Wireless-G Router

J_K9 · 06-22-2005, 05:59 AM

Please reply at the bottom of this thread! It still isn't finished, and I would like your opinion on either your router/modem or the one I've linked to below, in my most recent post. Many thanks, J_K9
__________________________________________________________________________

Hi,

I was wondering if any of you could recommend a good wireless-g router (which has an inbuilt Broadband modem), which supports WPA (most of them do) and has some nice extra security features which aren't too complicated to control (SSID Broadcast disabling, MAC address filtering, Port Forwarding, etc..). Obviously, I would like this router to be "easy to connect to" via Linux, by which I mean it shouldn't be a hassle to connect to. I've looked through the site's HCL and after looking at quite a lot of products I've got a bit of a headache because some of the modems aren't wireless, and I'm not sure about the reliability of the ones which are etc... I'd just like to know if you could recommend a wireless router/modem which you haven't had much trouble with and know for a fact is reliable!

J_K9

[EDIT]

Sorry about the spelling mistake in the thread's title!

trickykid · 06-22-2005, 08:27 AM

Actually, this isn't a direct question about Linux, so it belongs in General.

Personally, I've never had any problems using Linksys Wireless routers at home. And a router is just a router, connecting to Linux isn't an issue when choosing a router in most cases. Connecting to a wireless router with Linux all depends on the wireless adapter that is actually connected or being used by the Linux host.

J_K9 · 06-22-2005, 08:42 AM

Thanks trickykid. I have a Linksys router at home but it isn't very reliable so I'd rather not get another one...Unless their products have improved a lot. Sorry I've got a bit of a grudge against Linksys

. Does anyone else have any recommendations?

J_K9

P.S I was told Ralink chipsets are completely compatible and supported by Linux. Does anyone know which one I should get? (Any of them will do, right?). TIA.

trickykid · 06-22-2005, 08:58 AM

Which linksys router do you currently have? The only time I've ever had problems with a Linksys was when lightening struck and fried the internet port on it.. all the others worked except the one to get a connection to the outside world. So I fixed that problem by buying a new one and buying backup UPS's so they never get fried or lose power during an outage again.. well, for 25 minutes or so..

J_K9 · 06-22-2005, 09:03 AM

lol I have a Linksys WAG54G-UK (not the newer version), and it's constantly disconnecting from the broadband connection. Sometimes it's a pain in the 455 to connect to (maybe because I've only tried connecting to it in windows with my WPC54G PCMCIA adapter, because it didn't work on FC3 (which I dumped on account of being so crap)). It was very easy to connect to on my Mac. The WAG54G-UK is also a bit weird, and the wireless signal goes up and down like a yo-yo!

J_K9

trickykid · 06-22-2005, 09:06 AM

Have you tried upgrading the firmware on it? If so, I'd say just upgrade it.

J_K9 · 06-22-2005, 11:05 AM

That's a very good point.....I'm still on firmware 1.1.6 adn there's like 2.6.x out! lol. It's not my fault, though: I tried updating the firmware to one of the latest (not only because the firmware is newer and better etc... but also because it supports WDS -Wireless Distribution Service- which will allow me to use my router with my wireless repeaters) but when it was upgrading, the install bar just went straight back to the beginning once it had reached the end! After 4 hours, I gave up and disconnected, leaving my router with some screwed up firmware (btw, I could still access the internet! I just couldn't configure anything...). Luckily, the hard reset managed to put the 1.1.6 firmware back on it. I think the reason the upgrade failed was because I tried to do it wirelessly, and I think that if I try it over Ethernet it may work...

Anyway, sorry, I didn't "express" myself clearly enough before, I'd like to buy a new router/modem not for my home but for a friends'. Any ideas? Should I buy another (newer) WAG54G-UK v2 and upgrade the firmware, or go for another router? How about Belkin, are they any good? TIA,

[EDIT]

The 3com products all seem to have very good ratings...How about the 3Com® OfficeConnect® ADSL Wireless 11g Firewall Router? Looks quite good...

J_K9

J_K9 · 06-23-2005, 08:27 AM

Right.....I'm very very confused now.....I thought the 3com products were meant to be quite good (as said by someone in the HCL), but now I have been onto dabs.co.uk and there are seriously different opinions about this router/modem. Practically all of them said that the router doesn't work until you download the firmware upgrade...Here are a few of the reviews:

Quote:

Extremely Good Value For Money
reviewed by David . review posted 14/04/2005 12:34:00
Bought this product based on all the reviews surrounding it, so thought I had better give my feedback. As Chris has said below, download the latest firmware 1st from 3com's website before you take out your old connection. Installing was pretty straight forward and it only took me 15 mins to get it going, the speed of the connection is unreal and extremely fast and it can be setup to operate a home network to share your printer and files etc. I have bought this to work on AOL which is does so perfectly fine, if you intend to use it with AOL then speak to member services and get them to email you their setup sheet 1st as it saves you a lot of hassle in the long run and gives you all the settings. Altogether, an extremely good piece of kit at a ridiculously low price. Enjoy!
-----------------------------------------------------
You get what you pay for
reviewed by Keith. review posted 14/06/2005 23:09:00
Mine was also the 3CRWDR100A-72, it wasn’t shipped with a card, it came with a USB wireless adapter instead. Unlike many routers a micro-filter is not included. I concur with others – out of the box it is useless, it wont connect, I upgraded the supplied 1.04 firmware to 1.07 and it then connected. The supplied drivers for the USB adapter needed updating as well. The setup wizard is poor, nowhere near as good at the Netgear one. Seriously lacking (in my opinion) is MAC restrictions on the wireless LAN, the firewall is also very basic. I also cannot get the channel number to ‘stick’, it seems to choose one at random when you enter a SID. If you have an existing connection, you want a cheap basic wireless router, you don’t mind mucking about – then this is a good box. I would not recommend this for a novice or an initial install, you’ll probably end up sending it back. A bargain? no – value for money? Yes! This is a cheap box, it is worth what you will pay for it.

So what should I do? Netgear are ACTUALLY meant to be good but I just don't know what to do.....The 3com router doesn't seem to be very reliable, and apparently sucks when you're downloading something large or playing a game for longer than 20 minutes, as it (apparently) automatically disconnects after this time period...Can someone please recommend something? I'd be extremely grateful.

[EDIT]
This one looks quite good.........It's has a "Gold" rating from PCFormat, and quite a lot of other classy rewards too. Interesting...

J_K9