Hardware ReviewsBelkin Wireless Cable/DSL Gateway Router (F5D6230-3) Similar to the recently reviewed Netgear phoneline router, this router from Belkin packs a lot of functions into one device. In this instance, Belkin combines a wireless access point (essentially a network hub for wireless networks), three-port 10/100 Ethernet switch and a cable or DSL modem router. That makes this the perfect device if you have a couple of computers in a home office that can be connected via regular twisted pair cables connected to the switch AND share fast-speed Internet access if you have an external Ethernet cable or DSL modem (sorry...no USB port). Then, if you have a laptop or two with wireless network cards, the included wireless access point allows the laptops to have access to the wired computers AND the Internet. Pretty slick, eh? Belkin puts that all in a
sleek, stylish device, packaged along with absolutely outstanding
instructions and nifty software (more on that later) at a very good
price. We found the wireless router for $150 at
Buy.com
Overview The Belkin router comes in a 12x10x3-inch package. On the box you'll find graphics that show a typical network setup, as well as details on the benefits and technical specifications of the router. The box also points out that you get a lifetime warranty and 24-hour technical support, but other than a toll-call number for Belkin headquarters, there are no clues on the box how to get that support (more details below in the Technical Support section). The package includes the router, a power adapter ("brick "), a a resource CD (with installation manual and network setup utilities), a warranty registration card and the 65-page, printed user manual. The router itself is roughly 8 1/2 inches wide by 5 inches deep and 1 inch high. It has a dark gray plastic cover and a metal bottom. As we mentioned, this Belkin router has three primary functions:
Like many routers, this Belkin model provides Network Address Translation (NAT). That means the router allows every computer on your network to access the Internet as if it was the same computer with only one address provided by your cable or DSL provider. Each computer on your home network actually has a local address provided by the router through a system called DHCP, providing you some security from hackers. (As we've said before, experts say NAT can easily be hacked, but it's easy enough to add a third-party firewall program to your computer if you're concerned.) On the front of the router are three LEDs on the left to show, respectively, that the router is on and ready, that it detects a connection on the wireless network and that it is connected to a cable or DSL modem. To the right are three pairs of LEDs that show connections for each of the three 10/100 LAN ports and that there is data activity for that port. On the back of the router is the port for the cable connection to your cable or DSL modem, the three 10/100 LAN ports, a connector for the power adapter and a power switch. Two four-inch antennas for the WAP are attached at the back, one on each end. The router has a couple of useful features including a comprehensive filtering system to block network and router access to specific computers and/or at specific times. There also is a web-based configuration program that takes you through the setup step by step (more on that below). One final note on this Belkin package: the manual is simply outstanding. It has step-by-step instructions on how to configure the router under several different Internet Service Provider configurations, including dynamic and static IP, and PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet). The manual has instructions for the nifty utilities included on the installation CD: NetSetup and NetShare. As the names suggest, these utilities help you setup your network and share resources such as drives and printers. The manual also covers wireless networking and how to set up the wireless access point on the router. Finally, the manual details the features of the router, including DHCP serving, NAT and filtering. The manual ends with a small but effective troubleshooting section. All together, this is an excellent feature of this Belkin package, particularly for those new to networking. Installation Installation was easy enough and followed along exactly as detailed in the instructions. Per the manual, we connected a cable from our DSL modem to the port on the router, connected a Ethernet cable (one is NOT included) from our computer to the router. We then powered everything on in the order suggested by Belkin: first the modem, then the router, then the computer. We then entered the router's default address in our test computer's Internet browser. With everything connected properly and working, we were presented with a logon screen. Since there is no default password, we just clicked on login. (You can set up a password if you want). Just one note here: if your computers are currently networked with specific network IP addresses make sure to reset the computer connected to the router to automatically obtain an IP address. Otherwise, the browser configuration utility may not come up. The configuration utility (see screen shot below) includes an outstanding setup wizard that takes you through the setup based on your Internet provider and local computer network. The setup went exactly as suggested in the installation guide.
Once we finished that configuration, we went to our normal home page and it came up quickly. We then started up a notebook with a wireless card, made sure its WAP channel and ID (name) were the same as we set in the router configuration program and we were up and running with the wireless network. It is rare that we have an installation process with no hiccups, but that's exactly what we got with this Belkin. Well done. Performance The router performed exactly as advertised and we have no complaints about the performance. We do not test the Internet speed of routers since there are some many variables involved in Internet connections. Suffice it to say that we had no problems with the router. We did, though, run some tests to check the performance of the wireless access point (WAP). Using our test laptop (see our page on How we Test for more information), we used both a Belkin and Netgear wireless card and compared the speed of file transfers for the Belkin router and a Netgear WAP. Specifically, we copied a 30 meg file back and forth between the wireless equipped laptop and a desktop machine connected to the wired portion of our network using our standard D-Link 530-TX+ PCI network card. We ran the copy tests in two locations: one was just three feet from the WAP and one was several rooms away. In each instance, we copied the file back and forth twice, then averaged the number of seconds for the four file copies. For comparison, we also included results when copying the files using the laptop's built-in Fast Ethernet adapter. We used both 10Mbps Half Duplex mode (see our glossary for more information on these and any terms used here), the closest to the advertised speed of the wireless network equipment (11Mbps), and 100Mbps Full Duplex mode. All tests were run with just the TCP/IP network protocol installed. The results are shown below in seconds required to complete the copy.
The top four bars show the scores using the Belkin router's built-in WAP. We used both a Belkin wireless card (blue bars) and a Netgear wireless card (red bars). The top two bars are the scores when the notebook was near the router/WAP. The second set of bars are the scores when we moved the laptop away from the WAP. We repeated the tests using the Netgear WAP both near and far away. At the bottom of the chart, you'll note the "wired" bars. The first (dark blue) bar is the score for 100Mbps Full Duplex and the second bar is 10Mbps Half Duplex. Note the 344 second score. We had a real anomaly with the combination of the Belkin router/WAP and the Netgear card when we took the notebook far away from the WAP. Interestingly, a utility that both the Belkin and Netgear card provided showed that the signal strength was weak in this combination, but no weaker than the Belkin card and Belkin router/WAP combination. We wouldn't say this is absolutely indicative of a problem since lots of things can affect wireless transmission. Obviously, the Belkin router/WAP is a solid device and scored well in our tests. In fact, it bested the Netgear and Netgear WAP combination in the "near" tests and lost by just a few seconds in the "far" tests. [NOTE: Do not compare these results to those from equipment test prior to this date since we upgraded our test lab equipment] In real-world use, you probably would not notice the difference between the Belkin and Netgear equipment, save for the odd combination we just mentioned. On the other hand, the score for the Fast Ethernet (100Mbps Full Duplex) adapter reveals again why we recommend wired Fast Ethernet whenever possible. At a time when many computer users are paying big dollars for faster processors or hard drives, we find it odd to be complacent about slow network speed. If you plan to do a lot of file copying, you'll save a ton of time by running some wires through your house (and, of course, we have the how-to article to show you how.) On the flip side, nothing beats taking the laptop from room to room or even on the outside deck. For that, you can't beat wireless. The manual does list a toll number (not toll-free) on the back. A check of the Belkin web site showed a range of tech support options including FAQs, e-mail and a toll-free number, although there was no indication there of the hours for tech support (the box indicatesd 24-hour support). Summary We were quite impressed with this Belkin wireless access point, switch and router combination. For a street price of $150, it is very hard to beat. Although not chock full of extra features, this router had all of the necessary functions. Performance and construction were solid. And, most important of all for new network users, the printed instruction manual was outstanding, providing step-by-step instructions for setup of the device and of an entire home network. Frankly, we could easily award this Belkin router an Editor's Choice award but we are going to defer that decision until we get a chance to look at some other similar devices. Don't be surprised, though, if we come back and present the award to this router. For now, if you are looking for a cable/DSL router that will also help network your wireless notebook or other computer, we suggest taking a serious look at this Belkin device. Grade = A Details
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Image courtesy of Belkin
