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 $9.94 (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: Works fine for me but probably not for everybody
Summary: 4 Stars
I have two computers in my home connected to the internet via a DSL modem. My ISP provider dynamically assigns an IP address and uses the popular pppoe protocol. Before buying the Linksys I had a hub connected to the output of the modem. My ISP was apparently happy to assign different IP addresses to both computers simultaneously and this arrangement worked fine but I didn't really have a full-fledged LAN in my home. By replacing the hub with the Linksys router that problem is solved. Now when I run Windows 98 on both computers each one can access the others files, etc. There is a price, however. With the previous arrangement I could use either PC as an SSH server to the outside world. I could, for example, leave my laptop running under Linux, jot down its current IP adress on a piece of scratch paper, and then log onto the laptop from the lab where I occasionally consult. The Linksys prevents this. I can't even ping the laptop from the outside world (or the router, for that matter.) There may be a way around this with a different configuration of the Linksys but the documentation only provides vague hints about how to set it up. I had trouble at first setting up the router. Things began to work after I uninstalled all the software for connecting directly to the ISP through the modem. I had been using Winpoet for this, for example, and removing it from my hard disk seemed to be necessary for getting to first base with the setup. My recommendation to new users is to set the little printed manual aside and CAREFULLY follow the instructions on the CD that comes with the router. I have been connected for about a month with only one glitch. Once, for no apparent reason things quit working. I had to power everything off and reboot, starting with the modem, then the router and then the PC's, allowing about one minute for each unit to go through it's self-test, handshaking, etc etc, before starting the next. Speed of access to the internet is a bit faster with the Linksys than when using the Winpoet software, although Winpoet was fast enough and was completely reliable.Customer Review: Works fine for me...
Summary: 4 Stars
I have used my Linksys BEFSR41 for over three years at this point and experienced no problems that are attributable to the unit. Through this time I have had to get the phone company to to clean up their lines and replace the DSL modem, and have had to argue with my ISP about the settings on their end. But, in all cases, the firewall/router was not the problem and even helped diagnose the real issue by presenting information that gave another view on the difficulty.My installation is a "middle of the road" type. Not a typical simple installation, as described in the setup instructions, but not using all of the advanced features of the box either. The machines behind the firewall are either Windows or LINUX boxes with usually at least two of them on line. The load on the unit is bursty but we keep it busy quite a bit of the time.
Overall, I am quite happy with the performance, features, throughput, and longevity of the Linksys product. I have tried a couple of others and found that the Linksys works as well as the others in its class and the feature set meets my needs better than the others. The fact that I don't have to spend time monitoring, fixing, or adjusting the device for months at a stretch keeps my overhead and total cost of ownership very low. My only regret is that I needed a firewall at a time when the cost of this unit was over [$]. Current prices are much more attractive.
Maintenance/environment issues that I believe are important with this device:
Use a good quality surge supressor to protect the device. Same for all of your valuable electronics, of course.
Keep up with firmware releases.
Blow the dust out of the unit so that it continues to run cool.
What I don't like, or "why I won't give it 5 stars":
Linksys technical support is hard to contact and tends to be of little help once you reach a real person.
The documentation on the more exotic features is poor. It appears to be designers/implementors notes and not at all suited for the end user. Needs a real writer to fill in and clean up before release.
Customer Review: Maybe you'll get lucky and it'll work on the first try for you...
Summary: 1 Stars
I give this product 5 stars because it works pretty well. I give it -4 stars because it took 2.5 weeks to get it to work. I read all of the mixed reviews before ordering the BEFSR41 router, but my coworker assured me that this was the one to get. I was told that you just plug it in and it works.
When I received the thing from Amazon, I inserted the CD that it says to insert before doing anything else, and I followed the onscreen instructions. At the last step, where I assume the software configures the router, it gave the error message, "router not found." So, I repeated the instructions more than once but with the same end result. I'm not a network guy, so I didn't know how to make this thing work off the top of my head. I consulted my coworker who gave me a convoluted set of instructions, and I read a few forum posts whose solutions were vaguely comparable. After trying all these ideas, and after all the aggravation and frustration, the router still didn't work.
In the end (two and a half weeks later), I found another article that suggested something I hadn't tried yet. What finally made this thing work was getting into the web-browser interface where you can adjust the settings for the router, and simply clicking on the "Clone the PC's MAC address" button. After saving the settings, the thing began working like a champ.
So, that's what worked for me. From what I read, it could be different for other people, depending on the setup. I have 2 PCs and an Xbox 360 plugged into the router and everything works fine now. I'm surprised that a big company like Cisco would market a product that's so hard to make work. There isn't even a paper manual for the router. You have to explore the installation CD for the pdf manual. Who wants to read or flip back and forth through a 70 page document on their laptop? Maybe it's my fault that I didn't call support, but I didn't feel like getting the runaround, and I didn't want to go changing a bunch of settings on the PC to make the thing work. Overall, 1/5 stars.
Customer Review: easy to set up, nice to look at
Summary: 4 Stars
About 5 minutes after I opened the box containing my Linksys Ethernet Router, I had it connected and set up without reading any instructions... the unit is clearly marked and you've really got to go out of your way to screw up.The instructions tell you what IP address to log into via your browser to get a snazzy looking login screen and administration pages. Linksys is known for its reliability and ease of use and I got recommendations from other users of this product.
My less than perfect rating for this item is their total lack of acknowledgement of the Mac platform... it is to their own detriment. I have this set up with my Mac G4/400 (AGP), but mostly due to the ease of use of the Mac platform.
This router comes with documentation for every flavor of Windows except 3.1, but does not give any instructions for Mac OS... not one word. It's hard to believe a manufacturer would have a potential audience of about 20 million Mac owners and not exploit the fact that their product works seamlessly w/ the Mac platform.
Even their website remains silent on the Mac OS, which did leave me having some guesswork and figuring out stuff on my own as well as consulting MacFixit forums, etc. The enclosed CD has additional instructions, but you guessed it... nothing regarding the Mac. For shame.
The LEDs are pretty straight forward and it's easy to see at a glance which port is having activity. The unit is designed so that additional routers can stack and fit in an inter-locking fashion so that the legs of the unit above fit in indentations of the case below. The legs have rubberized feet pads to prevent scratching of nice desks.
If you have broadband connectivity, you owe it to yourself to get a router such as this one to protect you from hackers. The Linksys Etherfast Router is known for having a dependable hardware firewall. Even if you're a Mac user, you can't do better for the price than this unit... you just may need to do some searches on the Internet for instructions by other Mac users to ease your comfort level.
Customer Review: Great product, needs more documentation, mIRC a no go...
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this product to share my dsl connection between two computers in my home. To the end of providing netsurfing and email contact to these machines, the router was simple to set up and both machines were up in a very short time. As far as install time goes, I dont think you could reasonably ask for better.I did run into a problem trying to access Dalnet's servers on IRC with the standard mIRC client. Basically, the problem comes when the server tries to identify the computer and can't get to it, assuming it is hiding it's ID with devious intent, you are automatically "killed" from the system. This only happens on Dalnet, as far as I can tell. I tried to forward the port (113 in this case) without solving the problem, even tried DMZ without success. I might be setting it up wrong myself, but the screen will accept any valid entry, even if the setting doesn't approximate something usable.
My problem isn't so much that the manual isn't very specific about how to do this (although that would be sooooo simple, with possibly with a example and screenshots for each step) because they are clear to let you know they don't even support all of their OWN features, much less someone elses program. Tech support had no clue what IRC was, which didn't bolster my confidence that they had researched what it might be used for. It just surprised me that they were not prepared in any way for what is a common use for computers these days, which is keeping in touch through chat rooms. And I have been able to get no help in resolving what I know is a simple setup analomy. Frustrating.
However, in honesty, I can't rate the unit poorly for the oversight of support and manuals. As a piece of networking hardware, it does a great job and is very configurable. I like it a lot, but I am very frustrated that the documentation and tech support is so poor. It really holds down a good product from being a great one. By the way, any suggestions on this are welcome at rickpark@swbell.net