I second . .

Post #34,465 by Andrew Grygus 4/4/02 10:15:46 PM Reply	I second . . We use the Linksys everywhere, even for some pretty substantial installations (20+ computers). Cheap, reliable, and supports "pinholes" and other useful features (also MAC spoofing, required for many cable connections). I must have at least 30 of those things out now. Every time we've tried a software based solution it has failed miserably. I just put in a Linksys Wireless system with the combo Hub, Firewall, Router, Wireless hub. Went slick as snail snot. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #34,467 by kmself 4/4/02 10:43:28 PM Reply	Pretty much hit that by an independent route "Look up 'DSL Router' at Office Depot and see what they've got" suggested a cow-orker. Drooling immediately commenced over the [link\|http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?prid=20&grid=5\|Linksys Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port switch] (model BEFSR41), offered for $100 by Office Depot. If it did half what it claimed at twice the price, it'd be a sweet deal: Cable Router DSL Router 4 Port Switch (not hub, folks, but switch). DHCP Firewall NAT Web-based admin interface System logging Port Forwarding DMZ 253 host capacity. There's also an eight port version available, and some related wireless products. I was pitching an idea I called a "firebrick" about two-three years ago. This is it. `-- Karsten M. Self [link\|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com\|kmself@ix.netcom.com] [link\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/\|[link\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/\|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]] What part of "gestalt" don't you understand? Keep software free. Oppose the CBDTPA. Kill S.2048 dead. [link\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html\|[link\|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html\|http://www.eff.org/...a_alert.html]]`
Post #34,550 by a6l6e6x 4/5/02 7:57:17 PM Reply	I've had the exact unit for well over a year. Works for me. Could be had for less: [link\|http://www.nextag.com/Linksys_Instant_Broadband_Etherfast~372523z3znz300200zz1zmainz2-htm\|List.] Check and update to latest firmware level. It's fairly easy. Alex "Never express yourself more clearly than you think." -- Neils Bohr (1885-1962)
Post #34,768 by tseliot 4/8/02 4:36:25 PM Reply	It does all of what it claims, I'd say. I've used both the D-Link and Linksys gateways. They're both pretty feature-rich; although I'd give the nod to D-Link for general hardware reliability. Plus they have a telnet interface. It's fine for the home user. A couple of alternate droolings: 1) If you ever want a more robust box for yourself, I'd recommend the Netopia R9100--I have one at home serving my websites (and allowing me to play CS :). Eight ports, great customizable firewalling. Not non-techie-friendly though. 2) If you are one of the unlucky ones who upgraded your DSL from 1 to 6 megs, only to find out you're still getting about a meg, Nexland makes a 2-WAN-port router, so you can effectively bind 2 incoming lines (more if you chain them, like I have). You can manually specify the binding ratios; so, for example, I have 3 DSL lines: two are bound together on one router, then that inbound signal is bound with a 3rd line. The 3rd line I have set to 1% usage--so it stays open for external connections, while the other two DSL lines are load-balanced 50/50 for outbound traffic. Pretty neat. --------------------------------- A stupid despot may constrain his slaves with iron chains; but a true politician binds them even more strongly by the chain of their own ideas;...despair and time eat away the bonds of iron and steel, but they are powerless against the habitual union of ideas, they can only tighten it still more; and on the soft fibres of the brain is founded the unshakable base of the soundest of Empires." Jacques Servan, 1767
Post #34,468 by morganek 4/4/02 10:44:21 PM Reply	Third here . . I replaced a FreeBSD box to do my DSL sharing at the house with a Linksys BEFW11S4. It worked the first time and every time. It handles the MTU problem with doing NAT over PPPoE. The wireless is just too cool to adequately describe with words. I bought my set-up at a MicroCenter (not known for good prices). The Linksys device was $170, and the laptop cards were $100 apiece (be sure to check around on Amazon for reviews--I settled for the Linksys v2 cards). The wireless interoperates with a Cisco adapter built-in on a recent Dell laptop (gf's work machine). I ended-up keeping the FreeBSD box running to do DHCP and DNS since the DHCP server built into the Linksys box does not do reservations, and my provider, BellAtlantic, is idiotic enough to use NT boxes for DNS--they go down often enough to make it worthwhile to run my own caching-only server. If you are not interested in the wireless, you may want to check eBay for one of the non-wireless models. I understand that the wireless ones are selling like hotcakes and are often displacing the older, non-wireless versions.
Post #34,479 by Meerkat 4/4/02 11:38:00 PM Reply	OT: LRPD nomination = "Slick as snail snot". I Like it! :-) On and on and on and on, and on and on and on goes John.
Post #34,482 by Silverlock 4/5/02 12:19:00 AM Reply	Yep. You suggested this to me in an earlier thread and I have never had any reason to regret following your advice. Slick as snail snot. One hell of an accurate description. I've got about 300 field employees I support. About half of them have a setup in their home that uses this now. It has significantly cut down my support calls. I should have said this before- Thanks. The best scale for an experimental design is ten millimeters to the centimeter.

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