Linksys Wireless-G WRT54G Broadband Router Review

Wireless is the way to go...
Overall
4

Summary

Strong router that’s worth every penny…

Pros

Fast, Not too expensive, Easy connections…

Cons

Setup program is kind of confusing…

My initial impressions were very good. It’s a neat, good-looking product and the initial setup was ok – I had two PCs sharing a cable modem in about ten minutes. It’s also very good value, particularly as it’s quite feature-rich, offering a DHCP server and pretty decent firewall capabilities alongside its connection sharing capabilities.

However, when I tried to VPN into my company’s network, it didn’t work – I could connect but couldn’t access the network. More puzzling, I couldn’t see any machines on the LAN – I couldn’t even ping my own system! This turned out to be due to personal firewall software that I was running – you may need to disable this or configure it to recognize a trusted network. Now I could see other machines on the LAN. VPN still didn’t work, though. This required me to change the default range of the router-supplied IP addresses (192.168.2.0/255.255.255.0 instead of 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0) so that there was no clash with the IP addresses on the company network and disable the personal firewall software altogether. Note that the router appears to act as a pretty effective firewall itself (I was seeing about ten probes a day from the SQL Slammer worm, for example, when I was connected directly to the cable modem but haven’t seen one since going behind the router). These are, I believe, quite common issues so I wonder why Linksys doesn’t provide a troubleshooting FAQ.

Anyway, I’m very pleased with it now that it’s running correctly. The browser-based configuration is a breeze and the optional CD-based setup is even easier. Had Linksys included a FAQ in the box that solved my networking issues I would have given these five stars? It’s worth noting that a more comprehensive manual than the one supplied on the CD is available from the Linksys website.

Yes, we have very competitive pricing plans and accept a variety of formats. Please contact us for more details.

Yes, you can. Just use the contact us form to send us a message and we will consider reviewing the product. It does depend on a few factors such as product availability, funding, and time.

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We buy products we review because we review what we own first.

We do, however, sometimes receive review samples but we still test and review everything fairly. When a review sample is provided by a partner, they cannot dictate how the review will turn out.

Our review and ratings are always based on our testing and experiences with the products.

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Specifications

BrandLinksys
Websitewww.linksys.com
FunctionalitiesVPN Pass-Thru and DHCP server
ConnectivityWireless and Wired
LAN Interface10/100 Base-T
WAN Interface1 x 10/100 Base-T
LAN StandardsEthernet (802.3)
Fast Ethernet (802.3u)
Routing ProtocolsRIP Version 1, Version 2
Static Routing
Management ProtocolHTTP
Firewall FeaturesStateful Packet Inspection (SPI)
Content Filtering
Port Filtering
VPN ProtocolsIPSec Pass-Thru
PPTP Pass-Thru
WLAN StandardsIEEE 802.11b
IEEE 802.11g/b
Data Rates802.11b : 11 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 1 Mbps
802.11g : 54 Mbps, 48 Mbps, 36 Mbps, 24 Mbps, 28 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 9 Mbps, 6 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 1 Mbps
Wireless SecurityWEP with 128 bit encryption
Antenna Type2 x Detachable Antenna
LED IndicatorsWAN
WLAN (Wireless LAN)
Test / Diagnostic
DMZ
Activity
Link (Per Port)
Dimensions7.33 (W) x 1.89 (H) x 6.90 (D) inches
Weight1.10 lbs
Warranty1 year

Yes, we have very competitive pricing plans and accept a variety of formats. Please contact us for more details.

Yes, you can. Just use the contact us form to send us a message and we will consider reviewing the product. It does depend on a few factors such as product availability, funding, and time.

Please provide as much of the following information as possible:

  • Manufacturer Name
  • Manufacturers Website
  • Product Name
  • Product Model / Serial Number
  • A link to the product itself

Unfortunately, we do not accept user reviews at this time. But feel free to voice your opinion in the comments section of recent articles.

We do, however, have plans to implement this feature in the future.

Yes, please contact us for more details.

Please note that we test and review all products fairly and will not change our review and rating of products.

No, we do NOT sell anything on BayReviews. And we will never sell anything on BayReviews. We do, however, display ads that may direct you to other sites that probably do want to sell to you.

We buy products we review because we review what we own first.

We do, however, sometimes receive review samples but we still test and review everything fairly. When a review sample is provided by a partner, they cannot dictate how the review will turn out.

Our review and ratings are always based on our testing and experiences with the products.

All reviews on BayReviews are written by the editor-in-chief and our very knowledgeable staff writers and editors.