From: Mitchell Leben (mitch_at_leben.com)
Date: Tue Feb 27 2001 - 01:24:58 EST
As promised, here are my impressions of the SMC Wireless Barricade router
and PC card. www.smc.com, part # SMC7004WBR and SMC2632W. The Barricade is
a router with 1 WAN port, 3 10/100 switched ports, a built in print
server, serial port, and a wireless access point. To read a better review
than I can give here, follow
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/reviews/smc_7004wbr.asp
I purchased both at the new Fry's in Houston, TX. The base station was
$350, the card $150. Not the best price, I could have saved $100 combined
purchasing online. Heck, I want to make sure Fry's sticks around for a
while, and I really wanted this toy, er, tool.
I already have a DSL router with built in hub, and a block of static IPs.
I took one of those IPs and assigned it to the SMC's WAN port. The LAN
side is running a DHCP server, offering reserved IPs to both the 3
switched ports and the wireless.
The router is configured via HTTP, and offers a basic set of tools. It
does DHCP, NAT, DMZ host, and port forwarding to allow connections in from
the outside. The router features are easy to setup and work very well, I
was up and running in less than 30 minutes.
Of course, the best part of this is the wireless. SMC claims 1500 feet max
outdoors, less through walls etc. I am thrilled with the range, though the
reporting tools do not tell the whole tale. SMC gives a utility to measure
both Link Quality and Signal Strength. Both can be at zero, and I still
get a good connection.
The base station is on the second story. I can go anywhere in my house (2
levels no basement) and get a good connection. Out to the pool still works
great, so I walked down the parking area to see how far I could go. I did
not measure, but I estimate I was 10 car lengths beyond the pool before
the connecion died. Interesting though, I had to walk nearly to my outside
wall to establish the connection again.
When the signal is weak, I can improve it by pointing the length of the
card towards the base station. It is worst 90 degrees off axis. It also
depends on how my hands are placed. On the T20 the card exits the left
side of the case, right at the Shift/Caps Lock keys. The card sticks out
over an inch for the antenna. If I let my hand drift over the antenna I
can drastically reduce signal strength.
Currently I am sitting downstairs, directly underneath the base
station. If I turn the T20 on its side and point the PC card straight up,
I get 86% Link Quality. Flat on my lap, I get 75% to 80%. When I put my
hands on the keyboard, it drops to 50% to 60%. If I cover the card
entirely with my hand, I can make it read 0%.
None of that seems to really matter much though, since transfer speeds
remain the same even down to zero! I called SMC and they are aware the
tool needs to be fixed.
Transfers are around 550,000 Bytes/sec. download to the laptop, 450,000
upload, to a machine hooked into the switch at 100Mb.
The base station and card both support 64 bit encryption, which slows
transfers down an estimated 15%. To enable you have to turn the feature on
in both devices, and enter a passphrase which is converted to a 10 digit
hex code. Enter the code into both the PC card and base station, and we
are good to go.
I was concerned that my 2.4 gigahertz phone would interfere, but the two
coexist nicely. If I put the phone right next to the PC card antenna the
signal drops, but does not cause a problem in normal use. I can take both
laptop and phone outside and use both simultaneously.
Setting up the print server is a breeze. Just plug the printer into the
router, nothing to setup there. Install the printer driver on the PC, then
the SMC driver. Select the SMC printer port, and voila, wireles printing
via TCP/IP. Works great with my Epson 1270 inkjet.
So that is probably enough babbling about my setup. I hope this was
interesting to some of you.
-Mitch
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