Networking Reviews

I bought this product about a year ago because of its router and bridge function, and presumably Linksys reputation. I wanted to network my two kids' computers at the other end of the house through the phoneline. I have the Netgear PA-301 card (a great product) in their computers. Installation of the HPRO200 was easy, but performance poor. My connection speed (both ethernet and phoneline) dropped sharply and became slightly better than my old 56k. Linksys tech support which was very marginal, (took several phone calls and a run around between markedly different 2 cents opinions), finally after reaching someone who knew, advised me to upgrade the firmware. That part actually was easy and improved the speed some, but still slow. Linksys finally admitted this was a known issue with this product and were "working" on newer upgrades "at some point in the near future". Fortunately, I was still within my 30 days, and returned it for a refund. Instead I got a separate router (D-link DI704) & phoneline bridge (Netgear PE102), both of which work great. Maybe you will have better luck than me, but I cannot recommend this Linksys product.

I live in an old multi-room apartment with thick concrete walls and long hallways. A wireless network wasn't the solution for me (even my cordless phones give out from room to room), but HPNA was a less-expensive and much simpler solution. I have the HPRO200 with a desktop running Windows 95 on the LAN side, and a laptop running Windows XP roaming the network in all the other rooms using a Linksys USB200HA adapter and plugging into phone jacks. The computers see each other and share files and broadband internet perfectly. I'm using the desktop as a print server on the network with no problems. I constantly get 10mbps speed, fast enough to watch video and download music files quickly on the roaming laptop, and the router was a piece of cake to set up. I recommend assigning static IP addresses instead of using the router's DHCP capability, which has ensured total reliability. I recommend this product for anyone in a similar situation.

I recently purchased the Linksys HPRO200 Phoneline 10M Cable/DSL Router and am very happy with its' performance. Although I did have a little trouble configuring Internet Connection Sharing, the Tech Support at Linksys was able to get me up and running after less than 5 minutes on the phone.

I previously purchased the Linksys HomeLink Phoneline 10M Network Card Kit from .... I have a Windows 2000 system networked pier to pier with a Windows ME system. Although I was able to share files between both computers, I was not able to share my Broadband Cable Internet connection.

With the Linksys Phoneline Cable/DSL Router I am now able to share my Internet Connection between both computers and I don't have to leave a "host" computer constantly running, as you would if using Internet Connections Sharing via a proxy server software program(or Microsoft Internet Connection Sharing).

In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who is interested in sharing their Broadband Internet Connection between two, or more, computers. You won't have to pay for additional IP addresses, as most Cable providers suggest in order to share your connection. You will also benefit from the Router's built-in NAT Firewall.

This switch has one *very* serious drawback, which it also shares with the more recent 704: a maximum throughput of 5MBit/s.

That means that if you have a faster connection than that (I have 10MBit) the remaining bandwidth is simply wasted. For me, transfer rates immediately dropped from 1.3Mbyte/s to 650KByte/s when I plugged this device in.

Like most of D-links gear, ie their laughably slow & buggy wireless routers, this device simply does not live up to its specs.

Avoid.

This router has the same problem as the SMC 7004ABR. When used in conjunction with older Motorola cable modems and @Home, it has serious lag for each tcp connection. For example, a web page with 30 images (no matter what size) will take almost a minute to load. The solution: get an SMC 7004BR (not ABR) or 7008BR. In other modem/isp situations it is probably just fine.

Also, someone else posted about only being able to map certain well-known ports through the firewall (FTP, HTTP, etc.), with no capability to do it by port number. The solution is to use the optional Telnet interface, which allows mapping by port number.

Once I recieved this in the mail, I was excited to try it out, but didn't think it would be so easy. You usually get a computer related product and you will have to shut down your computer, open it up, install drivers when you boot back up, etc. etc. The DI-804 was Super Quick and Easy to install. All i had to do was write down what my network settings are now, and change them to detect IP Automatically, (2 minutes), plug in each computer Physically with Ethernet cables, (2 minutes) and turn the power on to the router and reboot the computers, (4 minutes). When the computers came to, I was able to access the Internet from both computers right away. Then i went to go test the firewall, and my network is in Stealth Mode now. This product is unbelieveable easy to set-up (follow instructions) and works like a charm. I highly recommend this to anyone, who wants to share their blazing cable modem access and isn't exactly a network professional.

If you use this KVM you'll loose almost all extra features and functions of your keyboard e.g. thumb-button, internet-shortkeys-buttons (my Logitech products are seriously crippled), and the support even advise against using cordless products. None of this information you'll find in the manual or on the retail-box!

Having used an older Linksys KVM for several years, I chose Linksys again. Unfortunately this was not a good choice. The hot key switching does not always work. I use a Logitech Cordless keyboard and Cordless trackball and the double click does not get processed quick enough to switch about 25% of the time. Get a hard button KVM as well as hotkeys.

This KVM (as well as many others on the market) uses mouse and keyboard emulation, which allows one machine to be booting while the other machine is selected.

This particular switch is hardwired to emulate a generic 2-button wheel-type mouse, which means that any other type of mouse (like an old trackball, in my case) will probably not work correctly.

Some KVMs say explicitly (in their product spec) that they support particular mice models or types. For example, Startech's Ultra Compact 2-Port KVM Switch (SV211MICRO) supports MS Intellimouse (Pro Version), MS Explorer and MS Optical Mouse.

So the upshot is:

If you have a generic 2-button wheel-type mouse, any KVM should work; otherwise, you need to look for a KVM that explicitly supports your mouse model or type. And if you have a really old mouse, you may be out of luck.

I had a DLink wired router through which I connected my desktop (Gateway), Laptop (Dell) and IMac. I bought an IPAQ 4100 (built in 902.11b) and thought I might as well get onboard the wireless wave and try it out. I nervously tore the DLink out, followed the directions that Microsft sent with the unit and I was up and running in no time. I had a little trouble at first, but a quick call to Microsoft Network Tech support (free for two years with purchase of product)solved the problem. They just had me shut everything down, then resart everything. It all worked - the laptop through the included wireless network adapter, the IPAQ, and the Imac (wired). The shared printer took a little time to figure out, but that too is now up and running.
Great product. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Im a CCNA and i am a fan of all that is networking, im always setting up workgroups at my house using wired networks for playing Age of Empires and Warcraft. It usually takes me 30 minutes to setup the network, sometimes even more. Since i get this wireless Kit, setting up the network is a first time 10 minutes...... Then... its just enter to the room and all ready to go. The router has a very good performance, i have very goog signal all over the house. Im very satisfaced with this product. The network performs great.
But this product is for a home or a home office network, por medium size business i don't recommend it. It`s better go with Linksys, it has a stronger signal but if you wanted to get wireless at your house, it is better this kit because it saves you money and has good performance. It is of easy installing and easy programing even if your are not a computer geek like me.
A friend of mine has a Netgear wireless card and when he comes home he has 0 trouble to connect to my network (obviosly i had disconected the security on my router)and has full signal.
I haven`t experienced any downside for the time been like some of the reviewers here. First time that Microsoft makes a product that fully satisfies me.

We all have different configurations so some will have problems and others won't but this product worked perfectly for me the very first time and I've been using it for weeks now. The range is amazing. I can walk all over my house and my yard with maximum signal most of the time. I'm impressed and very happy. The price is also less than that of competitors 802.11g products.

I have mine broke down 3 times. Twice before Netgear replaced it for "free", since it still under warranty. But each time they charge $10-12 for shipping. At this rate I could have bought a new one instead of putting up with the inconvenience. I think this box is very sensitive to power on/off cycles. It broke first time during the east coast power outage.

I wanted to jump on the wireless bandwagon and after searching around for one of the best recommended wireless, dsl-router Access Points, I found the Netgear FM114P.

I had some problems initially getting the AP up and running with the wireless side of the house. After disabling the SSID, I finally was able to get the wireless working. Then I was finally able to get the SSID working (I think this was more an inexperience on my part with how to configure the Wireless side on Windows XP).

The features were nice. I never got to try some of the more exotic features like the filtering or emailing when DoS type attacks occurred.

It seemed like once a day, I had to reset the unit due to loss of connection. This may actually in some way be related to DHCP loss of lease, but I didn't ever get to trouble shoot this one due a later problem.

When updating the configuration via the web browser, often times when I Updated or anything getting submitted, it sometimes returned back to me or other times would lock up the web browser session (partically I believe because the AP was resetting in the process, so this might not be a real issue).

I can't remember if I updated the firmware, but I believe I did.

I left the unit on 24-7 (although not in use 24-7) and it seem to work for a while.

After using the AP for about 2-3 weeks, I was trying to do a "normal" reset of the AP and found that it would not reset as it had in the past.

I called Netgear, since I wasn't able to do anything with it. They didn't give much help except to say that while under the 30 days since purchase I should return it and get it replaced.

I apparently misunderstood something in the Amazon.com return policy and was given a refund instead of a replacement, so I will have to either purchase it again or look into something newer.

I bought this router after having months of trouble with a Linksys BEFW11P1, which died one night with the fatal red diagnostic light refusing to go off.

It is everything it advertises. It gets excellent range thanks to it's detachable antenna, and I might add that it's WiFi Certified. I get 11Mb reception in places where I previously got 2. That's quite a jump.

It's firewall is tough, and solid as well. SPI is a great feature to have these days.

It comes with plenty of aided setup material to get someone with no experience with home networking up and running.

The print server is pretty zippy, just like the one in the Linksys, but more reliable.

New firmware is constantly coming out, and features are being introduced all the time. Features in the beta firmware (free download) currently not advertised for this product include UPnP support, traceroute support, improved device table, logging of sites visited, SSID broadcast can be disabled, as well as compatibility fixes. Soon this firmware will become stable and available to everyone.

It's a great product. I highly recommend it. It's good now, and Netgear seems dedicated to making it better.

Never worked properly in windows 2000, but that could be due to something else. However:

If you have this MA311 card in a Windows 2000 computer then upgrade to XP, IT WILL NOT WORK!

I have tried this process on two separate PCs; the card is then unusable in that machine afterwards, no amount of changing PCI slots, un/reinstalling drivers helps, you just various annoying windows errors such as 'driver installation was unsuccessful'.

Tech support are quite useless and sound very much like they're reading from a script, mainly because that's exactly what they're doing.

Software & support 1 star, card 5 stars. I have two of these, and they work quite well with M$ generic drivers for Windows 2000 & XP, and Linux Orinoco drivers.

Netgear's own software is lousy on Windows- aside from the installer corrupting my registry once and putting a bunch of icons on my desktop, it doesn't add anything beyond Microsoft's. Their drivers don't even exist for Linux, but since they use a generic chipset, most distributions can support it. Their telephone support doesn't exist, and it is nearly impossible to find any helpful information on the MA311 on their website.

Those negatives aside, the card works quite well, which is the most important issue for me. If you're technically competent and don't need any handholding, this isn't a bad card.

I use this card with the Netgear MR814 802.11b Wireless 4-Port Cable/DSL Router and they work together flawlessly.
I've had my network up since November every single day without spending more than 2 hours to set it all up. The signal strength I get is really good even with two floors between the router and the wireless card.
For those of you interested this card works great with Linux as well. I use kernel 2.4.24 and I never have a problem, while I had some issues with versions up to 2.4.20.

It works equally well with XP and 2K as well.

First, let me say that I'm a loyal Netgear customer - I love their wired and wireless products and I usually don't even want to consider purchasing any other brand. Which is all the more reason why it pains me to say that FA311 is a really bad piece of hardware. When running many types of online software (games, P2P, etc.) FA311 will cause your PC to crash (you've been warned!) Some experts have attributed the problem to FA311 Win XP driver; however, Netgear refuses to acknowlege this and has no updates available as of this writing. And although you can install fixed 3rd party drivers for this card, I'd recommend to play it safe and avoid FA311 altogether!

To keep my small business network running, I've always tried to reduce costs where possible. Unfortunately, when it comes to network cards, using the lowest possible priced Ethernet card can be false economy.

The Netgear FA311 is one of the only cards I've come across where oddball compatibility issues don't arise. With others, there's always an issue or two, however minor they may be. A D-Link card that prevents a home automation package from working. A Linksys card that conflicts with an online streaming video technology. I could go on. The Netgear costs just a few dollars more than these others, but is still well under the price of brands such as 3Com in most cases.

For me, on all the machines I've tried, the FA311 installs quickly and easily, and works marvelously.

I have only one caution: Windows 2000 users should download and have ready the latest drivers from the Netgear web site. Across two FA311 purchases, the drivers delivered on the packaged floppy had various problems (e.g., major packet loss). I'm used to doing that as a matter of course for the majority of driver-dependent computer goodies, so I didn't find it to be a hassle in this case.

I have bought over 5 of these for home and office use. They work flawlessy and for the price you cannot beat the functionality. I was running Windows 95 or Windows 98 on all the computers. Setup was a snap. Just pop in the card to an empty slot. Then install the drivers from the floppy disk that comes in the package. Worked flawlessly everytime. I had no problems hooking up the ethernet card to a Linksys DSL/Cable Router, Netgear ethernet hubs, or a college dorm ethernet connection.

Get this card and you will get the convenience of file and print sharing when used in conjunction with some sort of hub and windows network neighborhood. Anyone with little to no computer expertise can do this just by following the instructions. It may be a little difficult if you are scared of computers, but it can still be done. Just follow the pictures that come on the step by step setup foldout.

Setting up the access point was a little difficult, but once the right settings were tweaked, this thing hums along with little problems. The signal strength is high even to the backyard: makes working outside on the nice days easy. The security options are nice, since this can screen wireless cards unless you input their hardware address. Some fiddling with ports was necessary to get the virtual private networking (VPN) to go through correctly, but some help can be found on the internet. This access point also plays well with other vendor's PC cards.

However, there are some issues with the PC card. This setup comes with version 4 (v4) of the card. There are SEVERE issues if you need to use a VPN to log into work. This card simply will not do it--but oddly, version 3 (v3) WILL. This is known on Linksys' website, but no fix is available. The v4 also seems to get worse reception than v3.

Overall, it can work well, but be careful with the version of the PC card.

I have purchased the Wireless B Network kit.

The laptop cards works perfectly.
The access point and router is working but not all of its features work. Connecting few wireless PCs and wired PCs works perfectly, DHCP server works as well.
However, connecting to the internet using PPTP standard doesn't work for me. I'm having problems with setting the router to use PPTP connection type to my ISP.
For some reason, it gets disconnected from the internet after 1 or 2 minutes.
I had to upgrade the ADSL modem to support PPPoE.
Setting the router to connect the internet via PPPoE works fine!

I got no explanations from Linksys why PPTP didn't work for me.

Everything works well on this router. I was able to install it and get everything up and running in just a few minutes.

The only complaint that I have is that my old Linksys router had a DMZ port on the back that could be configured to be permanently outside the firewall. This made it great for hosting internet games like Ghost Recon. I could switch between DMZ and firewall by just moving the cat5 cable. This router doesn't have that port. Instead, you have to configure a static IP address to be outside the firewall. This one is not as easy to switch between Firewall and DMZ.

The wireless range is good. I put the router in my basement and I can connect with my laptop in every room in the house. Including the second floor (3 floors above the basement). The signal strength is excellent and the signal quality is excellent.

Apparently some have success with this unit and some don't. I bought the V3 unit and put the 2.50.2 firmware on it and 50k is the best download speed I can get. Spent time on the phone with LinkSys and they said take it back. Weird thing is, my upload speed is over 200k, about what it should be.

Prior to purchasing this Linksys product 2 weeks ago, I was very satisfied with Linksys and owned a number of other Linksys products, including a KVM switch, wireless access point, wireless LAN card, and 1-port Cable/DSL router.

I bought this product because I wanted an 8-port switch. The fact that they had a combo DSL/Cable rouer + 8 port switch convinced me to buy this product since I could save space and power, and I would also be able to use my 1-port router for other stuff like creating a separate subnet.

However, I had problems with this product when I replaced my 1-port Cable/DSL router with this one. I had to reset it (unplug and re-plugged in) multiple times per day. Finally I gave up and went back to using my 1-port DSL/Cable just starting using this thing as an 8-port switch. Since then, I haven't had any problems with this product.

From reading other reviews, this doesn't seem like an isolated issue. Linksys looks to have a defective product, and there are no firmware updates available (yet) on their website.

This product is doing everything I bought it to do, at a very resaonable price. It allows multiple systems to share an ISP broadband connection. It also acts as a firewall (attacks to the home PC have stopped according to NetIce Defender). Please note, that I am only using this product as a gateway and not a router!

Today, I share my ISP connection between home PC and work laptop computers {via a VPN tunneling product). I expect to have additional home computers in the future. I am confident that I'll be able to safely (securely) share printers and files between them.

I particularly liked BEFSR81's ability to configure the WAN port hardware address. This allowed using the home PC hardware address. If needed, this allows easy trouble shooting. I can remove easily remove the Linksys router and test the ISP connection with the home PC. If you do this, I recommend providing the original Linksys hardware address to the ISP in case the programming is removed. I did (no sense jeopardizing your relationship with ISP)!

The documentation was good, except around setting the hardware address. It is clear what to do to the Linksys router, but completely lacking in information about how to determine your computer's hardware address. For MicroSoft operating systems use either winipcfg for Win98 and ipconfig for NT or Win2000.

My last learning of interest, concerns accessing the router after you connect with the ISP. My ISP configured a proxy script on the home PC. I wasn't able to access router until I disabled the script (easily checked on/off in Tools/Internet Connection/LAN settings). This demonstrates the security functionality! The router's LAN address is on your private network. The Linksys router is a firewall between it and the public network containing the proxy server.