US Robotics Broadband Router

The US Robotics brand name resurfaced last year as a result of an agreement between 3Com, Accton Technology and NatSteel Electronics, where all of 3Com's analog modem products were assumed by the newly formed company. The latest addition to this illustrious family is the Broadband Router multifunction device.

Once connected to a cable or DSL modem, the Broadband Router can provide shared Internet access for up to 253 users. It combines a simple four-port dual-speed Ethernet switch, and an uplink port allows additional hubs or switches to be cascaded using straight-through or crossover network cables. You also get a serial port for connecting a modem and a parallel port for networking a printer. There's even a display panel showing link status and speed, plus LAN, WAN and router status indicators and an RJ-45 port for connecting to a cable or DSL modem.

Installation is simple as the router is remotely managed using a standard Web browser. Four options for Internet access are provided and support ISPs that use either static or dynamic IP addressing and DSL connections that require PPPoE (point-to-point over Ethernet), although the router doesn't support PPPoA (PPP over ATM). The fourth option is for dial-up access using a modem. Print services are easy to set up too.

The router claims to have an integrated firewall, but this is nothing more complex than NAT (network address translation). It also incorporates a DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol) server for dishing out IP addresses to users when they log on to the network. By specifying port numbers in the virtual server feature you can allow users access to Internet services such as POP3, and you can stop groups of users accessing specific UDP or TCP ports.

Overall I found the Broadband Router easy to install and configure, and the plentiful features ideally suited to small networks.

Author: Dave Mitchell