Cisco-Linksys EtherFast Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port 10/100 Switch
by Linksys
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Our Price: $78.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $9.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cisco-Linksys EtherFast Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port 10/100 Switch
Customer Review: One awesome little machine!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't think I can come up with anything really bad to say about this cool router. I have two of them, and know a networking guy here in town who uses them a lot for small businesses and home installations, and it is impressive. It not only has a built-in firewall to protect your connected devices, but it also saves you money on getting extra IP addresses from your high-speed 'net connection provider... And it lets you share your printers/files at a full 200Mbps if your network cards support Full Duplex (otherwise you'll top out at a whopping 100Mbps on the LAN side :-)The web-based configuration is very nice, if you have problems or are missing a feature, check the Linksys website for firmware updates. They've added many new features in the new version, made older ones more flexible, and added advanced login methods for different types of fast internet connections and so on. The port-forwarding options help if you're trying to run a server or connect to certain sites, and the DMZ feature is good for some games and stuff (but please run a firewall on the DMZ'd computer!).
I've had mine since they were the only ones out, but the nice thing about the Linksys routers is that they've combined them into all kinds of network "bridges" as well. This is the basic model, which is just awesome for a simple, wired network. But if you want the same thing plus a wireless access point, they have that, too. Or with a USB connection rather than just Ethernet. Or with phoneline or powerline networking. So whatever networking combination solution you need, Linksys probably has a router for you! It's been my favorite brand for quite a while, and I'll probably stick to it until something that's this cheap with the high-quality value comes along in another brand (I sure haven't found it so far!).
Customer Review: Performs flawlessly
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using this router for over a month now, and it has had absolutely no problems. File transfers between my computers go extremely fast (approx. 100 times the speed of downloads through my cable modem).I haven't experienced the problem some people reported of having to reset the router every so often because it gets "stuck." This must be due to their system configuration or perhaps the router isn't their problem at all.
I did experience some trouble setting up, but this was not due to Linksys. The setup problems most people are experiencing is because when your cable modem provider sets you up, they record whats called the MAC address of your ethernet card. If you connect with hardware that has a different MAC address, it will not let you through. This is to prevent people from using routers, and for general security purposes.
Unfortunately, the Linksys technical support person was unable to figure out the problem...he seemed to know what it was, but had me change it to the wrong address. Here is how you solve this problem: Go to start, run. Type "winipcfg". Select your ethernet card from the drop down list and write down the MAC address that is displayed (It is labeled "adapter address" on my computer). Now, direct your browser to 192.168.1.1 and find the WAN MAC address. Click on it and change it to be the same as what you wrote down. The LAN MAC address doesn't need to be changed.
Another option if you prefer not to monkey with your computer's settings is to call your cable modem provider, and tell them you have a new ethernet card and have them put in the WAN MAC address of your router. DO NOT tell them you have a router, they're usually prohibited in your subscriber agreement.
Enjoy!
Customer Review: 0 stars for PPPoE and 5 Stars for the rest
Summary: 5 Stars
I had chances to install the one port version (BEFSR11) on both 25 user network and my home. Basically, this is an Ethernet to Ethernet router. This is 5 star product on the NON-PPPoE connection. Unfortunately, I want to share my experience here on setting up the PPPoE DSL connection. I am using Bell Simpatico High Speed ADSL connection in Toronto. First time, I had a test router with firmware 1.2x on it. I tested that for a weekend. It was not workable on PPPoE. After upgrade to version 1.30, I can regain the connection by rebooting the router (unplug and replug). I thought this was OK for home network if that happened once a day. At that time, I did not buy one for home and just want to wait for newer firmware update.
Once I saw the version 1.34 came out. I bought one and restructured my home network with 5 PCs. Everything looks OK at beginning. Sometimes, it was disconnected when two people were surfing the Web. I just rebooted the router. I could bear with that. But, one thing I can not stand is that it froze when I attach a document in hotmail. Think about when you compose an email and attach something, you are kicked off the internet. You have to reboot the router and start all over. It is not guaranteed not being cut the second time. It happened quite often.... Then I started looking for alternative.
Now I am using Netgear RT311 at home. It's been a month. I did not do any upgrade on it. It has a web based interface, too. It looks more like a ROUTER. It never gives me problem. It's a little expensive and hard to get in Toronto.
If your ISP uses DSL with PPPoE and considering this router, please look up their web site and check the firmware upgrade readme file, to see if any major update on PPPoE after version 1.34.
Good luck.
Customer Review: Easy setup, works great.
Summary: 5 Stars
Before I get started I feel the need to say, the lack of a CAT 5 cable not being included is not a con. Linksys has no idea how far it is from my computers to my cable modem and the last thing I need is another useless cable (because it's to short or way to long, or a patch cable instead of a crossover cable) to wrap up and pack away in that box with the rest of them.I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of setup. I had taken the phone of the hook and cleared my schedule in preparation for installing this thing called a "router" so both my PCs could access the Internet and be networked to each other all at the same time. About 3 minutes later both my PCs were still networked to each other and downloading from the Internet. The router was doing it's job invisibly. The configuration of the router is handled by typing a URL (specified in the installation instructions) into any web browser then filling in a few blanks on the page that loads with a few more numbers. The instructions show where to find these numbers in the windows control panel. So psyched was I, that I immediately rebooted my main computer to Linux and tackled installing it there. Same URL, same page, same numbers, same great results. For a few seconds I even deluded myself about how user friendly Linux is (to bad Linksys doesn't distribute Linux :) Since I found myself with free time I read instructions that explained clearly how to do a bunch of things I'll probably never do (but I'm sure some people do) and a few things I will. Things such as Netmeeting, DHCP server, NAT, PPPoE and even multi player games like Age of Empires and Unreal are succinctly explained in relation to the router and the router's configuration.
Customer Review: Linksys is A1 (UR going 2B happy as a smiley emoticon!) : )
Summary: 5 Stars
A few days after the ETA of the Y2K BS, I was having trouble connecting with any URLs. When I have HTTP/WWW troubles I usually blame my ISP, but even after following their istructions I was still getting 404s and GPFs in IE. I considered the settings of my DNS, and my TCP. Alas, it was my NetGear router that was F'd up and DOA leaving me SOL. This really had me PO'd considering I had just purchased a new IBM NT OS PC. I went all out. This thing is strictly computing VIP...w/ 12X DVD, CD-R/RW, GE Force3 32MB 4X AGP, 1.333GHZ AMD CPU(no MMX or SIMD), 266MHZ FSB,(2) PNY PC2100 256MB DIMMS of DDR RAM, Creative Labs PCI SB Live! 5.1, 2 ports each for IEEE 1394/USB, and a new ASUS A7M266 MoBo. All that with the addition of a RAID card, which accepts my 3 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HDs. No CRT I opted for an XL 19in NEC .26mm DP TFT LCD. I decided to go w/o any xtra I/Os like SCSI, IR, Zip, JAZ, or FD. I then added a 10/100bps network card by 3COM I was in biz. Since AOL 56k put me on mouse arrest, and I can't afford a T1, I decided to go DSL ASAP. I don't have my A+ or PHD in IT but, as for the LAN at my HQ I'm glad I got the Linksys(no RJ-45 CAT5 included).
It arrived USPS overnight along with the UPS I ordered. It helped me easily connect to the NIC on my MAC, the wireless card in my HP WinCE HPC PDA, as well as, the PCMCIA PC Card on my KDS PIII Laptop. So U C in terms of connection, it was mostly P&P so I'd have to say, all in all,it was pretty EZ. I really liked the DMZ function allowing direct access of one PC to the web.
Their hompage's FAQ was excellent but, as far as the manual, I felt it was far too complicated and technical. Why couldn't they just make it simple?
-Bits, 2001