Draft N Router Coverage: When the "n" in 802.11n really means "not yet"
by Gary Key on August 30, 2006 5:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Networking
NETGEAR WNR834B
The new RangeMax Next series sports a new case design compared to previous RangeMax units. The RangeMax Next is a slim and sleek design with internal antennas instead of the typical external three antenna design. While having a very elegant design, it does not have a wall-mount option, and needs to be placed upright in order for the antenna to be properly oriented. The unit is very light and we experienced several situations where our cluttered test cable layout would pull the unit over on its side. Unlike the external unit designs, the only way to orient the antenna for better signal strength is to move the actual box around. The front panel has seven status lights that correspond to the LAN/WAN jacks, power status, and communication link with your wireless client.
Due to the internal antenna placement the case is actually very thin with the rear panel consisting of the standard four 10/100 LAN jacks, one WAN jack, 12V power jack, and a pinhole reset button with proper color coding on each connection.
The included customer documentation is organized and easy to follow, especially if you have prior router installation experience. Upon opening the box you find a well labeled installation CD that informs you how to start the installation process. After the CD starts up you will come to a web-based menu that offers several options for setting up the router or reviewing the owner's manual.
You have two setup options that consist of a beginner's installation wizard or the option to configure the router manually by connecting directly to the browser based tool. The wizard will instruct the user in setting up the hardware and then offers a simple software setup routine. If you manually set up the router the configuration tool can be reached by entering the enclosed IP address or simply typing www.routerlogin.net.
Our first time network users found the NETGEAR browser tool to be very informative and almost as intuitive as the Belkin N1 while easily exceeding the Linksys documentation. NETGEAR only offers a limited one year warranty on this product and we found their technical support group to be very good at answering our questions.
The new RangeMax Next series sports a new case design compared to previous RangeMax units. The RangeMax Next is a slim and sleek design with internal antennas instead of the typical external three antenna design. While having a very elegant design, it does not have a wall-mount option, and needs to be placed upright in order for the antenna to be properly oriented. The unit is very light and we experienced several situations where our cluttered test cable layout would pull the unit over on its side. Unlike the external unit designs, the only way to orient the antenna for better signal strength is to move the actual box around. The front panel has seven status lights that correspond to the LAN/WAN jacks, power status, and communication link with your wireless client.
Due to the internal antenna placement the case is actually very thin with the rear panel consisting of the standard four 10/100 LAN jacks, one WAN jack, 12V power jack, and a pinhole reset button with proper color coding on each connection.
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The included customer documentation is organized and easy to follow, especially if you have prior router installation experience. Upon opening the box you find a well labeled installation CD that informs you how to start the installation process. After the CD starts up you will come to a web-based menu that offers several options for setting up the router or reviewing the owner's manual.
You have two setup options that consist of a beginner's installation wizard or the option to configure the router manually by connecting directly to the browser based tool. The wizard will instruct the user in setting up the hardware and then offers a simple software setup routine. If you manually set up the router the configuration tool can be reached by entering the enclosed IP address or simply typing www.routerlogin.net.
Our first time network users found the NETGEAR browser tool to be very informative and almost as intuitive as the Belkin N1 while easily exceeding the Linksys documentation. NETGEAR only offers a limited one year warranty on this product and we found their technical support group to be very good at answering our questions.
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buleyb - Thursday, August 31, 2006 - link
After they got caught with those HTTP redirects in some of their routers in 2003, I really don't trust them. Plenty of good products from the company, but a router...I think not. Only use I see of them is to test the chipset they used...Hypernova - Thursday, August 31, 2006 - link
It this even legal?! The more I look at it the more it looked like a commerciallised ECM Chaffing weapon. This thing is devastating in an apartment.Frumious1 - Thursday, August 31, 2006 - link
I'm thinking of getting one just so I can nuke all the other wireless networks in an area. Hell, maybe I can set something up in a car and go cruising around town? Adds new meaning to the term "WAR Driving"! :DI <3 Gigabit Ethernet
lopri - Wednesday, August 30, 2006 - link
BTW it seems like Gary writes all AT articles these days. What's Anand doing? :Plopri - Wednesday, August 30, 2006 - link
I wish this article came out like 2 weeks ago. I've just bought 2 Linksys -N routers (future-proof, anyone?): one for home, one for the office. :( The performance has been terrible indeed. My system rather connects to a neighbor's unsecured network due to consistent drop of this Linksys junk. I'm just hoping the neighbor is either ignorant or nice enough to not cut me off the internet. Of course I can't even think of connecting my main rig without worrying disconnects.This got me a little curious. I'm assuming these different Draft N routers may not communicate at the "N" mode, but they are fully compatible if you select the "G" mode. Are they?
Talking about 802.11g, it'd be great if AT can test if these Draft N products have any advantage over current 802.11g products. (like G to G vs N to N)
Works with Vista pre-RC1!
Gary Key - Thursday, August 31, 2006 - link
The compatibility is just not there across the (G/N) board yet. We do have new Linksys, NETGEAR, and D-Link routers/cards coming that are suppose to show improvements. If they do, I still think it will be incremental at best. The majority of firmware and driver changes have been for compatibility issues with throughput only increasing a few percent. Our next roundup will be a quick review of the new routers with a more in-depth look at compatibility. I will say at this time that the NETGEAR PC card worked better with the Linksys router than the Linksys PC card did most of the time.
Works with 5536 also. ;-) However, Linksys has not stated official support for Vista yet. :)
yyrkoon - Wednesday, August 30, 2006 - link
Is this what 802.11i turned into ? Was supposed to offer a range of up to 50 miles, non line of sights, with speeds up to 50Gbit ( I think) was over a year ago when i read about it in wired magazine . . .buleyb - Thursday, August 31, 2006 - link
802.11i was the security (WPA2) standard, you're WAY off with that. If you're thinking more like WiMAX (802.16...), then that's the fast wireless at distance, but still not what this article is about...gerf - Wednesday, August 30, 2006 - link
"Fast Ehternet network"I'm not concerned, as there were drafts of "G" put out before it was official. If you're so ancy to get "N" then go ahead. At least you'll be funding/encouraging further development.
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, August 30, 2006 - link
Corrected.