Microsoft Broadband Networking Wireless Base Station Router MN-500
by Microsoft

List Price: $79.99
Our Price: $20.00
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Category: CE
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Digital Photo Product Details

• Easy-to-use Setup Wizard
• Strong security features, including a built-in firewall, Network Address Translation (NAT), and default 128-bit wireless security (WEP)
• Universal Plug and Play for seamless UPnP applications, such as voice messaging, video messaging, and games
• Broadband Network Utility for easy monitoring of your network status
• Toll-free product support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Microsoft Broadband Networking Wireless Base Station Router MN-500

Customer Review: MN-500 - Doesn't get any easier than this
Summary: 5 Stars

I have had over 6+ years dealing with computer hardware and software, but networking I have never had real formal experience dealing with, so I was a bit ansy when it came to purchasing and setting up my first wireless network. The wireless hardware market is relatively consolidated between Linksys, Netgear, DLink, and to a smaller extent, Microsoft. I chose to go with MN-500 over the others because of my excellent previous experience with other Microsoft hardware.

I purchased it, got home, opened the box - was surprised that the router could stand up or lay flat on it's side - a great feature. Came with all necessary cables and great instructions. Hooking up cables and driver installation was a breeze on Win98. Then it came to setting up my wireless information: my SSID, base station password, channel, WEP key, and some other information. Having not worked with wireless before, it was very intuitive. Got everything correct, then went through the painful process of setting up my wireless USB adapters. Had to reboot the MN-500 once in order to get the USB adapters to recognize the network, but after doing so it worked perfectly.

The MN-500 configuration page shows what computers are hooked up to your network, and the management page has all the usual options: WEP, NAT Firewall, Mac and Client Filtering, LAN and WAN setup, and logging. Very easy to use.

In terms of performance - the MN-500 has been reviewed by many major sites and has been called the slowest in terms of performance of any wireless router. I don't transfer files often between computers so that is not much of an issue. The speed it does transfer files at is more than adequate. In terms of download speed over the internet, the speed is the same on the wireless computers as it is on the wired computer.

The base station itself - features 4 ports for wired access, and status indicator lights showing if the router is having problems, what port is using the network, and so forth. The MN-500 automatically assigns DHCP IP Addresses, so there's no need to manually do it unless you enjoy the challenge. Also, the MN-500 is XBox Live! and XBConnect compatible, so getting your XBox online is as simple as plugging it into the router.

My only gripes about the router: you cannot turn off auto broadcast. That might be a security concern to some, especially if you live in an apartment. (My router is next to a window so I'm kind of concerned) My other gripe: this might be wishful thinking, but you should not be able to lock yourself out of the router through mac filtering, which unfortunately, is possible with this router. (Easily avoided by doing a hard reset on the router)

Overall however, this router is great for the newbie wireless user or even the advanced. It's a great piece of hardware that's easy and simple to use and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Description of Microsoft Broadband Networking Wireless Base Station Router MN-500

Features include an easy-to-use setup wizard, designed to make connecting your computers together easier. The router comes with strong security features, including a built-in firewall, Network Address Translation (NAT), and access control lists. The 4-port router easily connects to your network with universal plug and play for functionality such as voice messaging, video messaging, and games. You can also monitor your network status easily with Microsoft broadband network utility.

Included in the box with this wireless router are a stand (detachable), power supply cable, Ethernet cable, startup guide, user's guide, setup CD-ROM, and a blank floppy disk.

System requirements include: a computer with a network adapter to configure the router, an external broadband (cable, DSL, or other) modem with Ethernet port (not compatible with dial-up modems), Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or Netscape Navigator 4.7 or later to view and use the management tools, and an available 120 V AC power outlet.

Additional requirements include: a computer running Windows 98, 98 SE, Me, 2000 Professional, XP Professional, or XP Home Edition, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later (setup will install Internet Explorer 6.0 browser components, if necessary, but will not displace your primary browser), 28 MB of available hard disk space if you already have Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.0 (132 MB of available hard disk space if you are installing Internet Explorer for the first time), a 4x or faster CD-ROM drive, and a VGA or higher resolution monitor.

Note: Not all Internet service providers (ISPs) allow the sharing of a broadband connection. Please check with your ISP.