Besides the fact that it looks really cool, it almost took me longer to get it out of the box than it did to set it up. No kidding! Using the QuickStart guide, I was up and running in less than ten minutes. You hook up the necessary cables, restart your computer, log-in to the Linksys website to configure your router, restart your computer again, and you're good to go.

I wasn't as optimistic about setting up my Power Mac G3. However, I was pleasantly surprised and it took me all of about five minutes before I was doing some high-speed surfing on that machine as well. Fortunately, my Mac has an Ethernet port so it was just a matter of attaching the CAT-5 cable from there to the Linksys and setting the TCP/IP control panel to the Ethernet and DHCP options. I saved my configuration, opened up my browser and spent the next two hours high-speed surfing with no problems.

I have no problem recommending the Linksys, especially for its ease of setup on a PC and Mac network. While I would have preferred a wireless setup, they've received mixed reviews and I was concerned about Mac compatibility. After seeing how well my Mac performs with this Linksys, I'm ready to make ours a wired household!

219 of 229 found the following review helpful:

Easy to Install. Easy to use.  May 11, 2000

I worried this product would be hard to install, configure and use. This sounds silly since I'm an engineer working at a dot-com company, building a large Internet network. Even engineers get stuck with computer hardware they can't get to work. Also, being net savvy, I tend to want my network hardware to work MY way and not in some configuration deemed "good" by marketing monkeys. All fears quickly faded, however as the router was up and running with my network 15 minutes after opening the box.

Ease of use is important, as I frequently distrust technical support for networking products. No fault of Linksys, but years with inept customer service apes, trained only to hold phones, ruined me. If I can not get a product to work in short order when other, equivalent products exist, I quickly return, exchange and try again. Thankfully, I did not have to do so. The Linksys jumped all hurtles without effort.

Ease of use goes past the install to the packaging and into the web-based configuration. The packaging comes with a quick start guide. Smart. Impatient males with more eagerness than brains don't want to read manuals, even short ones. The quick start has everything you need to get online in short order. If you need the advanced features, like port redirection, a DMZ host, or PPP over ethernet, the manual is friendly and the configuration screens are kind. Five minutes after surfing the web, I reconfigured my PC to have a static IP address (rather than the DHCP generated address, given to me by the quick start guide), and set up port redirection for my web server.

DHCP is great, especially if you take tote your laptop between home and work. DHCP is a service, run on a network, allowing computers on the network to ask what their IP addresses, gateways, DNS servers and subnet masks are. The DHCP server replies, allowing computers to dynamically configure themselves based on what network the computer is on. Thus, you can conveniently carry your laptop into work, hook it up without reconfiguring the networking. If you're me, you're likely too lazy to set up a UNIX computer on your network just for a DHCP server. So, having the Linksys Cable/DSL router provide DHCP is a big bonus.

Net novices may wonder if this router is a risk to have. With all the media attention, you likely think an army of computer and network savvy teens are just waiting for you to go online, so they can infect and hack your computer. I've never had a problem, but then, I'm cautious from where I download software and with whom I interact. One risk is placing a bad password on your router, allowing others to reconfigure your network. I envision several lazy people not bothering to change the default password on their Linksys routers, creating some minor havoc.

However, because the router uses network address translation, you have the potential to be safer as outsiders see only the IP address of your router and not your host. So far as I know, the only listening port on the router is the embedded wed server and any in-bound port-forwarding you set up, so people trying to get in, from the outside, will likely rely on you to do something dumb. A few dumb things include an easily guessed password on the router -- your first name, or the word "router" are really terrible ideas -- downloading software from any web page with the words "d00d" or "kewl," or setting up a web server from an old Linux distribution without checking CERT advisories for known security holes. More dumb things exist. Use common sense, but never fear making mistakes; it's just a computer.

If you have several computers in your home and want them all to be networked, the Linksys can do the job. Yes, only 5 ports exist on the back, but 10 megabit per second (MBPS) hubs are less than $30 and 100 MBPS hubs are around $100. Multiples of either hub can be added, to get up to 255 computer on your network. Though, if you have 255 computers, just using hubs will lead to frightening performance problems, but one hopes, anyone with so many computers, knows better.

72 of 73 found the following review helpful:

Incredible value  May 22, 2000
By James McCarty
The combination of features and the price make this a great unit. Before I start, a word of warning - I use the product with RoadRunner in Columbus, Ohio; we are a pure DHCP with no login style of cable system; your "mileage" may vary depending or your ISP.

I had this unit setup and working in 5 minutes. 1 - Turn off the cable modem and your PC. 2 - Install the DSL router. (Use good quality NON-crossover cables.) 3 - Turn on the cable modem. 4 - Turn on the DSL router. 5 - Turn on the PC. You are done. For most people, this is all that is needed.

Open your browser and point it to 192.168.1.1 and check the release level of the software. Then, check LinkSys and verify you have the latest version. A couple of the early releases had a few "gotchas".

I have used this router with a combination of machines running NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 2000 (Professional and Advanced Server), and Red Hat Linux with no problem (There shouldn't have been since this is a standard DCHP server and NAT box.)

I just finished a 60Mb down load with no problem.

Some people may need more functionality than this box delivers (advanced filtering, etc.) This is NOT a $2000 Cisco router and it doesn't try to be. Check you needs and if you are a typical SOHO user; this unit will most likely fill the bill.

41 of 41 found the following review helpful:

Excellent Product  Oct 28, 2000
By Jon
I'm a Cox@Home subscriber, and my PC was the 'Server' for 2 other PC's for my kids, through an ethernet hub and the use of Wingate internet sharing software. Wingate was good, but could be temperamental at times.

This little jewel (Linksys Router) solved the problem of my PC having to be on all the time for the other two PC's to access the internet, and eliminated for a second NIC in my PC, which of course frees up resourses in my machine.

Installation was a snap, just by following the instructions. However, it took a few tries and I did have to tinker with the TCP/IP settings a little. If you have @Home cable service, on the first PC you install, you will open up your browser with the address of 192.168.1.1, and input the following data per the instructions:

1. No "Host Name" needed. 2. "Domain Name" should be set to your assigned @Home name, i.e., CX000000-X. 3. You should click "Specify an IP Address" and enter your static IP address. (if you don't know it, it should be on your @Home paperwork, or there are instructions included on how to 'ping' yourself to get it.) 4."Subnet Mask" should have automatically filled-in itself (255.255.255.0) 5.The "Default Gateway Address" I found on my Cox@Home paperwork, and it was similar but not identical to my IP address. 6."DNS(Required) 1: and 2:" were also included on my paperwork, but for Cox@Home subscribers, these items were listed as: 'primary dns server ip address' and 'sec dns server ip address'. An entry under "3:" was not required.

On #5 and 6 above, if you don't have your paperwork from your original @Home installation, you will probably have to call your provider to get the numbers.

Performance has been the same or better as before with the hub. My son does some interactive gaming on the net with some state of the art graphics and programs. No problem! Napster works fine. The added benefit of a REAL firewall is nice. "GRC.COM" doesn't know any of the 3 PC's exist! No more superfluous Black Ice or Zone Alarms hits.

I wish I'd heard about this product sooner. I read all of the other 180 or so reviews on this site before I bought it, so I had professional networking friend standing by if needed, but I did it all myself! ....

Pax, Jon

69 of 73 found the following review helpful:

Great Product...I wish it was more reliable  Aug 28, 2000

Everything about this product makes you want to likeit:

1. Excellent features; router/firewall + 4 port hub(100/10 Mbps) 2. Good configuration flexibility such as DHCP served or static IP's, port forwarding and filtering, DMZ facility for video conferencing and on-line work where NAT can really screw you up. 3. Really easy to configure via a web interface, just type http://192.168.1.1 plus username/password and you're in! 4. A great price point for what you get.

THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE A SOHO NETWORK ROUTER CATEGORY KILLER

EXCEPT.....my machine regularly 'seizes up' and cannot access the Net. The MTBF is utterly predictable at ~48 hours and a quick power re-cycle clears the problem. I've had my machine for 6 weeks now, so there has been adequate time to confirm that this is a persistent fault. From reading many posts on Usenet and www.dslreports I *know* other BEFSR41 users have this problem too. In fact another reviewer on Amazon talks about it. I just sent Linksys support an email detailing the problem with an IP Monitor log from one of my machines. Yet to hear back. I take reliability very seriously, and these days equipment such as the BEFSR41 *should* be more reliable. Accordingly I cannot recommend it unless you are happy to live with the same situation that I currently have. It's a real pity, given the many positive attributes.

P.S Amazon service is great. ...

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