Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have been using the 2804WBR for several months now, and it has worked flawlessly. The difference in throughput between it and our 802.11b base stations is quite obvious.
Some observations on the other reviews of this product:
1. Current product does not appear to have any unresolved bugs, and should new firmware be released, the firmware upgrade process is extremely easy, requiring only a web browser.
2. The statement that the 2804 "cannot act as an access point" is simply incorrect. If you do not connect anything to the WAN port on the 2804, all it can do is act as an access point, and unremarkably, that's all it does. Mine is doing just that -- we have two other 802.11b routers on our network, one of which is our internet gateway and the other (an original Apple Airport base station) is acting as an AP.
Note that if you are going to use the 2804 as an access point, you probably want to turn off its DHCP server, because you probably already have another one operating.
One of the unheralded features of the 2804 (and all recent SMC routers) is that the router does not have to be rebooted for configuration changes to take effect -- you just press a button on the appropriate configuration page, and the change is saved and active. This means that in a multi-user environment you don't trash other users' connectivity when making configuration changes. Very cool, and fairly rare in consumer-grade routers.
All configuration is via web-browser, with separate "easy" and "pro" configuration systems. The 2804 configures and operates flawlessly with Macs as well as PCs, and presumably Linux boxes also.
The 2804 also has removable antennas, making it possible to add an external antenna without breaking out a soldering iron or cracking the case.
I would recommend the 2804 to anyone who needs its capabilities -- it is economical, simple to configure, and yet offers sophisticated capabilities if you want to delve into the settings a little.
The only criticism that I have of the unit is that it does not directly support dyndns.org -- but since that can be handled by a free client daemon on your computer, that is of little consequence.
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SMC2804WBR Barricade g 2.4GHz 54 Mbps Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband RouterThe Barricade g 2.4GHz 54Mbps Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband Router (SMC2804WBR) is the perfect networking solution for any home and business user that is looking for a simple, all-in-one network product. This platform independent multi-functional router combines a 4-port 10/100 Mbps dual-speed switch with Automatic MDI-MDIX feature, a high speed 54Mbps wireless access point, two detachable antennas, Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall security, network management, and Virtual Private Network (VPN) passthrough support into one convenient device. The new Barricade g offers a high data rate that is up to 5 times faster than the widely used 802.11b wireless LAN and is backward compatible with existing 802.11b network devices. The high performance Barricade g Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband Router offers an integrated Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall. This firewall provides protection against hacker invasions, such as Denial of Service (DoS) attacks by analyzing individual data packets, as they pass through the Barricade g, to ensure that only authorized packets are allowed access to the network.
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