Features

• Up to 108 Mbps with AirPlus Xtreme G products
• Advanced Firewall and parental control
• Backwards compatible with all 802.11b and 802.11g products
• Increased Security with 802.1X and WPA
• Features robust security to protect the wireless network from intruders

Reviews (171)

Excellent product !!!
I was a little reluctant on buying this product, having read previous reviews of non full compatibility with 802.11b products. Finally, I decided to take my chances.

Needless to say that within 15 minutes the router was set up and running. I tested it with D-Link DWL-650+ (802.11b) wireless PCMCIA card as well as with DWL-G650 (802.11g)wireless PCMCIA card. In both cases it worked just fine !! And the most important, my IPAQ 5455 (802.11b) was connected with the network seamlessly in both cases. (Maybe the last firmware patch from HP has something to do with this). Unfortunately, I could not test it with 802.11b cards of other manufacturers.

Now, I can place a DVD in my desktop computer and watch it wirelessly on my laptop at full motion, while at the same time I am downloading my email at my IPAQ. Isn' t that amazing?

However, there is a strange thing happening, which the technical support of the company has not been able to help me solve up to this moment: while the windows XP of my laptop recognize the wireless card (DWL-G650), configure it properly and I can access my local network, as well as the Internet without problem, the D-Link utility which accompanies the card cannot see it. (These computers are so unpredictable things after all ;-).

I would highly recommend this product !!

Pay a Few More Dollars for a Better Design and Support
Full Disclosure: I have just decided to buy a Linksys unit after hours on hold/talking with D-Link tech support who couldn't solve an apparently simple WEP setup problem. On the other hand, I have owned several wireles router products, and have been setting up Windows networks for 7 years.

The Good:
* Well priced
* Units reasonably good looking
* If all you want to do is set up a simple, non-secure wireless connection, D-Link works just fine.

The Bad:
* Confusing setup screens make secure wireless connections difficult to set up (since security is now required, weight this difficulty heavily).
* Poor manuals and web site resources make configuration and troubleshooting difficult.
* Poor technical support. They do offer phone support, but the techs seem as clueless as most beginner customers.
* Upgrading your unit is made more difficult by D-Link's practise of making multiple, near-identical units with subtle but critical differences between them. So you have to look at pictures on their site to figure out which model you really have.

The Ugly:
* D-Link's level 2 tech support finally said that they can't help when users don't use D-Link products on *BOTH* sides of a wireless connection. So, if you have built-in wireless capabilities in your Dell, IBM, Apple, ....., laptop, might want to buy another router.

Bottom line - buy something else.

can't handle browser idle time (poor support)
Installation was easy and everything looked great. Until I tried to access the internet via my browser the next morning ("page cannot be displayed"). All ideas of the helpdesk how to fix it didn't change anything (we exchanged about 20 emails) so that they agreed it was a hardware problem. I returned it and got the next one with the same problem. The answer of the helpdesk this time: don't use ZoneAlarm. And if this is not the problem, then it must be Windows XP. Unfortunately, shutting down ZoneAlarm didn't fix the problem. So the problem must be Windows XP in their opinion. That's an easy excuse because nobody can prove anything and I got stuck with my router and my problem. So I returned it.

Conclusion: if you have a dial-up connection and don't stay connected while being idle, this is a good product. If you have a cable modem and don't shut down your computer all the time, try a different router.

Fast w/ good range, but sometimes I lose connection..
bought this wireless router along with the DWL-G650 wireless card adapter and overall it pretty good. it is quite fast, no complaints there, and has great range (i can use it in any room in my house, even downstairs). the only compliant i have is that once in a while, my laptop loses connection after it has been on standby or has been powered off. its easy to fix (i just unplug the router for a few seconds and plug it back in) but its just annoying since the router is in another room and i have to walk over there. i'd say this happens on average, once every couple days. its not so inconvenient that i'm returning the router, but if it worsens at all, then i probably will (i bought the router and card together from costco, which has a good return policy). it's a pretty expensive router, so while i haven't had many problems at all, you may be able to find a better deal for your money elsewhere.

good product
lo conectè a mi modem zyxel y ya tenia internet en mi laptop, si funcionò en 5 minutos... i recommend this product ... Read more

Features

• Compatible with 802.11g and 802.11b networking devices
• Delivers 10/100 Mbps (auto-sensing) WAN and LAN connections and interoperability with 54 Mbps (802.11g) and 11 Mbps (802.11b) devices over a 2.4 GHz band wireless network
• Automatically detects and configures your ISP type, Exposed Host (DMZ), MAC address authentication, URL content filtering, logs, and e-mail alerts of Internet activity
• Powerful WEP encryption (40/64- or 128-bit), MAC address control, and parental controls
• Compatible with Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, Mac OS, NetWare, UNIX, or Linux

Reviews (228)

Satellite Internet Wireless Link to Home Computers
I purchased the WGR614 along with a Netgear WG511 54 Mbps wireless PC Card from Amazon. I use it to connect from my High Speed 2-Way DirecWay Satellite connection wirelessly to my Dell 8000 and Dell 8200 laptops, and my old Gateway desktop in my home. I purchased it primarily because I was told that some other 54 Mbps brands did not allow both b and g cards to be accessed at the same time on the same system. I installed the new g card on my 8200 with no problems at all but then when the entire system was up after about an hour I found that when using the g card on either of the laptops the other with a b card would not work. After a great deal of help from tech support we found that there is a conflict between the DirecWay DW6000 and the router. Both are addressed by http://192.168.0.1. We solved this by changing the address code for the router to 10.0.0.1 and BINGO everything was perfect. I highly recommend these products and the NETGEAR tech support system. They are the best money can buy at this time. I also found Amazon's service very good and responsive, and besides, they offered the lowest price (after rebates) I could find on the Web.

High hopes - Disappointing performance
I purchased the WGR614 along with a 802.11g NetGear notebook adapter and a 802.11b NetGear adapter for a PDA. What should have been a very easy installation and setup turned into endless frustration. While configuring the router is fairly simple, getting devices to connect to your wireless network is problematic, even when using ONLY NetGear products. Connectivity is spotty, often requiring configuration changes on the remote devices EVERY time you try to connect. The adapters seem to have a hard time finding the wireless network and remembering those settings for later. The Windows XP wirless settings experience the same problem trying to access the network. Attaching 802.11b devices, even when the router was setup to accept them, proved to be even more difficult. In most cases, particularly when using devices from other companies like Linksys or DLink, it was a HUGE headache to get them onto the network, and I am a network engineer. I believe a normal lay person would have thrown the router out the window long ago.

My opinion: spend the extra money and purchase a Linksys or Microsoft wireless network equipment (yes, it works very well). You'll have fewer headaches and all the benefits that are present in the NetGear equipment.

USELESS AND CRAPY PRODUCT-DO NOT BUY
Netgear product really sucks. Do not buy any products form NEtgear. There are thousands of users of this product and all compalins about dropping network connections. And to top that off, they charge shipping to replace the router. I would never buy a product from Netgear again. The products are unreliable and really crappy.

Good product , clear interface, minor annoyances
I bought this product and used it with dell true mobile wireless
class B card on Comcast cable modem.The installation was very easy and i got it up and running in 6 mins.The package includes a datasheet that informs you about the settings for different internet providers. The software interface is one of the most well organized interfaces I have seen, with context help on a panel on right for every setting.You can use this router for both B and G cards. All said there is one minor issue that kept annoying me. The wireless signal keeps dropping for a second once for every 4 mins.This does not interrupt my browsing but its irritating to see the "network cable unplugged" icon on the lower left of screen. I got around this by removing the icon my modifying a registry setting. Overall a good product.

STAY Away Please
PLease do not buy this thesse people are awful they send you to talk to damn Indians when you call for support and if ova 90 days theyll charge ya linksys nice american support and they even helped with a product that isnt thiers buy linksys trust me ... Read more

Features

• Up to 108 Mbps to your notebook PC with Super G Technology
• 802.11g standard compliance; interoperable with existing 802.11b and 802.11g networks
• 128-bit WEP encryption, upgradeable to Wi-Fi Protected
• Smart Wizard gets you up and running in fewer than 5 clicks
• Compatible with Windows XP Home, XP Professional, 2000, Me, 98SE

Features

• 108 Mbps with Super G Technology (when used with Netgear WG511T PC Card)
• Smart Wizard gets you up and running in fewer than 5 clicks
• Over 10 security and privacy features including Double Firewall (SPI & NAT)
• 802.11g standard compliance; interoperable with existing 802.11b and 802.11g networks
• Compatible with Windows 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, Mac OS, NetWare, UNIX, or Linux

Reviews (92)

Good...but not without problems
I purchased my WGT624 v2 from amazon.com. As soon as I pulled it out of the box it was constantly rebooting (dropping me off the internet both wired and wireless). I was able to fix it though and I will tell you how and what happened. When I had this problem out of the box, I called for netgears free 90 day support. They were horrible! They answered the phone without a long wait, but they knew very little about this product. They gave me an RMA and I received the new router. Unpakced the replacement and same problem. Updated firmward to latest, and followed all the troubleshooting on the netgear site and I still coudln't fix it. Just when I was ready to return it to amazon I found out how to fix the problem. There is a setting on the router for preamable and it is set to auto by default. Auto is supposed to detect if the card(s) support short preamable (short is usually only useful when there is a lot of interference from other wireless devices in and around the home and most cards don't even support it). I changed the setting from auto to long and that fixed the reboot problems. I have gone around to as many forums as possible to try and post the solution so that others can cure themselves of this problem. It works great now that I found out what the problem was. This is not a router for a novice computer user. If you are a novice I suggest you get a linksys product. This netgear has a lot of features for the price though, and this is just a stupid problem with the firmware.

Hrd2k

Poor Quality Hardware
I own the MR814v2 802.11b router. That is a very stable product, so I figured since I had a WG311 wireless card in my desktop I'd buy another Netgear router for 802.11g. Many of the reviews here were favorable, so I bought on the basis of that.

This product is simply not stable, at least for me. It has to be rebooted constantly. For sure it cannot hold a wireless connection more than 24 hours. I upgraded to the latest firmware, which at the time of writing is 4.1.11. No help whatsoever. I checked on-line, and sure enough many many people have reported similar problems with it (broadbandreports.com). I tried disabling the 108Mb features, but that also didn't help.

So in the end, I'm just returning it after a frustrating weekend.

Great Router
Set up easy. Read all reviews, and bought with some reservations as several negative reviews indicated problems. However, I believe Netgear has them fixed with the version shipping now. Excellent out of box set up, configured both WEP and WAP, settled on using WEP. Use a Netgear 511 wireless card and get 54MBPS thoughout house, about 24-48 outside. Distance of 50+ feet. I have an old house, lathe and plaster walls, hardwood construction and still great reception. Also, have the router in the basement, between an old brick chimney and the furnace. Still, great reception. Recommend!

Bad bad bad - stay away from this one!!!!
I bought this in the hope of setting up a fast network, but this is one worthless piece from Netgear. The router is totally incapable of holding a connection up to both wired and wireless connections on the network. I have v2 HW, and have tried 3 different firmwares. I am convinced that the only people who are happy with this one are the ones that turn their computer off after reuse. If you plan on leaving computers on forget this one.

Netgear's service is even worse. They finally agreed that this is a problem with the router, and that its not a first or uncommon thing for the router. The WGT634U is equally bad. The problems seem to stem from 108Mbps not being a stable standard yet. I would get a 54G router for now, and revisit 108 in a year or so when such issues may just be behind. For now I am returning this and if Netgear does not agree to give me another product in return or my money back, i am never coming back to their products again either.

Easy setup, good performance, no problems
I purchased the WGT624 and the WG511T as a pair. Installation was easy (followed the manual) and performance is obviously better than the 802.11b router/WAP this replaced. After getting everything to work I performed the autoupdate for the WGT624 with no problems. As expected, I don't get 100mbps performance, but with notebook in the same room as WAP I get solid 45mbps file transfers. I use this router in combination with some remote 802.11b WAPs. I configured two profiles for the WG511T (11b only and superG only)and apply the appropriate profile for the WAP I want - works great.
Also, the range is better than with my older 11b system.

I clearly haven't experienced the problems others have expressed - I'm completely satisfied with these products. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Want the utmost in network security for your office? Netgear's FVS318 ProSafe VPN firewall provides business-class protection at a NAT router price. This completely equipped, broadband-capable Virtual Private Network (VPN) firewall is a true firewall and provides it all--Denial of Service protection and intrusion detection using Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), URL access and content filtering, logging, reporting, and real-time alerts. Up to 253 users can access your broadband connection at the same time.

The router's Smart Wizard connects to your ISP quickly; the easy-to-use Web-based configuration screen and install assistant reduce setup time. Remote administration capability makes connecting to multiple sites a breeze.

Make a VPN connection to other FVS318 routers or through client software. Support for DHCP (client and server) as well as Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) allows for easy, widespread deployment. The router initiates up to eight IPSec VPN tunnels simultaneously, allowing for secured connections to branch offices and an on-the-go mobile workforce. ... Read more

Features

• Initiates up to 8 IPSec VPN tunnels simultaneously
• Stateful Packet Inspection Firewall with VPN pass-through and routing
• Eight ultra-fast 10/100 Mbps LAN ports
• Securely connects mobile workforce and branch offices to main office resources
• Easy-to-use Web browser-based setup, configuration, and remote management

Features

• Complete home wireless networking kit ¿ communicate wirelessly with any notebook or desktop PC
• Share your broadband Internet connection with all the computers in your home ¿ wired or wirelessly
• Easy to install and setup (in fewer than 5 clicks) with NETGEAR's Smart Wizard
• Highest-level WEP encryption
• Compatible with Windows 98, Me, XP, NT, 2000 and other operating systems running a TCP/IP network

Reviews (5)

Awesome and easy
I have to say, I was a little concerned about this product after reading about some of the difficulties other buyers have experienced. I was also a bit nervous about installing it myself, since I am not what you would call a computer expert.

From Day One after installing it, though, I have been impressed. It gets fantastic range throughout my entire house, even through walls and heavy, metal objects. Signal strength on my computers is almost always between 90-100%, and has NEVER dipped below 73%.

As for the network installation itself, it was easy and took a total of about an hour (and that includes installation and configuration of wireless cards on 2 computers).

And you can't beat the price on this thing. I highly recommend this and other Netgear wireless network products.

do not buy
The router has not worked since the day I bought it. Technical support sucks! Don't waste your money.

great product at this low price
Easy to set up. Works perfect for me.

great product at this low price
It's easy to set up. Works perfectly for me.

good buy!
I bought this a few days ago, it is easy to setup with the instruction, and works fine. Also the range is good for me.
anything we can ask more for this price? ... Read more

Features

• Supports both 11b and 11g at 2.4 GHz
• Speeds of up to 54 Mbps -- up to 5 times greater than 802.11b
• Shared access to Internet and resources
• Double Firewall with SPI and NAT
• Highest-level WEP encryption

Reviews (12)

Simple to use and hookup
Let me say that I know absolutely nothing about home networking. I had dial-up for so many years because it wasn't available in my area (and I live in Silicon Valley!). When our cable company started to carry it, we signed up immediately.

I found the Netgear router and card to be very easy and simple to use. I just plugged the router in, followed the instructions and off I went. The card was just as easy to set up. My desktop is running Windows XP and the laptop has Win98.

The only problem I had was running the "test" button after logging into the router's setup page. After inputing the router's settings on the setup page, you're supposed to hit a "test" button to see if you're router is setup correctly. It takes you to a Netgear web page where is says you're successful and you're now protected. For me, the success web page would never appear. After surfing the Netgear web site (and several tech support articles), you have to disable any popup blockers you have. When I did that, the success page finally appeared.

For research, I went to www.practicallywired.com where there's a lot of good, basic info for newbies like me.

Good luck!

Easy setup
First of all, I woould like to commend Amazon.com on their fast delivery. I ordered it on Monday morning and I got the package delivered to my front door the next morning. That was with the free shipping option, which was suppose to take about five days.
Now about the Netgear WGB511 802.11g wireless networking kit...I was able to get the router running with default settings in less than 10 minutes after I took it out of the box and that includes the time that I used to figure out how to use my old Linksys HPRO200 router as a bridge to my HPNA network. Upon inspecting the firmware version, I noticed that the version posted on Netgear's web site is newer and includes WPA-PSK so I quickly downloaded it and burned the new firmware. Except for the slow download from Netgear the whole process went very smoothly, however, the instruction for setting up WPA-PSK is minimal and it took a bit of guessing on my part to set it up (had to guess what needs to be done on my Windows XP, but only took couple tries.) The range of the wireless network is good and I was able to get excellent strength readings throughout most of the house. Over all, I am extremely pleased with the Netgear router so far, I just hope it won't quit on me prematurely as my Linksys wireless AP did right after warrenty expired.

Did not work with IBM ThinkPad and Windows XP.
The following is a recount of my personal experience with this Netgear product as well as my own opinions about the products usefulness.

My background:

I am a computer programmer with about 10 years of work experience and a 4.0 grade point average from an Ivy League school.

I was not able to get this product to work with an IBM ThinkPad T22 running Windows XP. I got the infamous "Code 10" problem that many others are seeing with this product. (...)a google search for 'netgear wg511 "code 10"' to see more.

Besides the problems that users are having, the technical support requires that you traverse "Bangalore Hell", from which you will probably not receive the information necessary to fix the problem (which, from the above posts, seems to be a driver software problem).

I tried various versions of the drive software downloaded from Netgear, including the latest 2.7.0.0 driver. This was the latest software available as of July 17, 2004. I was never able to get my laptop to properly recognize the card. No combination of removing and reinstalling drivers, removing and reinserting the wireless card, or clearing out Windows registry keys helped.

There is a reference to this problem on the Netgear website. However, it is terse and does not seem to offer a solution -- none of the approaches listed helped solve my problem (...)personal "solution" to the "Code 10" issue was to pack up the Netgear router and card and return it to Amazon. I have since replaced it with a Linksys combination which worked right out of the box. I didn't even need to install software -- Windows XP's built in Wi-Fi support was all that was needed.

Please note that this is only my personal experience and the experiences of various other anonymous posters on the Internet. It may not reflect every user's experience (or even the most common experience), and must be taken with a grain of salt.

Thanks for reading all the way through! :-)

--(...)

Very Easy Setup--Up and Working <15 minutes
I have an "ancient" Windows 98SE laptop. The setup and configuration for this device could not have been simpler. I was astounded by how automatic everything was. The only problem (not Netgear's fault, really), that I encountered was that I already had a machine on my home network that I statically gave 192.168.0.1 and so there was a conflict. That was easily resolved.
I haven't had much chance to play with the security features of the router and haven't tested the range yet. So far, so good.
I was also pleased that I got a 4-port 100-Mbps switch in the deal, too. I had been thinking about retiring my 10-Mbps passive hub, and lo-and-behold the wireless router has 4 100-Mbps ports on it. How cool is that!

Works well with other wireless cards, some trouble XP
I bought this WGB511 Networking Kit just this week (compliments to Amazon.com for fast shipment, BTW) after much consideration of different companies (Linksys, Belkin, etc.) and models (like the 802.11b wireless networking kit from Netgear). In the end, I decided buy this product because it seemed to give greatest bang for the buck (and reviews were up and down for all the products--for some people it worked great, for others, not at all). So far, it works great. My roommate has a Belkin 802.11g wireless card, and the router works just great with his computer--no spotty connections, and Internet connection as fast as connecting to the modem directly. As for me (with the included Netgear WG511 wireless card), the connection was somewhat spotty at the beginning. I think the problem was XP's (I'm not a great fan of M$) automatic wireless network configuration. It must have done something that increases (apparent) signal strength but makes the connection unstable. But, after configuring the router channel to the one with least interference (you can see which channels are in use by other wireless networks using Netgear's configuration utility--Site Survey) and setting up everything using Netgear's utility, it's working fine. So, five stars for working as expected, no points lost for the failings of the other company (er... M$?) ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Netgear FR11P ProSafe firewall/print server is a true, broadband-capable firewall that provides you with the utmost in business-class security--Denial of Service protection and intrusion detection using Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), URL access and content filtering, logging, reporting, and real-time alerts. VPN pass-through maximizes network security with access control and encryption. And a built-in print server removes the bottleneck of a dedicated PC print server and supports multiple print jobs simultaneously. With four auto sensing, switched LAN ports and Network Address Translation (NAT) routing, up to 253 users can access your broadband connection at the same time. There's even a 100 Mbps WAN port for future high-speed broadband services. Smart Wizard and Install Assistant get your network up and running in minutes, and a complete antivirus software bundle is included at no extra cost to shield your network with additional protection. ... Read more

Features

• True Firewall with Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Intrusion Detection
• Denial of Service (DoS) attack protection and VPN pass-through
• Built-in Print Server and Network Address Translation (NAT) Routing
• Easy-to-Use Smart Wizard and Install Assistant
• Free, complete antivirus PC software bundle

Reviews (26)

No Brainer Installation
I read the other reviews here with some dismay before I bought this unit. I decided to go ahead with the purchase because I had spent a lot of time researching router/switch combos with print server capability and true SPI firewall capability. There are not a lot of reasonably priced options out there. In summary this unit has performed like a dream. I had two PC's, a NIC laserprinter, and a parallel port printer (via print server) all plugged in, configured with my DSL service, and all up and running in less than 30 minutes. Please note that BEFORE I purchased this unit I made 3 separate "pre-sales" calls to Netgear tech support and received what I considered to be good information in each instance (I even placed a call at 3am one morning to check if they really were 24/7). Read the installation guide from cover to cover BEFORE you actually DO anything and you will probably find (as I did) that this is a no-brainer deal.

Firewall/Router work fine - Print Server a project
The router & firewall functionality of the FR114P are fine. Print server took hours of effort with varying error messages but no printing.

Netgear offered to send me a new box for $15. Charge even though I am well within the warrantee period. New box seems to be working fine, but it has only been a few days.

This box has a documented issues with HP printers. They are (now) clearly addressed on the Netgear web site. Be sure to look there before you try to use this with an HP printer. It will not work if you follow the instructions in the manual.

As for the other features, I followed the instruction manual to the letter. On line with 3 computers in no time. Networking between the computers worked out of the box. But no printing.

E-mailed back and forth with Netgear tech support. Reasonably prompt replies, but nothing more that pointing me to the same material I had already reviewed on their web site.

Called tech support. Typical 30 minutes on hold. Tech rep was very professional, but unable to get the printer printing after about 45 minutes of trying. Then offered the replacement box.

worked OK for maybe 18 months then "pop" and smells bad
Never could hook up the printer, but it worked OK for a while until it started making erratic connection with the cable modem. Then "POP", a bad smell, and I'm out $100!
Serial FR14A278A011564

Good featureset, but reliability and performance concerns.
I've owned two of these routers now -- my first one died after about a year and I replaced it with the same model because I was fairly happy with it and it worked.

Configuration is easy and yet powerful. Pretty much all of the features I could want come built-in and work (make sure you get the latest firmware from the netgear site!)

In general the router has Just Worked for me -- I configured it, and left it alone. My DSL is up 24/7 and fairly heavily used, and I never ever have to touch the router.

On the other hand, I'm about to replace this router with the BEFSX41 -- my DSL line speed has recently been upped to 3mbits, and I'm now finding that the netgear box is the bottleneck on my network. Do a little bit of googling and you'll be able to find some comparative throughput tests (this router was by far the slowest)

Rock Solid, Quality.
Excellent product. Perfect for the home or small office. I've been using this router for over a year and it works perfectly. I've recommended this product to several clients and none have reported the hardware failures that others have posted about. The print server is a very nice bonus. I have six computers behind my router and the performace is outstanding. ... Read more

Features

• NOTE: For full performance set to be utilized, the WGU624 Router must be used with Netgear WG511U 108 Mbps Wireless A+G PC Card
• XR Range allows range up to 3X greater than typical Wireless-G networks
• Transfer even the largest video files within your home network at blazing speeds
• A second 108 Mbps network is accessed in Wireless-A band (5 Ghz) when interference or congestion is detected in the 108 Mbps Wireless-G band (2.4 GHz)
• Compatible with Windows 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP; Mac OS; NetWare, UNIX, or Linux

Amazon.com Product Description

The diminutive Netgear Pocket Print Server lets you share your printer connection with everyone on your home or office Ethernet computer network via its RJ-45 Ethernet port. With this device, you don't have to leave your PC on to let others use the printer, they can access it from their own computers. The Print Server runs at up to 10 Mbps and supports simultaneous print jobs, and can be managed using a remote, Web-based tool. Its on-board memory buffer gives you a quick printout delivery, and while it works with most laser and inkjet printers equipped with a parallel port, no expensive parallel printer cable is needed.

The Print Server comes with easy to install software for quick installation on your Windows-based PC. Network Link and Printer Alert LED lights let you know the status of your print job, and the Print Server is also upgradeable. The device comes with a 3-year limited warranty. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Easy to install, works great
Since there were no reviews for the NetGear PS101 and reviews for the other vendor's offerings were fairly negative with a lot of pitfalls encountered, I expected to have some problems when I started. However, within an hour of opening the box, I had the print server up and running on 4 PCs, 3 with XP, 1 with Win/98. It works much faster than sharing the printer off a "server" PC, and print quality isn't impacted at all. The documentation is fairly clear and complete, although somewhat misleading where it talks about what port to use due to the use of bold versus normal font. The adiministration screens are OK, could be much better, and I can't figure out how to upgrade the firmware if I ever decide to do so.

Be careful on PCs with the printer already defined as remote to the "server" pc. Windows wants to configure the printer as another remote one and not as a "local" one. Going into the Windows define printer screens directly or first deleting the remote definition resolves this issue.

If you're using a firewall (like Zone Alarm), make sure you allow access or nothing will work.

A year of anger and frustration
I have bought this print server for about a year, and it brought me nothing but anger and frustration every time I wanted to print something.

First of all, you could not just send your print out to the server. You had to ping it first to "wake it up." Otherwise, it wouldn't respond to the client.

Then, sometimes even pinging wouldn't work. The server responded to ping but I still couldn't print. The client on my PC kept telling me that there wasn't a server. Rebooting the server or my PC would not always work.

Worse, often when I tried to use their tools, trying to "shack up" something (there weren't sufficient tools in the first place), the tools sometimes crashed and the server port disappeared from my PC. I had no way to get the port back, but to uninstall and install the thing again.

Do not buy it. If you really want it, I am selling it cheap.

Mini Pathetic Print Server
Having read the reviews of this product (and seeing little competition) I decided to give the PS101 a try. I have a machine running XP & a Mac with OS X 10.3 so I figured that once the device was setup by the windows machine the Mac would just need the right settings--wrong. The setup on XP was tricky & confusing, but did indeed work. I have a Brother HL-1250 (great printer) that isn't a native OS X printer. I couldn't get the IP Printing settings to take the brother as default. As per another review on this product, Mac printing is possible (theoretically) with the right printer. Be careful with this product...

Installed in Mac / PC network in 5 minutes
I have 2 Macs and 2 PCs - this print server installed onto the network flawlessly in under 5 minutes. Great product!!

Worked for one week, support worthless.
Two links into Netgear's support page for this thing, you'll find this: "The Print Server Buffer, is only 64K, so large print jobs are nearly always not executed correctly or at all."

For me, this piece of junk worked for one week. I guess it worked because I only tried to print some one and two page documents that week. Then I printed a 30 page pdf document. It stopped printing after 25 pages and has never worked again. I can't count how many hours I've spent on the phone with Netgear support people in India who don't know any more than I do.

According to Clinton Miller's five-star review, I might be able to make this thing work again if I "have access to a web forum or have some understanding of TCP/IP protocol."

Very disappointing product. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Netgear FS-105 Port 10/100 autosensing switch simplifies 100 MBps switching technology for the small-office marketplace. This product provide a way to instantaneously boost network performance while preserving your network infrastructure, including installed cabling and desktop software and hardware.

All five ports automatically sense speed, installation is Plug and Play, and each connection can easily be upgraded from 10 to 100 Mbps. Each port provides dedicated 10 or 100 Mbps bandwidth for connecting PCs, servers, and hubs. In full duplex mode, each port supports up to 200 Mbps of throughput.

The switch supports n-way autonegotiation, and each port automatically senses and operates at the proper duplex mode while built-in LEDs clearly indicate port status. These features take the burdens of configuration, installation, and troubleshooting off the user.

The switch is Plug and Play, so there's no software to configure. The switch is protocol independent and is compatible with all popular networks such as the Internet, TCP/IP, NetWare, Windows, and LANtastic. ... Read more

Features

• Fast Ethernet switch
• 5 switched 10/100 Mbps ports
• Automatic speed and full or half duplex
• Vista jacks with built-in LEDs
• Compact and easy to install

Reviews (17)

Fast router, flexible, design is a bit uncomfortable for me.
I originally had a hub, and when I realized that I wasn't getting anywhere near the throughput I would get with a switch, the obvious choice was netgear. the switch is fast, slick looking, and has LED's to tell you everything about your connections. the downside? design. the ethernet cables plug into the front of the unit, while the power cord plugs into the back. the problem here is that if your ethernet cables are as flexible as warm butter, they get in the way of the led's or each other. when i plugged three cables in, the box sat to the side because the weight of the cable held up up. if you are going to wall mount the unit (it comes with screws to do so) then that might help, but if you are going to set it on your desk, the ethernet cables have to run from the front of it, instead of behind... the unit also gets warm, so make sure you have clearance on all sides so it gets air. otherwise, despite the design issues, the product is slick. has led for 10/100mb, full duplex, collisions, and the 5th port doubles as an uplink.... for fast networking netgear makes a quality product.

A good, solid switch. A little nicer than others.
With switch prices coming down to about $10-per-port, it's hard to justify buying anything less than a 10/100-switch for all but the most cost-conscious buyer.

As most 5-port 10/100 switches have the same capabilities and cost about the same, there's not much to distinguish one from another. Still, I particularly like the Netgear FS-105 5-port switch. Like other products from Netgear, this switch is a little nicer than the competition because it has:

- Nice sturdy metal construction instead of plastic. The case also has a grounding tab in case you're using the switch in a (electrically) high-noise environment.

- Connection status indicators built into the jacks, so you can easily tell which cable is connected and is active. (The "vistajack" feature.)

- Right-angled barrel power connector which reduce the likelihood of disconnecting power accidentally.

- An easy-to-access switch to toggle port 1 between station mode and uplink mode. Unlike some hubs where two jacks are wired together, this design prevents accidentally shorting a station to an uplink.

- Screw-mount notches on the underside allows for easy attachment to the wall, underside of a counter, etc.

With a 1000-MAC address buffer and 200 Kbytes-per-port packet buffer, this switch can easily handle the typical traffic load of small- and medium-sized networks.

The Netgear product is not the cheapest 10/100-switch (check out the D-Link Fast Ethernet Switch, for example), but for overall design and value-for-money, I still like the Netgear the most.

I wish the ports were on the back
I agree with the other reviewers, in that this is a very solid built and reliable product. I've been using mine for six months now and have not had to touch it. It performs very well, as I've ran multiple file transfers simultaneously among four computers and it was amazingly faster than when using an older 10/100 hub.

The one complaint that I have about Netgear switches and routers is that many of them have the ports on the front of the unit instead of the back. If you're installing this in some out-of-the-way place like your attic or basement, or if you're installing in a computer rack where you want everything facing front, this is a non-issue. If you want to put this on your desktop it is a major inconvenience, because the cables coming into the switch will either be strung across the front of your desk, or will snake over and behind the unit. In either case, you have cables on your desktop and it's quite unsightly.

All things considered I'm still happy with the Netgear switch, but if I had it to do over again I would have probably bought one that worked better in my home office.

Reliable switch
Sturdy construction in an unobstrusive yet eye-catching package, the FS105 is an excellent workhorse! I have been using one for the past 1 1/2 years without a hitch. Setup is easy and quick so there is very little hassle and headaches involved.

Only one problem is that it tends to run rather warm so I elevate the switch on 2 jenga blocks to allow for better heat dissipation.

Good Device, Small Size is a +
I'm not hiding that I like Netgear products for entry level use. This device has a 5th port that you can use in uplink or normal mode. It is very compact with indicator lights for connection and collisions. It is also very reliable. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Netgear EN104TP is an Ethernet hub supporting four 10Base-T ports and a push-button uplink port for network expansion. Connecting multiple PCs, this device provides a speed of 10 Mbps for information exchange, resource sharing, and client-server or peer-to-peer applications solutions with simple unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) wiring. Built-in LED indicators clearly display port status. Plug-and-play installation with no software to configure makes this device easy to use.

Note: The EN104TP version of the EN104 provides no BNC or AUI connection.

The Netgear EN104TP Ethernet Hub comes with a limited lifetime warranty. ... Read more

Features

• Low-cost version of EN104 (no BNC support)
• Uplink port for network expansion
• Vista jacks with built-in LED indicators
• Resource sharing
• Limited lifetime warranty

Reviews (29)

The best hub for a home network
I bought this hub to connect the computers in my home so they could share a cable modem. I looked at a lot of 10Base-T hubs, and found this one to be among the least expensive with the best satisfaction ratings. I am especially impressed with the hub's small size and metal case -- other hubs are larger and have plastic cases.

To me, the best recommendation for a piece of network hardware is that you never have to think about it, it just works. This hub gives me that in spades.

A solid hub, but 10 Mbps is too limiting today.
Our office used to use a handful of the EN-104 4-port hubs and some of the EN-108 (the 8-port version of the same product).

As 10 Mbps hubs go, the EN-104's are really nice.

The quality of NetGear equipment has always impressed me:

- Nice sturdy metal construction instead of plastic.

- Status indicators built into the jacks, so you can easily tell which cable is connected and is active.

- Right-angled barrel power connector which reduce the likelihood of disconnecting power accidentally.

- With an easy-to-access switch, Port 1 toggles between station mode and uplink mode. Unlike some hubs where two jacks are wired together, this design prevents accidentally shorting a station to an uplink.

- Screw-mount notches on the underside allows for easy attachment to the wall, underside of a counter, etc.

If you want to set up a network without spending much, these hubs work well. However, I suggest you buy a 10/100 Mbps hub instead.

Here's why:

Practically all new networkable devices today support 100 Mbps (FastEthernet) as well as 10 Mbps (Ethernet). The EN-104 hub (and other 10 Mbps hubs) will limit you to the slower speed.

As 10/100 Mbps hubs are readily available today, and are quite affordable, I think your money is better spent on the faster hub.

Is there a noticeable difference between 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps? It depends on your usage, but if you regularly work with files larger than about 300 KBytes or larger, you'll notice a tangible difference. For truly large files (like graphics/movies, or when installing an application via a network drive), a 10 second transfer at 100 Mbps will take well over a minute at 10 Mbps.

If the NetGear 10/100 hub (DS-104) is a bit too pricey for you, you might consider the Linksys EFAH05W 10/100 hub. Though not as "nice" as NetGear equipment, the Linksys 10/100 hub is only a few dollars more than this NetGear 10 Mbps hub.

Great for Home Network!
I have bought two of these for home and office use. They work flawlessy and for the price you cannot beat the functionality. I was running at least Windows 98 on all computers I hooked up to the ethernet hub. Windows makes it easy to set up file and printer sharing.

After you are hooked up to a network you will not need to swap disks all the time in order to exchange information or to move files for printing. You can transfer a hundred megabytes in a minute or two depending on the kinds of files.

Setup is a breeze if you have ethernet cards installed already. Even if you do not have cards installed already there are instructions to walk you through step by step.

just for your info
this product is OK for networking under 50 feet, i had the previous version which is the EN104 (NOT EN104tp) with the bnc port, that one work for my home networking, but when i bought this one DONT WORK, called cust support and he said its a diffrent chip inside that couldnt handle that far of a distance, i thought just to let you people know about this.

Excellent Back-up
I use this hub as a backup when my 100 base switch fails, which appears to be quite often. This hub has saved me on many occassions, and while it is only 10 base, it still works 100% of the time flawlessly. It is very reasonably priced, and is simple to cascade using the uplink (ie you don't have to purchase extra crossover cables, which are more expensive) feature, as well as a standalone network.

There is no software to install, it is literally plug and transfer. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Features

• High Trasmit Power up to 100mW (20dBm)
• 802.11b Wi-Fi certified with High Data rates at up to 11 Mbps
• Ability to define multiple Profile settings
• Site Survey Utility
• Ability to select different countries and available channels in each regulatory domain

Reviews (22)

How to Set it up in compaq notebook with XP system
First, you should install smc utility software. The driver files locate in the smc utility dir.(for example:C:\Program Files\SMC\SMC2635W Wireless Cardbus Adapter Utility\drivers\WINXP). You need locate it to windows installer so that XP could find hardware driver.

Works well, but no WPA. Good tech support.
Unlike some others here and elsewhere, I've had great success with this card, which was inexpensive, easy to install, and worked fine immediately. I have a Version 2 card. However, in spite of the description here, in spite of the description on the box, and in spite of the description on the datasheet at SMC's site, this card does NOT support WPA. A driver update was supposed to have available (according to SMC literature) in Q2, 2004. But there is no such driver yet, and no one I've talked to at SMC will predict when it will be. So it this kind of security is important to you in the predictable future, choose another product.

On a plus note, the telephone support from SMC has been terrific. I would deal with this company again.

Windows XP Home on a Compaq laptop
I can't get this PC Card to even be recognized as a network card on the Compaq. I tried sticking it in an old Toshiba laptop running Windows 98SE and it worked! The Compaq keeps looking for a network controller not an adapter. This may not be the fault of the card, but rather teh computer itself. Good luck if you buy one of these. Their tech support knew less than I did.

Great Product
This is a great card, absolutely no problems. I'm running XP Pro and I haven't had any of the connection problems that others have mentioned. I can surf while streaming music for hours and never get disconnected. Easy install and was running in minutes.

Disconnect also occurs with XP Home
Some report that XP Home does not have a disconnect problem with this card. My experience of over a year's usage is that on a Toshiba laptop (Satellite 3005) with XP Home this card disconnects every ten or so minutes, then eventually (about 30-60 seconds later) reconnects without intervention. Because of this flaw it is frustrating and annoying to use this card; I do not recommend it. ... Read more

Features

• Includes drivers for Linux and all versions of Windows
• Easy plug and play installation into any free PCI slot using Windows 95/98/ME/2000/2003 or XP
• RQ sharing saves resources and eliminates conflicts
• Supports the RS-232 serial interface
• 16 byte FIFO buffer ensures fast data transfer while multitasking