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Before
I write about the Belkin Router, I think it may be appropriate to describe my
experiences that led up to the decision of setting up a network so that both
our computers could share our newly installed NTL broadband connection.
There was something about networking that I had a "monster"
mental-block about and when asking advice, all I could get was "it's
easy!" Well all I can say about that is everything is easy to those who
know how.
I'm not a technophobe, but when something is working OK, I am of the opinion
not to try and fix it. But I was getting fed up of my slow dial-up internet
connection and it was really about time that I contacted my ISP (NTL) and
ordered broadband, especially after reading several reviews - it was just a
coincidence that I had not long received an upgraded computer and broadband was
not something that was planned, but my wife said, "why don't we get
broadband?"
"Good idea," I answered.
Well both our spare bedrooms have been turned into offices, my wife's and mine.
I love to write and communicate on the internet and she loves to do her family
history research. "After the broadband is installed, why not get a router
and network the both computers?" she says.
"Good idea," I answered again. It's not that I'm a man of few words,
it's just that I was a little more than concerned about the potential problems
involved in networking our machines together, having given up the effort in
favour of a USB to USB cable on my laptop a couple of year ago.
To go back to the broadband for a moment, when the installation day came
around, the engineers were not happy about installing the cable modem upstairs
in my office, even though they kept saying, "it's up to you mate, but we
can put it downstairs and you can use a wireless router."
That, I thought, would have meant opening my brand new computer and putting in
a wireless PCI card. No way was I prepared to do that. I wanted my new machine
to be wired and my wife's to connect wirelessly, so with a few sighs they set
about installing the cable where I wanted it. After considerable furniture
shifting in our bedroom so that the cable could be routed through it (no pun
intended), we had our first connection and got it working.
The very next day - I'm a glutton for punishment - I decided to get a router.
.
The Belkin G router, is what I learned from talking to people to share cable
broadband such as NTL. And the package displayed on Amazon had the following
features. I could network our computers and they could share the broadband Internet
access independently of each other with transfer speeds of up to 54Mbps. It
has a built-in firewall to protect our network from intrusion from hackers and
we could connect up to 4 wired computers if we decided that the wireless connection
was not effective enough. Included in the package was a USB Wireless adapter.
It is suitable for PCs or macs.
The Router
In the box, was the G Router
intelf.
Quick installation guide - this was a chart that opens out with pictures and
instructions of all the steps needed to get it up and running.
The CD. Installation software.
An RJ45 Ethernet networking cable to connect to the modem.
The power supply (it needs to be plugged into the mains - something else to add
the "spaghetti junction" under my desk!)
The user manual - I should really learn to read these more carefully!
I set my computer up first on a wired connection from the Ethernet connector,
into the router and then into the cable modem and was pleased that it worked OK
after installing the software, which was simplicity itself - I just loaded the
disk and followed the instructions to the T, which involved not connecting the
cables until it said to do so on the on-screen installation wizard.
The
USB Adapter
Next, my wife's machine that is at the back of the house about 40 feet away. I
inserted the disk that came with the USB Network adapter and it all installed
in the same way as my computer, no problems at all.
Now, with baited breath, could I connect to the internet? But the damned thing
kept trying to dial up! Not something I wanted at all. Nothing would work at
all. Angst!!! Then I realised, that I had to set up her computer to network, so
I put the NTL disk I had been given to set up Broadband on my machine and put
it in my wife's and that did the trick - we were networked and her machine was
picking up the signal. Later on, I realised that I did not have to do that...
For problems in setting up your network through the router, Belkin has a free
phone help line, which I did try to use at one time, but being a Saturday
afternoon, it was very busy. Not wanting to wait, I went on to their website at
Belkin.com and soon found a useful animated set-up guide on how to get
everything working correctly that a child could follow. This I downloaded to my
computer.
Finally, if you don't want to tackle this job yourself, you can telephone
Belkin and an engineer will come out an install it for you within 72 hours. At
the time of writing, the estimate for a standard installation is £89.99
inclusive of VAT.
Performance & Operation.
I cannot discern any deterioration in internet speed at all even though both
computers now share the same 1 GB broadband connection. But all we use the
internet for is viewing webpages and entering data to writing sites such as Ciao.co.uk
and Dooyoo.co.uk and
would have no idea what it would be like to both try and download films/music.
The router itself is quite an attractive looking gadget and just sits on my
desk with lights flashing on and off and data is sent and received to the
worldwide web.
Other capabilities is has is that through the 10/100 4-port switch (I don't
know what this means but we've got it!) we can share files, printer, music or
anything either of us has on our hard drives. I can also plug the USB adapter
into my laptop and carry it anywhere in the house and connect to the internet.
The router is also equipped with a firewall that will protect our network from
hackers and such the like, although I still have Mcafee firewall/virus software
installed and would not like to be on line without it.
Another available option is a parental control web content filter, so that
parents can filter out undesired material when their children are on-line.
System requirement are…
Broadband Internet connection (cable or DSL modem) with RJ45 Ethernet
connection.
At least computer with an installed network interface adapter. I believe this
is the card at the back of the machine where you can plug in an Ethernet cable.
TCP/IP networking installed on each computer. I think this is on most windows
based computers.
RJ45 cable.
Internet browser.
Not being a techy sort of person, I have written this review to help other
non-techy people get an idea of what is involved in purchasing a router and
sharing a cable broadband connection and computer files if desired.
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