Customer Reviews

Netgear RT314 Internet Access Router

5 star:		(83)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

First, a note on switches vs hubs. A hub shares the bandwith between connected devices. So, if you have one computer going through the hub to the internet and a second connecting to a third over the lan for a file transfer, they have at most 100mbs total between them. A switch actually routes a dedicated connection for each pair of communicating devices so that they can communicate at full bandwidth. If you've already got a switch, you might want to consider the somewhat less expensive RT311 which is the router/firewall without the switch. If you have a hub, on the other hand, I'd suggest going with the 314 instead, the hub can still be used to allow your network to grow beyond 4 devices (after all, two computers, a laptop and a network printer and you're tapped out with the 314 on its own).

Anyway, this is a great device. I pulled it out of the box, plugged in the wires and everything worked immediately. I'm sharing cable internet between a windows 2000 box and PowerMac (running OS9 and DAVE 2.5) with no problems at all.

It's 4 stars because the web interface is really quite useless. To properly configure this device (including the very cool dynamic dns capabilities) you need to telnet to the box. Not a *big* deal, but still a minor nuisance. There's no reason the web interface couldn't handle these other configuration options as well.

I had considered the Linksys box which is very similar in capabilities, but searching usenet archives revealed that the netgear is a much more reliable device.

The Netgear RT314 router is an solid piece of equipment that allows a single DSL or cable modem connection to be shared among multiple computers. The RT314 has a built in four port Ethernet switch and includes a firewall feature.

The RT314 and similar products use Network Address Translation (NAT) to share a single IP address. This design avoids extra monthly charges normally associated with having multiple IP addresses. This technique works well with most Internet applications such as web browsing, e-mail and even streaming multimedia. However, it can be incompatible with some applications such as video conferencing that may use proprietary protocols. The NAT function requires the router to keep track of all TCP/IP connections made outside of your local network. This function provides the side benefit of acting as a natural firewall. The RT314 extends this to include filtering functions that increase protection from hackers.

Installing and setting up the router was easy. I have been using it for several days to connect both a PC and a Mac to the Internet. I noticed no degradation in the performance of my system with the router installed. A site designed to verify the throughput of Internet connections showed my cable modem connection running at 1200 kbps.

I highly recommend the RT314 as a solution for sharing a single DSL/Cable modem internet connections among multiple computers.

I have and still use the Linksys 4 port router/switch. I works great on my cable modem but when I tried to use it with my DSL connection it couldn't keep the connection alive. I tried all versions of the Linksys Firmware by upgrading and downgrading it and always after a couple hours the device seemed to become so busy the performance went in the toilet.

So I broke down and bought the Netgear version and just like the Linksys it is super easy to use and has worked perfectly with my DSL for weeks now with no problem whatsoever.

The only thing I don't like about the Netgear is that in their latest firmware they have removed the advanced tab (it is there but unclickable) from the web interface, so to do any advanced fatures like RIP etc. you have to telnet into the box. Not that big a deal, I guess they did it to stop idiots from goofy up a really easy product to use.

Overall both the Linksys and Netgear are great but if you have DSL (mine is Verzion) get the Netgear.

Also CompUSA and BestBuy both have this device for but Amazon is by FAR the best deal I have found!!

Happy Surfing

This router is the best way to share a DSL/Cable connection, hands down. All you need is a NIC in each PC you wish to share and enough patch cable to connect everything.

Setup is basic enough and the included documentation is easy to follow and includes enough pictures to help even the non-technically oriented along. Configuring Windows is also easy and between the documentation and included software, most users will be up and running within half an hour.

Once you are up and running, aisde from the obvious benefit of sharing the broadband connection, you also are functioning as a peer-to-peer network based on the speed of your network cards (up to 100mbps), which will allow you to finally play Diablo 2 multiplayer or share large files without having to use zip disks. The device also functions as a firewall and with a little tinkering, you can ban certain sites from being visited.

All in all, this is a must have purchase if you have more than one computer at home and a broadband connection.

The Netgear RT 314 is new entry into the field of home Internet Routers. Internet Routers allow Cable or DSL users to use more than one PC in the home on the same connection without the expense of paying an extra fee to their internet provider for the priviledge.

The Netgear unit features 4 autosensing 10/100 base-T ethernet connectors on the rear of the unit as well as a serial port to allow easy upgrading of the firmware in the device.

Set-up is easy. Just plug each of your individual machines into one of the network ports on the Router and run it's Web-Based Set-up wizard. The wizard will run you through each of the settings you need to configure to allow each PC on the network to access the internet. The Router supports almost every internet protocol under the sun!

Performance on the unit is great too. I detected little to no slowdown on the internet connection even with multiple PC's connected.

With the savings involved in not having to pay for extra IP addresses, this unit could pay for itself in a matter of months!

I just replaced my RT311 (Cable Internet Gateway Router) with the RT314 (RT311 plus 5-port internal switch). The RT314 installed just as easily as the RT311, and since I had already configured my computers for automatic DNS resolution (according to the very clear instructions, I might add), it took maybe 2 minutes to get the RT314 up and running. Hook up the cables and go--the only truly satisfying network experience I've ever had.

Before buying the hardware router I wasted several Saturdays trying to get the various Windows systems to share my cable modem Internet connection, and despite the countless re-boots I never got reliable operation. If you don't need to be fancy, the RT314 needs absolutely no configuration, although it's easy to do using a built-in URL--just use your ordinary web browser. And the RT314 appears to run significantly faster than my old setup of an RT311 plus DS106 hub--the advantage of a switch over a hub, I assume.

And, wonder of wonders, they put the cable sockets on the BACK of the unit, not the front, so I can see what's happening without a rats nest of cables coming out of the front panel. Great product, great value!

I looked at both the Linksys 4 port cable router and the Netgear RT314. I have friends that own the Linksys and they work well, but I was a little turned off by the plastic look and feel of that unit.

The Netgear RT314 has a rugged metal case and feels more like a commercial router than a home unit. The Netgear also includes the CAT-5 connector cable in the box,which is not a huge deal, but is a nice addition.

The software and instructions that come with the unit are somewhat minimal, but I found the setup pretty straightforward - and I'm not a trained network person. I wanted to be able to run two computers off the same cable connection and this router lets me do that with a couple of added benefits. My connection is actually faster than without the router, and I have the security of a firewall. I had planned to buy firewall software, but for a little more money I get the router, firewall, and 4-port switch all in one slick unit.

The one thing that I wish were different is the power adapter. The one that comes with the Linksys unit has a grounded plug while the Netgear comes with a two-pronged block power adapter. Luckily I had room for the block, but I would feel more comfortable having the unit grounded.

All in all, the RT314 works beautifully.

I installed this within 15 minutes (it was so easy to set up) and have my network up and running in less than half an hour. Compared to the Linksys (which I have returned to Amazon), I haven't experienced the need to "reset" the router every few days and the Netgear has been on for over 3 weeks now. I don't know if Linksys have updated their firmware so that one does not need to reset the connection but so far, I haven't experienced any downtime with the Netgear model.

For those who are interested, I used this for my Verizon DSL account in Brooklyn, NY and one of the reasons I set up my connection so quickly is because I didn't need to install Verizon's WinPOET and simply need to configure Windows 2000 Professional's Network (took a minute!). The transmission is a lot smoother (without the router, I would experience intermittent outtage) and I have downloaded the entire RedHat Linux software as well as Oracle's Oracle8i without any problem (and those are HUGE files).

If you have more than one PC at home and need to connect to the Internet, this is just about the easiest and cheapest way to go. Two years ago, you could not get a product like this at any reasonable price, but now it is practically an off the shelf consumer item. I love tinkering around and learning all of the internal stuff that turns most people off. But, the RT314 doesn't really require you to learn much to get it to work right out of the box. A pleasure indeed!

It took me about 20 minutes to get the thing connected and working with my cable modem (Cablevision in New York). No problems at all. The lights blinked, I rebooted everything and up she came! Very fast throughput. Comparing connect speed with and without the RT314 inline shows a small difference, certainly smaller than I expected. When you have two or more PCs accessing the 'net, it is amazing how the slowdown you expect never really happens. Of course each PC is not getting the full bandwidth, but it sure seems that way.

Buy it. You'll like it. Easy to set up, easy to upgrade and hardly needs maintenance, if ever. Best hardware purchase I've made all year! :-)

This product worked great getting the first computer hooked up. The configuration was simple and even a novice such as myself was able to get it running in about 1/2 an hour.

Unfortunately, when I called customer support to discuss issues related to hooking up my laptop they had no one answering the phones. Evidently, they're so backlogged that they are doing support on a call back basis. So much for having an 800 number.