Cisco-Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster

I have been running the WRT54GS for a few months and it has been fantastic.My main objective was to run the WRT54GS as a centrally located stand alone unit - not hooked up to a computer. For installation it was necessary to hook up the WRT54GS to a computer via the provided Ethernet cable, but once up and running it is independent. After initial setup, setting changes can be done through the wireless network using a browser, and in case of a crash a laptop can be hooked up to redo the setup if necessary. We have had several severe thunderstorms and power spikes that are typical for our area. These have sometimes caused problems with other equipment (despite being on APC surge protectors or UPSs). The WRT54GS has only once needed to have the power unplugged and plugged in again to establish normal operations, and then with no loss of settings.Our building has provided a great deal of interference for an ad-hoc network between computers. The WRT54GS equipped with a pair of Linksys high gain antennas solved the problem, and provided a single internet connection. I got a range expander for dead spots, but so far I have not needed to use it. Using the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Mini Card on Dell laptops we achieve 54 Mbps everywhere in the building, even where the signal is weakest. Reception is even good in the courtyard outside. We get similar performance using the Linksys WMP54GS in our desktop PCs. Our 10 Mbps cable modem link (to Brighthouse/Warner Cable) is the slowest part of the network. Other companies offer better speed and range performance with proprietary technology, but the WRT54GS gave us the same great performance no matter what wireless hardware we were using. It was also the best solution for the price.Our initial installation of the WRT54GS was problematic, requiring a firmware update. However, a couple of calls to Linksys technical support was all it took. I received a tech person within a few minutes and after going through the settings step by step they answered all my questions. They log all tech calls so even a new tech on a different call is instantly aware of the history of any problem.The setup software works well, but fails if there is no internet connection. Otherwise, it works great and makes installation easy. The default settings allow for a quick start even without the setup software, and the advanced features allow for sophisticated security and access solutions. The manual (on CD) is also excellent.

This router is basically the WRT54G, with the addition of Linksys' Speedbooster technology. It can service all 802.11g, as well as the older 802.11b, based networks. Or it can serve a network consisting of a mixture of those two standards. In short, this is a very versatile router to have.The Speedbooster technology provides an additional increase in network speed over the typical 54mbs of the 802.11g standard. This is very useful if you like to transfer large files between your computers. The extra speed should help things move along just a little quicker. But keep in mind that this will probably not give you any additional increase over the internet. Probably because the wireless connection between the router and your computer is not the bottleneck. The Speedbooster capability can only be fully utilized if your operating system is either Windows 2000 or Windows XP.Setting up this router was easy. My PCI wireless desktop adapter is also made by linksys. The ethernet card on my older computer is a standard issue IBM.I highly recommend this wireless router to anyone who frequently transfers large files from one computer to another. I have had the router in operation for over a week, and so far, it has not dropped my internet connection.For your information, my current network consists of two desktop computers (Dell 8200 and an IBM 300PL). The Dell is connected wirelessly, using a Linksys wireless adapter with the Speedbooster capability. The IBM has the original IBM network card. Speedstream DSL modem. The Dell is running on Windows XP Pro and the IBM has Windows 2000 Server.

I bought mine used, and so far, I have not really had any problem. It has worked good, and if it works for years, i will be happy. I came from another brand that was a wireless N brand, but it only lasted about 2 years before it started majorly glitching, and since I had a switch that looked very similar to this, same brand too, and have had it for many years with no problems, I figured I would give this one a try.The twin antenna's do have good reception, but I can not say how great they are. I took the stock ones off and got a set of 9dbi antenna's to replace them with. my neighbor that is about 90 feet up the street, can get a signal from me, and that is through 2 houses too. I am not saying a great signal, but a signal that connects is still a signal. that is with the new 9dbi antennas.. I did not check with the stock ones. It does not have annoying lights on the front, or really bright ones either, like a lot of devices seen to have these days. they lights that are on the front are easy to see, but also easy to ignore too.The complaints that I do have with it is more in the software then on how good it works. These are some features that some other brands have had that this one does not. It requires a password, but no user name.. so that drops security to get into it in half right there. If you dont have to much to worry about, when it comes to people getting into the setup on yours, like if you have WEP or whatever security enabled, this will be less of an issue, but if you leave yours open, then this might be more of an issue.What I do is set mine up for mac filtering, add the mac addresses of the devises I want to be able to connect, and then select, only let the devices in the mac address list to be able to connect wireless. This is one place that I dont like the setup. Even though it is easy to get into it to add them, there is no place to distinguish one device from the next. So say for example, you have a cell phone, and loose the cell phone, or break it, and have to get another, you may want to remove the mac listing from the list.. but how do you do it if you dont remember which mac address was for that device? or say you have a child, and you want them to get off the net, and they dont listen, or try to sneak on when grounded. Well, if you knew which mac address was theirs, you could just click to disable that one device.. but not having and description box for each mac make it harder to keep track of what device is for what mac address.Next is there is no reboot. Granted, you really should not need to reboot it very often, but if for some reason you do want to, you have to manually pull the power plug to do it. I have had others that had a reboot feature in the software. There is no status up time on it either. If you wanted to see how long it has been on for some reason, you can not. This comes into play, say, it something starts glitching, and you want to see if the device and been rebooted, or rebooted itself for some reason, or... if you can see the up time, then you would know, but that is a small feature that is left out of the software. there is also no info about connections either. If someone has been connected to the router, there is no way to tell how much they have been on it, how much data they have downloaded, or anything else. the only thing that they have about any connection use, is they will tell you how much time left you have on your IP lease. which can tell you how long ago it was that you connected to the router. and there is the info on that page too, that tells what your computer name is. No other info is there for you to get any other info about you though. Like I said, very limited on information. My last router, i could tell how much a certain computer has used the internet, how much data was downloaded by them, and much more. this one just seems to lack all the details about things. Oh yea, and that DCHP info, about who has a lease on an IP address.. well that is under local network, not the wireless tab too.In case you are wondering, there are times where I will leave my wireless open for neighbors that do not have internet. and when i do, as long as they dont abuse the privilege, I may leave it that way for a time. But, if I see that someone is constantly thrashing my network, it would be nice to know who is doing it. just by simply being able to see how much data they have used, I can tell who did it. There are other things too, so that is just one example. so yes, these features can come in handy too. Like I said, they just did not seem to think about putting in most features that are not needed features. I guess they consider those other features, a luxury.All of the main, basic features are there though, like changing the speed that anyone can connect to it at, WEP, WPA, WPA2, etc security, the tons of little things that most people never touch, the ability of blocking both times, and services, or even URL's. Like I said, the basic stuff that most people dont use.yea, i know, this is only wireless G, but for me, that is more then enough. Right now, I only have 20 meg down, and when time warner upgrades their service in my area, My plan will go up to 100 meg down, but when it comes down to it, for basic use, unless you are doing high end gaming, or doing things like torrents wirelessly, you really dont need faster then a 54meg connection to the internet. so it is not really a big deal. Even things like streaming services like netflix, only uses something like 4 meg down at best. at least that is the best setting that I can get that is available to me. that means you could have 10 people streaming video's at the same time, and still have much room to spare. Like I said, most average people do not need more then 54 meg down.Setup was very easy, and you can do it, even from a factory hard reset, without any disks too. Just simply connect your computer to the router through an ethernet cord, go to your web browser, and type in the IP address of the router in the web browser, and make any changes. No need to use install software, so if you loose the install disk, it is not a big deal. There is descriptions for all the setting built right in, so no need to look things up, or look for manuals if you are trying to figure out what a setting does.. It is right there on the side. If it is not, then there is a "more" link that you can click that will open another web page for you to view that info in.As for the antenna's, if you want to remove them, there is a plastic cap over the base of the antenna. Straighten the antenna for easier grip, then grab that plastic base, and just turn like you would a nut.. It will unscrew off, and if the antenna does not come off with it, then just unscrew the antenna too.Overall, this is a good router, and seems well made. i hope it lasts me for years to come too. I just wish that it had more info about things. So would I recommend it.. yes.. as long as its limitations do not bother you. so far, it has been a good reliable little router.--------------------------------------------------Update.I have found a little more info about this that I did not realize. First, you always hear that wireless G is up to 54Mb speeds, but what they do not advertise is this. First, that 54 is both way communication. So that means, you max out at 27Mb up, and 27Mb down. On top of that, that 27 is total, not just info. Meaning, overhead, security info, etc, is included in that 27. It is not just data. So the data speed will be closer to around 21 Mb speeds. and that is on a good connection. This is more then fine for someone with a low internet speed, someone just surfing the net, etc. But if you get 50Mb down internet speeds, don't expect to get the full use of it on this router. Mine started glitching out, so I just upgraded to an N router as I also upgraded my internet speeds too. Just don't forget, if you do upgrade your modem in aspects of higher speeds, you will also need to make sure that you have a wireless N adapter in your device too, or it will not improve your speeds any.