that's more than four times faster than the widely deployed Wireless-B (802.11b) products found in homes, businesses, and public wireless hotspots around the country. But since they share the same 2.4 GHz radio band, Wireless-G devices can also interoperate with existing 11 Mbps Wireless-B equipment.
Because both standards are built-in, you can protect your investment in existing 802.11b infrastructure, and migrate to the new screaming-fast Wireless-G standard as your needs grow.
For more information on the differences between an access point and a router with access point, see the following table:
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See a comparison diagram of the different wireless technologies. | Wireless networks are rapidly becoming more popular and coming down in price. Since they don't require cables, you can use the devices anywhere in an office or home, even out on the patio. There's no need to roll out an Ethernet network cable to each room of a house; you can network anywhere--without wires. Outside the home, wireless networking is available in hotspots at coffee shops, businesses, and airports--great when you're on the road and need to get some work done. For convenience, wireless networking is the answer. Basically, a standard is a set of specifications for a device. All devices that follow a specific standard share operating characteristics, such as the radio frequency used and maximum data transfer speed.
To learn about the differences between the standards and select the right one for your network, click here for an easy-to-understand chart. |
Product Description
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Customer Reviews
Why would Cisco do this to its most popular Linksys brand of wireless routers ? Apparently it might be a case where the first four versions were too flexible for their own good. The open source Linux firmware with the large amount of flash and system memory was attractive to many third party independent software developers that were turning the WRT54G and GS routers into powerhouse micro Linux wireless computers with a functionality approaching and often surpassing the $600+ wireless routers that Cisco sells. There might also have been an excess number of product warranty returns for the WRT54G routers due to so many people flashing them with non-Linksys third party firmware that sometimes can "brick" a router or make it unusable.... Read more ›
I got it to work within 10 minutes using all the defaults and the quick installation guides on my VAIO running XP. Well prior experience sure helps here in getting the router configured via the web interface.
It takes another couple hours to get my self familar with the technology, i.e., RTFM. Here are a couple things you definitely need to do to lock it down unless you want to be an ISP for your neighbors :)
(1) First it is wide open using the default. Change the SSID to something else other than linksys and turn off the broadcasting of SSID.
(2) Enable 128 bit WEP fast.
(3) Lock down the mac address so only your g (or b...) cards can talk to the router.
(4) While at it, you may as well change the channel.
Other than these, I am very happy with it.
Have fun surfing....
Anyways this product has a great range. I currently have two 802.11b adapters and a 802.11g adapter and they perform excellent in my environment. Quite amazing because my house is literred with 2.4ghz phones. Also I have 3 computers using the "wired" ports. All devices seemlessy interact with each other. Of course transfers are a little slower to any of the wireless devices (excluding the 802.11g device). I have had no connection drops and the unit is a lot colder than my previous router (the BEFSR41W). My old router used to warm up a lot but this one doesn't suffer from that issue.
I definitely recommend this product to anyone looking to buy an excellent router backed with excellent support. Unlike many other companies Linksys updates their firmware quite often with new features.
Setup for the WRT54G required some aches and pains. Granted they tell you right on the box that it is based on draft protocols, but I would have straightened a few problems myself with clearer communication or documentation from Linksys. Registration for this product should include subscription to a technical e-mail list notifying users of firmware and driver updates as well as the lates technical articles and an 802.11g ratification update. I don't mind that the product is based on "draft" protocols, but proactively notify me about updates! You can even use the .NET Alerts to IM me about new firmware!
It was after I performed a firmware upgrade that I started to encounter problems maintaining a connection with the router. I upgraded to enable the SocketCom 802.11b CF NIC for my iPAQ to use the WRT54G. The upgrade is mandatory for many 802.11b devices to hear the WRT54G and I believe it's the standard shipping firmware now.
Anyways, after I upgraded, my WPC54G started dropping connection every 4-5 minutes. I could manually force XP to reconnect only to find myself disconnected 4-5 minutes later. It was HIGHLY annoying and made the wireless useless.
I just got off the phone with LinkSys support (yes, at 2am EST Wednesday and a 1-800 number!) and they recommended unchecking the "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network". Voila! I've been connected continuously ever since.
A previous technician told me via LinkSys online support chat, that I should try changing channels. But he could not tell me why this would fix the problem. Of course, it did not work.
... Read more ›