Review summary Editors' note: The rating and/or Editors' Choice designation for this product has been altered since the review's original publication. The reason for this is simply the general improvement of technology over time. In order to keep our ratings fair and accurate, it's sometimes necessary to downgrade the ratings of older products relative to those of newer products.
Thank you for choosing the Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router. The Router lets you access the Internet via a wireless connection, broadcast at up to 54 DMZMbps, or through one of its four switched ports. You can also use the Router to share resources such as computers, printers and files. View full Linksys WRT54G V5.0 specs on CNET.
(12/9/04) br br The Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster makes it easy to set up a typical home or office network, and it comes with all the documentation you need to get it up and running. It touts a wealth of advanced networking and security features, and it's fast, especially in networks with both 802.11g and 802.11b connections. The illustrated Fast Start guide for the Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster walks you through the basic setup, which includes connecting the router to your computer and broadband modem, configuring all the computers on the network to work with the router, and configuring the router. The Fast Start guide is more thorough than others we've seen, with plenty of images and screenshots illustrating the setup process. We were glad to see brief explanations of basic networking terms, such as the difference between static and dynamic IP addressing and what to do if your DSL provider uses.
The guide also describes how to connect to the WRT54GS's browser-based configuration tool if you need to tweak the router's configuration-for example, to supply the router with a static IP address. No quick-setup guide can cover all possible networking scenarios, but Linksys's step-by-step guide does an excellent job rounding up the usual suspects and making it easy for most homes and small offices to set up a network in a few minutes. In most cases, you need only to plug in the router and connect the cables. For more complicated setups, Linksys includes a thorough user guide detailing the WRT54GS's diverse features. Although the Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster is easy to set up, you'll find a number of advanced features and configuration options under the hood. The Linksys WRT54GS's browser-based configuration tool gives you access to the router's networking and security settings, such as DHCP server and client settings, firewall settings, and wireless encryption settings.
The router also comes with two types of firewalls. One is a Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall that makes sure packets are part of a legitimate connection; the other is a NAT firewall that effectively hides computers behind the router. You can lock your network down even tighter by configuring the router to block services such as FTP and Telnet. A DMZ function located on the configuration tool's Applications and Gaming tab lets you place one computer outside the firewall, which can be useful for Internet gaming and videoconferencing. The Linksys WRT54GS also lets you set up access-control policies that grant Internet access to specific computers on your network at predetermined times of day and days of the week. If you telecommute, the router's VPN pass-through support will help get you to work.
The Linksys WRT54GS router also has good wireless security. You can configure it to use WEP or WPA. WPA is stronger than WEP, but it's important to have both options, because you may want to connect to older 802.11b devices that lack WPA support. We also like that you can turn off the beacon on the WRT54GS's integrated 802.11g access point. This helps protect you from uninvited guests by stopping the access point from advertising its presence to the world. The Linksys WRT54GS router comes with removable antennas, giving you the option of attaching high-gain antennas to the unit to increase its range. Our only gripe was that the router lacks a mounting bracket.
The Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster is one of a growing number of wireless routers touting proprietary speed enhancements. Like the and the, the WRT54GS SpeedBooster router includes a technology (in this case, Broadcom's Afterburner) that substantially increases wireless network performance. The enhancements kick in only if all the devices on the network are playing by the same proprietary rules; otherwise, the device scales down to standard 802.11g speeds. We think that this limitation makes the SpeedBooster enhancement (and similar Turbo or Super-G offerings from vendors such as D-Link and Netgear) more of a marketing gimmick than a significant feature. Proprietary solutions depend on networks molded out of homogenous gear, limiting your purchase choices and tying you to a single vendor. On the other hand, the Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster does a fine job supporting standards-based equipment from other vendors, even older 802.11b gear. In, which measure throughput when both 802.11g and 802.11b transmissions occur simultaneously, the WRT54GS delivered the fastest speeds we've seen, clocking in at 25.8Mbps.
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The Linksys also went the distance, stretching as far as 200 feet in our range tests. 7.9 The Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster has a respectable three-year warranty that falls short of Belkin's lifetime policy but is on a par with the warranties of other networking vendors. You also get toll-free 24/7 support for the lifetime of the product. In addition, Linksys has one of the best online support offerings in the business, with product-specific setup guidelines, FAQs, troubleshooting solutions, drivers, firmware, live chat with support staff, and a copious knowledge base that contains how-to information for the WRT54GS's setup and configuration as well as problem fixes for a number of common networking issues.
Linksys WRT54G Setup Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Broadband Router. Begin setup of your Linksys Wireless Router by first plugging in the power. Give it 10 seconds or so to initialize and then plug an ethernet cable into your wall jack and into the port on the back of the router marked Internet. Next get another ethernet cable and plug one end into your laptop and the other into one of the ports labeled 1-4 on the router. Your computer is now properly connected to the router to begin its setup and configuration. Next open a web browser window on the connected computer and type into the address bar and press enter. A window will pop up prompting you for a username and password to access the configuration page for your router.
Enter admin for both the username and password. You should see the Setup page shown below. Accessing the router settings through a web browser. On this screen you should change the Router Name from its default value to something unique so that your Base Station will not be confused with another. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Settings then click Continue when the Settings are successful dialog is displayed. Next, click on the Wireless tab at the top of the settings screen. Change the Wireless Network Name (SSID) from the default value to something unique (you can use the same name you set as your Router Name in the previous step.
Then Disable the Wireless SSID Broadcast option and click Save Settings and then Continue when the Settings are successful dialog is displayed. Now click on the Wireless Security subsection at the top of the page.
In order to password protect your wireless network first use the Security Mode dropdown box to select WEP and then from the WEP Security dropdown box select 128 bits 26 hex digits. Choose a password between 6 and 8 characters and type it into the Passphrase box. Then click Generate.
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Finally click Save Settings and then Continue when the Settings are successful dialog is displayed. You may also select WPA encryption, however not all network cards support this, so check your documentation first. Next click on the Wireless MAC Filter subsection at the top of the page. Then Enable the Wireless MAC Filter option and select the option to Permit only PCs listed to access the wireless network. Click on the Save Settings button at the bottom of the Filter List window and then Continue. Now click on the Edit MAC Filter List button to pop up a new window (shown below) where you will enter the MAC Address, also known as Physical Address, for each computer that you will be using to connect to your wireless network. If you don't know how to get this information follow the steps.
Once you have finished, click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the Filter List window and then Continue when the Settings are successful dialog is displayed. You may now close the Mac Address Filter List window. Creating a MAC Address Filter List will prevent unauthorized computers from using your connection. Finally click on the Administration tab at the top of the page.
Change the default password for accessing your wireless router setup pages by typing a new one into the Router Password field and then confirming it. This should be a different password than the one you setup for WEP encryption, but should also be atleast 6 to 8 characters in length. Click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the Filter List window and then Continue when the Settings are successful dialog is displayed.
If you encountered any problems during this configuration procedure, please consult the manual that was included with your router or contact the manufacturer. Your Linksys Wireless Router is now secure.