Actiontec Cable/DSL Router

Manufacturer: Actiontec Electronics Inc.
Supplied by: Actiontec Electronics Inc.
Street Price: $139

by Eric Vaughan  (7/16/2002)

Introduction

When Dean asked me to come on board at OCC, I was excited about the opportunity to play with all the latest gadgets.  Being a network guy, I was immediately handed the Actiontec Wireless Cable/DSL Router as my first assignment.  What Dean didn’t know was that I have hated every piece of wireless equipment I have ever touched.  It has been over a year since I had messed with wireless and even then the equipment I was using was dated.  In truth, I set out to push this piece of equipment hard.  So let’s have at it.

 

What it is.

 

The Actiontec Wireless Cable/DSL Router is a 4-port 10/100 Ethernet router that also is a 2.4 GHz wireless router that offers a USB connection.  That is a lot of versatility.  It supports up to 253 users.  Expandability is a plus using a Wi-Fi PC card and other options that are in the works.  The stated indoor range is said to be 300 feet, we will test that later!  Support for Windows 95 through XP is offered in addition to MacOS 7.1 and higher. The router also functions as a firewall and supports multiple security settings including NAT, VPN, and 64 bit and 128 bit encryption.

 

 

When I took the router out of the box I was pleasantly greeted by everything I needed.  The package comes with everything to get started: Installation CD, Quick Start Guide, Cat5 cable, USB cable, and AC adapter.

 

 

It is a clean and modern looking piece of equipment.  The wall mounts of the underside of the router make for options as to where to place/hang it to be functional but out of the way.

 

     

 

  

 

 

Specifications

• Operating System: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows NT 5.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, MacOS 7.1 and higher

• USB: Windows 98, 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP
  Interface: Ethernet (models available in 4-Port & 1-Port), USB and Wireless

• Security: IP Masquerading (NAT), Web site blocking, Web service blocking, Internet activity logging

• Setup and Management: Web based

• Standards Compliance: RFC 2516, IEEE 802.3 10 BASE-T Ethernet, IEEE 802.3u 100 BASE-Tx Fast Ethernet, USB 1.1/1.0, IEEE 802.11b

• Protocols Supported: RFC 25216 (PPPoE), TCP, IP, UDP, DHCP (client, server), DNS (client), TFTP (client, server), FTP, Telnet, HTTP, SMTP, POP3

• VPN Support: L2TP, PPTP, IPSec (all pass-through)

• Maximum Computer Users Supported: 253

• Industry Standard: IEEE 802.11b

• Frequency Band: 2.4 GHz

• Uses Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum: Yes

• Maximum Data Rate: Up to 11Mbps

• Data Encryption Supported: 64 bit & 128-bit WEP

• Range: Up to 300 feet indoors
   

Setup

 

The setup guide in the manual is only a few pages, so do yourself a favor and look it over.  Setup was simple.  Plug everything in and fire the computers up.  Within 5 minutes I had setup the router and 4 computers and was fully connected.  The only change I made was that I like to use the 10.0.0.0 network instead of the 192.168.0.0 that is standard on just about all routers.  No reason other than I'm simple-minded and it's easier to remember.

 

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