What's the best router for my T43?

[aerangis2002]

After a month's wait, I finally received my 2687D5U. It's got a mini PCI adapter II and Bluetooth; but I need your suggestions for a wireless router. I currently have Verizon DSL but no router for my desktop.

Looking for a top of the line router that doesn't drop connections, has good range and that's relatively easy to set up. I've searched the reviews, but there's never a clear winner. Except, perhaps...

Have read that the Belkin Pre-N is pretty good, but does it require adding separate card to the computer also?

[Puttagee]

Go with LinkSys, I have the WRT54G for about a year now no problems. They are very easy to setup and work great.

[Vindicated]

I second the WRT54G Linksys router. As far as performance in speed they'll all be the same, but the Linksys is built using a little better parts making it less prone to crashing. Routers are really just simplied bare bones computers most having a 100mhz processor and 4MB of ram. But the WRT54G has a 200Mhz cpu with 16MB of ram. Normally you won't notice a real difference, but this extra power allows you (with third-party firmware) to "overclock" it. For example, the power sent just for the attennas is usually 50% - with hacked firmware you can boost this value higher to 605 or 70% for better coverage. Or if you want extra security you can decress the value so your network doesn't bleed over into your neighbors house.

Using third-party firmware you can even turn your router into a secure hot-spot allowing your friends or the community to share your internet without putting your own connection at risk. Or maybe you want a VPN router and don't want to pay $200+ dollars - the linksy router with the right firmware can do that too. So while you don't get any true performance benfit compared to all the other routers, you do get a more stable one that has a lot more versitility for the same price.

[Nolonemo]

I get occasional drops with a DLink DI-624, something commonly reported in forums, so I'd avoid that one.

[Toe]

WRT54G Linksys = good.

-Toe

[beerak]

LinkSys (CiscoSystems) is the best.

[a31pguy]

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1769239,00.asp

Hack it up! The Linksys aka Cisco WRT54G has a lot of options for it. "Satori" firmware allows you to adjust the boost to your signal output level and change antenna diversity. SSH? Built in.

[Puttagee]

I second the WRT54G Linksys router. As far as performance in speed they'll all be the same, but the Linksys is built using a little better parts making it less prone to crashing. Routers are really just simplied bare bones computers most having a 100mhz processor and 4MB of ram. But the WRT54G has a 200Mhz cpu with 16MB of ram. Normally you won't notice a real difference, but this extra power allows you (with third-party firmware) to "overclock" it. For example, the power sent just for the attennas is usually 50% - with hacked firmware you can boost this value higher to 605 or 70% for better coverage. Or if you want extra security you can decress the value so your network doesn't bleed over into your neighbors house.

Using third-party firmware you can even turn your router into a secure hot-spot allowing your friends or the community to share your internet without putting your own connection at risk. Or maybe you want a VPN router and don't want to pay $200+ dollars - the linksy router with the right firmware can do that too. So while you don't get any true performance benfit compared to all the other routers, you do get a more stable one that has a lot more versitility for the same price.

Vindicated, have you tried the signal boosting? Also, where can I get the firmware that allows VPN?

[jdhurst]

Actually, a Netopia router is every bit as good as LinkSys (I have used them both) and comes with a firewall (must be configured and enabled) that works on top of NAT and prevents entry of any kind initiated from outside if that is what you desire. I like the Netopia better having used both brands and that is what I use now. ... JD Hurst

[Vindicated]

www.linksysinfo.org is a website & forum like this one, anything you wanted to know about third party firmware you can learn there. Have I tried the signal booting myself? Honestly no, the way I have my network setup I get excellent signal as is. There wouldn't be any need or benifit to boosting my router's signal. I just love the idea that I can.

You really don't need the third-party firmware. It's just free bonus features - and if two routers cost the same, why not go for the one that has more features. You never know what you'll do with it down the road.

[GomJabbar]

Well I hate to ruin this love fest (well not really), but since jdhurst started it, I'll just continue.

Just in case you missed it, you router purchasers here may want to consider this link.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=14151

Myself, I never tried Linksys. I have a SMC router. All I can say about it is that it works OK.

[aerangis2002]

Thanks for everyone's input. I picked up the Linksys WRT54G. Installing it on my desktop was a breeze, but not being a techie, getting the T43 to access the web is another matter.

[Vindicated]

If you run into more troubles and want to start over then go to http://linksys.com/easy and download NetSet. This should automatically configure and setup your wireless network. It actually works a lot better then the software that came with your router. Once you got your network setup, open your browser and type http://192.168.1.1 then click on the Wireless tab and under Wireless Basic Settings choose 'disable SSID Broadcasting' - by doing this you'll make your network virtually invisible. The next step is to click on Wireless MAC Filter and click enable & Permit Only PCs listed. This will automatically reject and block every connection attempt from a computer you did not specifically allow - such as your neighbor or the Wardriving hacker down the street in his minivan.

After that just change the username and password and you should be all set. If you decide you need a little more power or features, by all means download a third-party firmware. If you want to test your router's built-in firewall (which I recomend you do) do a google search for "Shields Up" - it's a good little port scan utility that will show you how well your protected from inbound threats (threats from the outside trying to get inside your system). Choose the Check All Service Ports test and see how well you did. The best score is when all ports are hidden from detection (e.g. stealthed). Regardless of how you do, you'll still want a good firewall like ZoneAlarm Pro (I highly highly highly!!! recomend that program; sygate is another choice but ZA Pro is IMO much better).

[pipspeak]

I've never understood why people fork out for g-routers just for internet surfing. I still use my trusty Netgear b-router and it's plenty fast enough for a 1500 DSL connection. I just wish I could add a high-gain antenna.

[stevepre2005]

pipspeak,

People don't just use wireless to surf internet anymore. I use wireless for all of my computer, and my XBOX (I modified it to be a media player) can stream video from my PC (through wireless).

b-rate is definitely not enough.

And about router, yes, Linksys WRT54G(S) is the best. All other routers drop their prices, lots of rebates while WRT54G(S) keeps its price. There is a reason for that. It's because it's the best.

For other routers, you will have to power cycle them pretty often...lots of connection drops, router reboot by itself....while Linksys, well....the up time for my router is usually months or even year. I don't remember I reset my router for almost a year.

[chrisnyc]

Question for Vindicated -- sorry if this question seems ridiculous -- BUT if I disable SSID broadcasting, when I turn on my T42 will I still get a popup telling me that my own wireless network is available ? The way I connect to my wireless network is that when the computer boots I get a message that 'wireless networks are available', and when I click on the icon I get a list of wireless networks, including several that aren't mine, and I click on mine -- my password already there (blocked out) and I log on.

And if I'm not broadcasting my network, do I need to do the Wirless MAC Filter step ?

I just finished installing a Linksys WRT54GC (it's a compact model), and while I used the CD to set up the wireless network, I couldn't connect to the internet. I called Linksys Tech support, and they referred me to that utility you mentioned, which I downloaded and ran, but my router was "not supported". So I called the "advanced" support number they gave me, and the technician -- there was a mild language barrier but I was able to understand him -- walked me through the set up -- it took 45 minutes, but everything did get set up.

So at least tech support is helpful.

I have another comment -- which is that I think the web-based setup seems somewhat strange to me -- why should I have to go online to a Linksys site -- to change the settings on my wireless router ? I have another wireless router -- which is a Microsoft one -- these were available briefly then Microsoft discontinued them -- I actually also had to have their tech support help me connect it, but my recollection is that the Microsoft router had a "Broadband Network Utility" or something like that which was actually on MY computer and could be accessed offline and changes made. I actually think that is a better idea and makes more sense.

I have the IBM a/b/g card, and in summary, with the help of Linksys Tech Support I was able to set up the WRT54GC compact router, including having choices of encryption which all worked.

Another thing is that I'm not using the IBM Wirless Access software at all; doesn't seem to be needed for me, and just another thing to have to learn how to use.

Hope my input is helpful to someone, and I'd appreciate any comments about the questions and issues I raised.

Thanks.

[Vindicated]

Turning off broadcasting makes your network invisible only to computers not already assigned to the network. When you are within range of your network, you'll automatically reconnect. I don't believe a popup actually happens, the wireless network icon in your taskbar will change though.

The idea behind the MAC filter, encypting, and disabling the blocklist is that you don't want to rely on one security feature alone. Instead it's better to have multiple layers of protection. I don't know how much of a benefit it will really make, but when you think that all over the US theres groups of people who engage in what's called WarDriving - where they activelly look for open networks to leech off of and in some cases hack the networks completly - I rather play it safe and just enable every security option I possibly can. And being it's only takes a few seconds to practically bullet proof your network - why not err on the side of caution?

The web based setup is a little weird. I think it's because so many people have problems with the included CD-Rom setup disc (I know I had problems with it). I ended up setting my network manually but had a very difficult time setting up printer sharing (turned out to be some wild disabled option in XP Pro I never even thought about) so I contacted Linksys about it and they suggested to start all over but to use the netset utility. It didn't help, I still had my printer sharing problems but I was able to trouble-shoot from some 4 and a half hours and eventually found the solution. I did however like how fast the netset utility was. A heck of a lot easier then doing everything manually.

As for the http://192.168.1.1 -- that's not a "web" based utility. Just in case theres any confusion. That's the universal default IP address routers use. You can actually change it, but theres virtually no reason to do so unless you have a bunch of routers stacked together. When you enter that default IP into your web browser, it access the router directly. it's the same as if you had a private web service on your computer and you typed in http://localhost or http://127.0.0.1 - your just connecting to yourself. With the 192.168.1.1 IP address it's your router thats hosting a private server but only the computers on your network can connect to it (this is why you password protect your network, so they can't connect to you and access these settings). Every computer has an IP address, and a router is really just a mini bare bones computer.

Boy writing that took a lot out of me. lol, now I need a soda. Anyway I hope I explained everything well. Anything you didn't understand, ask again. I'll try to go more in depth (if I can) and rephrase as needed.

[jdhurst]

I agree with multiple approaches to security and do so myself. But you really need to employ WPA security on the router and on your computer. It is fairly straightforward to beat MAC filtering and SSID broadcasting. It is also possible to break WEP security. ... JD Hurst

[GomJabbar]

Another thing is that I'm not using the IBM Wirless Access software at all; doesn't seem to be needed for me, and just another thing to have to learn how to use.

There was a short time when I wasn't using IBM Access Connections, as I was trying a new Intel wireless driver for my 2200BG card that was incompatible with IBM Access Connections. The problem during this time was that I no longer had use of the Fn + F5 key combination for turning the wireless radio on and off. I missed this feature, so I reverted to my old setup. Shortly thereafter, IBM released a new wireless driver and a new version of IBM Access Connections. I installed these and I am happy with my setup now.