Computer Systems and Network Technologies



Computer Systems and Network Technologies

Comparison and Review of Current Wired And Wireless Networking Devices

Netgear DG834G ADSL Wireless Router

After comparison and review of two Netgear products it has been found that Netgear DG834G ADSL wireless router is best device for the home based networks. And in relation to it, this part of the paper emphasizes on the benefits and advantages of this wireless device. Other devices are introduced and compared below. The description, i.e. discuss of the capabilities, identification of the perceived benefits to the home user and inter-operability of each devices is given below in this paper.

This written pience of the Netgear DG834G is really a follow on from our previous review of the non-wireless Netgear DG834. The big difference in the two models is that the DG834G has a built in 802.11g wireless interface, which is obvious from the presence of the wireless antenna. Both units run the same firmware and offer the same features, so rather than repeat ourselves, this review will concentrate on the wireless configuration and performance aspects of the Netgear DG834G router.

Netgear has been releasing many versions of firmware for its routers, the one used in this assessment of the DG834G is version 1.05.00. To summarise the routers features:

Firewall with control of inbound and outbound traffic

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)

intrusion detection logging

denial of service protection

ability to block specific web sites

a schedule system to allow time based blocking in the firewall

64/128 bit WEP encryption support

WPA wireless protection supported

Access control list for wireless devices

Wireless isolation to stop wireless devices talking to each other

The switches by Netgear Store-and-forward each frame stored in a buffer before the exchange of information to the output port. While the plot is in the buffer, the switch calculates the CRC and measures the size of it. If the CRC fails, or the size is too small or too large (an Ethernet frame is between 64 bytes and 1518 bytes) the frame is discarded. If everything is in order is routed to the output port.

The wireless of the DG834G is enabled by default when the router is shipped, with a default SSID of NETGEAR and is running in mixed mode (i.e. Support for both 802.11g and 802.11b networks). While this works out of the box, it is the least secure set-up possible, in that anyone with a computer and wireless network card within range of your router will be able to connect and use the Internet for free, but perhaps most importantly they would have access to the computers on your home network. They will now cover some of the security options available. Which ones will work best for customers are very much down to the version of operating system and what wireless network card customers are using.

The router offers some other ways of helping to secure your network. The simplest of these is the ability to turn off the wireless side of the router totally. Hiding the SSID can help to keep the very casual passerby out of your network, though some people have found ...