Linksys WAG54GX2

Linksys WAG54GX2

Wireless routers are hardly the most sexy gadget to review and on receipt of our new Linksys WG54x with SRX 200 we weren't exactly fighting over the unit for review. However once we'd agreed and opened the packaging the latest ADSL wireless gateway from Linksys actually looks far more attractive than we'd expected with almost set top box style looks and a collection of green status LED's.

The box contains all you need to get started with the router itself, cables for Ethernet and connection to an ADSL line and a power supply, there are the usual instructions and a quick start card but we decided to see if we could make it work with only the IP address and logon details.

The side of the WAG54GX2 has clearly marked Ethernet ports (4 of them) and with a laptop connected to the first port and the IP address for the management console in our browser the first basic set-up screen. This allows for the basics to be entered like the type of connect and encapsulation used plus your username and password for your ADSL service. After doing this your ADSL connection should come to life and there is a handy set of lights on the unit, one to indicate the ADSL line is connected and one to show actual connection with the internet.

Having established basic connectivity it was time to set-up some wireless clients, the browser has a few tabs for wireless and the first lets you set the routers name and if its a mixed speed network (both 802.11b and g) plus you can choose to hide the SSID making the network more secure. Probably best to leave it visible while you set up the rest of the configuration, this includes wireless security using WEP / WPA both personal and enterprise flavours. You can set multiple keys and even rotate them in this respect the WAG54 GX2 is more like something you'd expect to find in the office rather than the home. Fear not it's all pretty easy to set-up and you only need use features you want and maybe switch some more of them on later.

Another key security setting is being able to limit who can connect to your router by MAC address using a filter list, this is easier to set-up than on other routers as you can see who's connected already (while in the clear) and then add them to the access list with a single click.

The main security tab lets you enable the inbuilt firewall with SPI (stateful packet inspection) to try and filter unwanted IP traffic, plus you can filter / check active X, cookies, and Java applets, you can even block anonymous traffic on the LAN. Should you need to use a VPN you don't need to use a telnet session and DOS like interface it's all there in user friendly web pages which should allow you to get that connection to work through your home connection.

Now all this security can worry users who want to allow some services or applications access to the outside world, Linksys have provided a Games and Applications tab which allows you to forward a single port or a whole port range to your outside IP address allowing things like web cams to be used for home security.

That's probably enough on set-up and security but we should mention that you can even run your own DMZ on this home gateway, all in all a pretty impressive feature list. Best of all we managed to set-up the basics without using anything more than the simple guide and had no call to use the set-up wizard supplied on CD.

So to the reason why this is just a bit more special than your common ADSL home gateway. First up this router is ready for ADSL2 and ADSL2+ standards which promise significantly faster connections than the 8mb available in the UK through selected providers. Then we have Linksys own SRX 200 technology which uses wireless G 802.11g technology as a base but then overlays additional signals known as MIMO (multiple in multiple out). When used with a SRX enabled card our laptop managed to reach a considerable distance further than a standard G connection, perhaps as much as double the distance.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in our tests was the increase in performance just using standard 802.11g, we noted an increase of between 10 and 20% in overall distance and quality of signal meaning that a laptop that would not work in one room now functioned, albeit with a low signal. Clearly Linksys hope you'll use MIMO to its best effect by purchasing a SRX card which will provide the significant gains in distance and also reportedly in overall speed but we were very impressed with the increase on standard kit.

Priced at around £110 it's not the cheapest of ADSL gateways but it is clearly feature packed including Wireless with full security and firewall, a 4 port Ethernet interface, advanced routing control, ADSL2 and 2+ compatibility and then MIMO transmission.

It alls adds up to a powerhouse of a home gateway and one that should server you well for a few years no matter what speeds your ISP delivers to the home.