The utility program that is included on a floppy is pretty cool, I went ahead and downloaded the updated version from their website and would recommend you do as well. The main tab of the utility has a lot of good information like the MAC address, channel, speed, link strength and link quality.
As you can see the link quality and strength are pretty good, the router was downstairs while the computer was upstairs. Depending on where the computer and router were in relation to each other determined the quality and strength. Overall the reception was good but at times it would drop kind of low. I think if the PCI card had an antenna on it that it would get much better reception.
The configuration tab of the utility is where you can set the profile name, network name, network type, and transmit rate. I left all of these at the default setting because it worked fine and with the network setup I had going there was no reason to change anything.
The encryption tab has your encryption options so that you can lock down the wireless connection with WEP which stands for “Wired Equivalent Privacy.” WEP seeks to establish similar protection to a regular LAN which is offered by a wired network physical security by encrypting data transmitted over the WLAN. You have the option of 64 bit, 128 bit, or disabling it all together which isn’t recommended. I went ahead and used the 128 bit encryption so that it would be harder to be hacked.
The about tab of the configuration utility has a couple bits of useful information. From this tab you can find your driver version, utility version, NIC firmware, and MAC address. All of this is useful information and its nice that its all in one place rather than having to go to more than one to find it all.
Conclusion
I have done a lot of wired networking but this was my first experience with wireless. Overall I am very impressed with these SMC products and the technology in itself. The most obvious advantage to using wireless equipment is that there is no need for cabling, and you can use it anywhere within your house or ever outside.
The obvious disadvantage to wireless is that its still not as fast as a regular wired LAN, link quality and strength may not reach far enough for your needs, and the security risk is much higher. The router and both NICs come with good utilities, manuals, and drivers. Everything should be able to be installed and setup within an hour which is great.
The nice thing about the router too is that you can also plug in wired computers to the network to take advantage of faster speeds and better security. Wireless popularity has been growing and I am sure will continue to do so and only get better doing so. This whole setup is great and I feel that SMC has a great lineup of products here.
I would really suggest this to anyone who either doesn’t want to deal with the hassles of wiring up a network or simply wants to be able to use their PC or laptop anywhere.
Overall I am going to give this whole setup a 9/10 and award it the OCmodshop Seal of Approval. I would really like to thank SMC for sending over this stuff to review and the support they offered me.
Pros
- Good looking router
- Easy to install
- Great software utility
- Can be on the internet anywhere within your house
- Router can use wired and wireless connections
- 11/22 Mbps speeds
- 128 bit WEP encryption
Cons
- No antenna on PCI card
- Manuals could be better
- Security risks
