Installation was about as easy as it could get. I connected my computers to the Wireless Router, turned it on, and then configured the settings for my broadband connection through the use of the guided "Initial Setup" page. Since I use Sympatico DSL, which uses PPPoE to establish a connection (and verify the user) I simply had to change the settings to reflect this. I then plugged the DSL modem into the appropriate jack of the router, and opened up my web browser to see if I had a connection. Everything worked fine! This is a definite plus for people who are tired of having to spend too much time configuring products just to get them to work! To get to the configuration screen, you have to open your web browser and go to the address 192.168.2.1, the default internal IP of the router. (I later changed this to 192.168.0.1, which was reflected in some screenshots.) From here you can see the basic options and status of the router and access point. You'll also want to set the SSID to the same value as the SSID on your wireless clients to ensure they can access your network, and also make sure the WEP strength is at the same levels as your clients. That little bit more work is required to get the wireless setup running, but that is expected.
 

Login screen to access configuration for the router/access point.

Main overview.

Connection selection type.

   You'll also want to change the default password after the first logon, as this is highly recommended no matter what situation you are in. In case your ISP binds your connection to a specific MAC address, the Belkin Wireless Router can "clone" that MAC address. All you have to do is enter the appropriate MAC address into the configuration screen. In any case, the Initial Setup covers all essential elements and takes less than five minutes to properly fill out, as long as you have the appropriate details for your ISP on hand.
 

DMZ option.

Port forwarding.

"Triggers" setup.

   However, there are many more options available to work with given you have the time to look around. The first is the DMZ, or Demilitarized Zone. This option allows you to place a computer, selectable by IP address, in a position outside of the firewall protection this router offers.

   This allows that computer to properly play and host some online games or applications that have chronic problems when operating behind a firewall or NAT. In addition, you can open up specific ports and forward them to a specific LAN IP with the use of the Virtual Server settings page, should you want to run some sort of server from behind this router. The manual offered limited help on the use of the Virtual Server settings as well as the Special Application Ports page, and this is one area I would have liked Belkin to be more explanatory on.
 

Internal IP and DHCP options.

IP-based (Layer-3) access control.

MAC address (Layer-2) access control.

   As mentioned before, the internal or LAN IP of the router is changable, along with the ability to enable or disable DHCP. If you have a small LAN, you may not need to use DHCP, and if you are using the port forwarding feature you will not want to use DHCP, since the port forwarding is based on a specific LAN (internal) computer having a static IP. You can also restrict outbound access on an IP-specific basis. The most useful access control feature however, is the MAC filtering setup page. This feature will allow you to restrict access to the Wireless Router/Access Point to specific MAC addresses, prevent unauthorized wireless clients from "hitchin' a free ride" on your network and internet connection.
 

WEP options.

Utilities Options.

   WEP is not perfect, but the option is made available for it here. Both 64-bit and 128-bit strengths are supported, and the "automatic" options of each just mean that instead of entering the actual key itself, the configuration screen prompts to you enter a passphrase/password, from which the real key(s) are then generated. Makes life a bit easier. Firmware can be upgraded from the web browser, as seen in the second screenshot above.

Testing

   I tested the wired LAN throughput of this router as compared to my Netgear RT314, and the results were not astonishing. Both came in at 73Mbps, on an average of 10 tests. The response time was also identical for both units.

   The major differences turned out to be not performance-oriented, but feature-oriented. Firstly, the Belkin unit does have a security log feature, which produces results like this: (Results from a DSLReports Scan test)

2002/02/19 23:45:40  ** TCP SYN Flooding **  [IP/TCP]  206.65.191.129:42855 ->> ***.***.***.***:431
2002/02/19 23:45:42  ** TCP SYN Flooding **  [IP/TCP]  206.65.191.129:43345 ->> ***.***.***.***:2007
2002/02/19 23:45:43  ** TCP SYN Flooding **  [IP/TCP]  206.65.191.129:43494 ->> ***.***.***.***:521
2002/02/19 23:45:46  ** TCP SYN Flooding **  [IP/TCP]  206.65.191.129:43926 ->> ***.***.***.***:945
2002/02/19 23:45:49  ** TCP SYN Flooding **  [IP/TCP]  206.65.191.129:44354 ->> ***.***.***.***:1364
2002/02/19 23:45:50  ** TCP SYN Flooding **  [IP/TCP]  206.65.191.129:44472 ->> ***.***.***.***:32774
2002/02/19 23:45:53  ** TCP SYN Flooding **  [IP/TCP]  206.65.191.129:44906 ->> ***.***.***.***:8080

   In addition, a scan of ports at GRC.com yielded these results: While none of the tested ports were found to be open, all responded that they were closed. This is part of the TCP/IP specification, but again, with the Netgear RT314 one can configure a ruleset to drop unwanted inbound connection packets, resulting in a "Stealth" mode for a specific port. This feature is not a necessity, but again it would have been nice to have.

Conclusion

Pros

• Easy as hell to setup!
• Works equally as well with "normal" broadband connection as with PPPoE connections.
• Small size; doesn't take up a lot of space.
• Easy-to-use web-based interface. (All options are there)
• MAC-based access control security feature.

Cons

• No user-definable rulesets (though most people won't care for them.)
• Missing a few security features, but nothing essential that would compromise integrity.

   Not a perfect product, but considering I had no trouble with this product, (which was my first experience with wireless networking), I'm pretty impressed! The web-based interface was easy to use, and mostly intuitive, though the manual was lacking in explaining certain aspects, such as the "Special Application Settings", although nothing critical was left out. What I really wanted though, were user-definable rulesets! After having spent much time playing around with the rulesets of my Netgear, you could say that I've developed an unhealty affection for them, but I still would have liked to have seen them included.

   Now that I'm done criticizing those details, I'd just like to say that this product is far from bad. The things I've pointed out in no way impeded the functionality of this device, and did not compromise its usefulness. The ease-of-use is itself a defining feature I wish I'd see in more products. The price is not something that'll burn a hole in your wallet either. Though the MSRP at Belkin's site is a shocking $250USD, I believe this price is unfair, as I've seen this product for as low as $157USD at major retailers.

   Thanks again to Belkin Components for providing this product to review!

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