EXCLUSIVES

Netgear MR814 & Asante FR1004AL Wireless Routers
By Trey Yancy

A couple of years ago I spent days installing an in-the-walls twelve-drop network in my home. The result? The entire house could connect to our broadband modem and to other machines from anywhere but the bathrooms. A week ago I took an Airport card and a wireless router and spent around fifteen minutes. The result? The call of nature is no longer a barrier.

Wireless networking has been popular with Mac users since the debut of the iBook in the Summer of 1999 and it has become so easy that, including the installation of the AirPort card in my iBook 700, I was surfing in a total of 70 seconds. The wireless broadband routers tested (the Asante FR1004AL and the Netgear MR81) were also easy to set up, taking about five minutes for either unit, including connecting with the existing network.

Netgear MR814

Wrapped in a stackable, rounded silvery housing that looks at home next to a G4 minitower, the MR814 measures approximately 6"x9"x1". The unit comes with an Ethernet cable, a printed installation guide, a 122-page PDF reference manual and a very nice, but Windows-only, software firewall application in addition to the unit's built-in firewall. It can be placed horizontally and mounted vertically on the wall or on its sturdy snap-on stand. As with the Asante router, the Netgear unit doubles as a four port 10/100 Mbps switch, and thanks to its auto-sensing design, any of the four ports can be used for linking to an external hub without the need of a crossover cable. All I had to do was plug in the power adapter and cables, then log onto the MR814 with my web browser, set the broadcast channel, and log out. That's it.

A well-organized setup guide and companion software are also provided, which help you organize your information and then walks you through the process.

The bright green backlit activity lights include a combination of icons and numbers in 14-point type that are very easy to understand from across the room and even in a pitch black closet. The port indicators glow green or yellow, depending on the communication speed. Frankly, the icon/numeric display is perfect.

Asante FR1004AL

The Asante FriendlyNET FR1004AL is a direct competitor with the MR814 and performs the same function but with a sturdier yet less sleek package that can be mounted on a wall or horizontally. It has a pair of 4" antennas, compared to the MR814's 7" single antenna, and is housed in a compact, businesslike metal box measuring approximately 4"x7"x1". As with its competitor, the FR1004 AL has four Ethernet jacks on the back, a port for connecting via Ethernet to your broadband modem, and can autosense connections to other hubs. Visual feedback of status and activity is in the form of two rows of tiny LEDs identified by printed labels in 7-point type. They tell you what you need to know, but you need to read them with the lights on. The package also includes an Ethernet cable, a folded sheet setup guide, a 68-page manual, browser installers, and a ping utility.

A distinguishing feature of the FR1044AL is a PC parallel port for connecting a PostScript printer directly to the router. If you have an old PC-compatible PostScript printer and want it three feet from the router, this may be useful. It is compatible with the Jaguar compatible GimpPrint PostScript rasterizer, thereby making it possible to use many non-PostScript printers. But considering printer sharing, the prevalence of USB inkjets, and other factors, the port may not be of interest to Mac users.

Security

Both devices support 64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption, secure packet inspection, network address translation, the ability to place a computer outside the firewall, and the ability to allow certain types of packets to penetrate the firewall (such as for internet gaming). Both routers support MAC hardware access control, remote administration, as well as the cloning of the hardware address of the router, and the ability to selectively disable certain services on a machine-by-machine basis . They are both highly customizable.

Going tit for tat, the MR814 can send activity notices via email, while the FR1044AL can timeout inactive internet gaming setups.

Range

Using the iBook and Airport card I took a long walk, traveling from my second story office to the basement, then across the street and down the block, marking signal strength with a sticky note on the laptop screen as I surfed the web.

I was amazed at the range of these devices, both more than double that of Apple's claim of 150 feet for its AirPort base station. In my informal tests with an iBook 700 and Internet Connect utility, I measured effective signal strengths ranging from 96% to 29% for both units and was able to surf successfully at a distance of 408 feet. The performance of the Asante unit was virtually identical. Netgear claims a higher outdoor range than the Asante unit (some 1,600 feet), but I was unable to verify this. As reception is a two-way street, the choice of a remote wireless device obviously makes a difference.

Conclusions

The parallel port on the Asante FR1004AL may have limited appeal, but with its compact size, rugged construction, and other features it is easy to recommend this device. On the other hand, the easy-to-read display, documentation, and good looks of the Netgear MR814 make it an excellent choice as well. Either one easily beats the AirPort base station in cost, range, and features.

Netgear MR814 Pros: Exceptional distance, excellent activity indicators, attractive design, better documentation Cons: 10 mbps WAN port, slightly expensive, bonus privacy software is Windows only Price: $189 From: Netgear > www.netgear.com

Airport base station - $299, modem, WAN pand 1 LAN port, 150 feet. Asante FR1004AL Pros: 10/100 WAN port, excellent distance, rugged construction, compact design Cons: Less documentation, shorter warranty, hard to read activity indicators Price: $129 From: Asante Technologies > www.asante.com