FriendlyNET FR1104-G Internet Router 802.11G 54Mbps (also b) Asanté Router / Access Point : $89.99 http://www.asante.com Sean Gibson - email

INTRODUCTION

Now that wireless internet and networking technologies have been embraced by the general population, there's a huge opportunity for companies to establish themselves as leaders in the marketplace. The first piece of the puzzle for consumers is finding the right router/access point to start their network with. Asanté's FriendlyNET products are designed to provide hardware and software solutions to simplify networking and Internet access for mobile, small, and home office professionals. Established since 1988, we're seeing this company on the rise as a viable provider for networking solutions.

description of technology

The 802.11G network involves wireless networking up to 54 Mbps, and the firewall prevents people from the internet hacking into your systems - an absolute must these days. The actual wired ports are 10/100 ports for your hard-wired computers and accessories (XBox, PS2, network drive, etc). The unit also supports the widely used 802.11b protocol which runs at 11Mbps, so that's a nice backward compatible feature that doesn't force users to upgrade to "G" across the board. The wireless security supports the much recommended 256-WEP encryption ... and be sure to use this! This way people roaming around, or even a pesky neighbor, will not be able to use your wireless connection. If they do, they take away your bandwidth ("Why is it running so slow? Because someone else is on the network!!") or even access computers on the network! I say this because I can pick up my neighbor's non-secured wireless network from my bedroom (snicker...).

installation

Installation with networking devices MUST be easy and simple if I give any sort of recommendation for consumers to purchase the unit in question. Fortunately, the FriendlyNET FR1104-G is just that - friendly.

We installed the router/access point with the cable modem (it's a matter of simply plugging the sucker in). Then, we used a computer in the general area that had a 802.11g PCI card installed into it and had it access the network.

Running through the "Network Wizard" in the router itself (via the built in web server) is a nice way for novices to set up their network. You can also set up ports to be open within the web server, which you will have to do if you use programs such as Battle.net (WarCraft, Diablo, etc) or BitTorrent (to download & Upload).

All in all , the unit installed with a great deal of ease, and I was happy that was the case ... most people setting up networks in their home are only doing so for the first or second time.

Performance

We first set up a system about 10 feet away and ran a few tests to make sure this sucker did in fact run at 54Mbps. Then, to test the the Access Point was done with the help of NetIQ's Qcheck 3.0 software, which is freeware and can be downloaded by clicking here. It's a fantastic program that can test out the throughput rate as well as the response time between nodes on a network.

Response Time Testing

Well 1ms isn't that bad now, is it? The response time from the "close" tests with the computer within 10 to 15 feet yielded the same results.

Throughput Tests

The great thing about this program is that between 2 points on the network you can send a packet of information to determine the throughput. Unfortunately the maximum size is only 1000k, so that's what we set it at.

After 50 tests the average response time for the 1000k packet was 14.534Mbps. This is pretty decent to be honest, that you can burst with this kind of throughput.

Overall, the network performance of the unit was good, with the firewall and WEP features being highlights for security (which comes highly recommended by anyone with networking experience).

Overall Impressions

The installation of the unit, once again, was very easily installed and for those of you new to networking (especially wireless) this is a nice unit to get you started on your way. The performance of the product was good in close range tests, and long range tests gave similar results.

The price point of the unit is somewhat competitive, as a quick look on PriceGrabber showed a lowest price at $72. That's still a shade high for a product of this type that we've seen from other vendors, but nonetheless it's a good price for the product. The "coolness" factor is very high - it's so much fun setting up a wireless network and having it work as well as you imagined it would. It's great to have the firewall up to block all those bastards that try to hack in, and it's great to have the secure connection that is necessary for today's networks.

The usefulness of the Asanté FriendlyNET FR1104-G is extremely high as anyone with a small business or home network would not just want but NEED one of these units. The amount of time you will be keeping and using this product (rated as Longevity) is very high, as the 802.11g protocol, along with 100BaseT wired networking, is the standard these days, and this product boasts both.

Overall, I'm impressed with this unit from a company I knew little about prior to this review. I definitely recommend to consumers keeping this product in mind when shopping for your home wireless network.

9 / 10 OVERALL SCORE 92% 9 / 10 8 / 10 10 / 10 10 / 10 9.2 / 10