Review By: Luckee

Review Date: February 21, 2001

Because the average number of PCs per household has recently increased, people have been  faced with the question of  “How do I get more than one computer online with only one IP  address, while stopping hackers or intruders from invading my privacy?”  Fortunately, Linksys, a company out of Los Angeles, has a solution for this type of problem.  The Linksys BEFSR41 Cable/DSL router was made specifically for this purpose. It is a hardware based DHCP Server that allows you to share your Internet connection with many systems. Users need a router with performance for multi player games, a firewall, and of course it must be easy to set up and use. To top it off, this is the only router in its class that uses a 4-Port 10/100 Switch, instead of a standard non-switching HUB so it is fast, compatible and inexpensive.

The BEFSR41 is pretty small. It is a little bigger than a stack of 3 cds, but it means business. It has five RJ-45 connectors on the back and a rack of green and orange LEDs on the front. It gets its power from a power brick (portable computer style), and comes with the following features:

• Four switched 10/100 full-duplex ports;
• IP filtering;
• DHCP client for the WAN side;
• DHCP server for the LAN side;
• IPSec Pass-thur
• PPTP tunneling
• NAT (Network Address Translation);
• IP Port Forwarding (good for servers);
• DMZ hosting (good for game servers);
• Virtual Private Network support;
• Standards: IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u;
• Protocol: TCP/IP, RIP1, RIP2, PPTP(VPN);
• LEDs: Power, Ready/Test, Link and Activity for both WAN and LAN port(s), Partition and Collision for LAN ports;
• Small external power supply is a full wide, input switching power supply that is ready for use anywhere in the world;
• Connects to a broadband modem or to an Ethernet backbone;
• Connects all of your PCs to the Internet With only one purchased IP address;
• Creates a firewall to protect your PCs from outside intruders;
• Configure through any networked PC's web browser;
• The switch dramatically speeds up your gaming and multimedia connections;
• Compatible with all standard Internet applications;
• Administrators can block specific interior users' Internet access;
• Technical Support - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; and
• Full 1-Year warranty.
  

It also supports some "advanced" features:

• Static port mapping (for running specific servers on the home LAN, something that would be problematic normally due to the NAT function);
• Dynamic routing;
• Static routing; and DMZ host (to place one computer outside the packet filter and NAT function).

I would expect most users will never need to change those settings, but it is nice to know that they are available to give advanced users the flexibility they need. With all these features included in this little box, there is no need to set up any computers in a special way to make this work. 

Configuring the Linksys Cable/DSL router was straightforward, assuming you have the necessary settings at hand. Configuration is done via a browser and requires the following information from your ISP.

• Fixed Internet IP Address
• Computer Name and Workgroup Name
• Subnet Mask
• Default Gateway
• Primary DNS IP address

Open up the Internet browser and set the address to http://192.168.1.1. You will be greeted with the following logon screen:

In an effort to make setup of the router easy for the average user, Linksys has included a quick-start guide and a very detailed explanation in the manual. I didn't have to spend much time hooking this thing up and it does everything I expected it to do exactly as I expected. Make sure you have "CAT-5" cables to connect your router and computer or you'll only be able to work at about 10Mbps. One CAT5 Ethernet cable goes to the cable/DSL modem and one cable goes to each of the  computers on the home LAN.

The Linksys came with a firmware version 1.30, but I recommend upgrading to 1.37 (http://www.linksys.com).  Write down your settings before you flash your router a new firmware, or you'll lose them. Most new DSL connections use PPPoE, which stands for Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet and it's the same type of connection that a regular 56K modem uses, but it works over Ethernet instead of a phone line. Version 1.37 is the newest, and is best for PPP users. After flashing the Linksys a new firmware, all I had to do was put in my gateway address, DNS addresses, change the number of users to two and change the default password.... please make sure you remember to change the password! The router will assign each PC connected to it a unique IP address.  When you're setting up email accounts, the Linksys router requires you to precisely determine the IP addresses of your mail servers because of its firewall functions. Follow the manual and with a little ping action, you'll be up and running in no time.

The Linksys BEFSR41 router is complete with four switched ports, where one port will act as a pass-through to another switch or hub. (A switch is a router but faster. A hub is a slow, obsolete unit. The switch is a bridge or a piece of hardware than switches between network subnets. A switch is faster and better than a hub.) So I got real interested in the Linksys as a "router with a built-in switch." It is a switch, but the router's firewall activities make it more of a real router than just a mere switch.

Now we need to be able to have some security. Hackers are basically trying to do two things when they decide to attack: to get personal information or to get bragging rights. They have numerous methods to do that:  port scanners, Trojan-horse email attachments, smurf attacks, Denial of Service, etc. The Linksys has only one, but very effective, security function: "Block WAN requests." Enabling this option will block ICMP echoes from the outside world. This in effect makes the computer undetectable. If a hacker can't see you, they generally can't attack you. The downside to blocking ICMP echoes is that is can reduce performance by forcing a server to send you smaller-sized packets than your connection can handle.

The router also has IP port filters. This feature will block all connection requests to certain ports while letting though others. So, you could set up a Web server on Port 80 and block all other ports.  It also includes Port Forwarding, a very nice feature that will forward port requests to different machines. This is a security feature in that you can set a Web server and an FTP server up on different machines where a successful attack on those ports would only bring down one machine at a time. The Linksys won't help you if you're on the receiving end of a Denial of Service attack. At this point in time, there isn't much any router can do to defend against a DoS.

We attempted to use the router with my ISP (a T1 Like connection), a service called  SwitchPoint(TM) Networks, Inc., formerly known as AirSwitch Corporation, is based  in Utah. Their deployment strategy emphasizes license agreements and strategic business alliances with broadband network operators who are building new and open access metropolitan-area networks (MAN). Through these operators, SwitchPoint(TM) Networks will incorporate its third generation, "last-mile" solutions for bringing premium broadband applications to both home and business subscribers at a cost far less than competing technologies such as DSL, cable modems, and fiber-to-the-home implementations.   

The Neighborhood Networks(TM) technology is suitable for all metropolitan markets, and is currently being used by thousands of subscribers at two test sites managed by SwitchPoint(TM) Networks in Utah. The SwitchPoint(TM) network architecture incorporates standard fiber optic and SwitchPoint(TM) manufactured cable, as well as environmentally hardened and specialized switches and routers, which, when used together, give subscribers Internet access at speeds equal to all-fiber implementations. Subscribers using this peer-to-peer, Ethernet-based technology enjoy network access which is 2,000 times the maximum speed of 56 Kbps analog dial-up Internet connections; 14 times the maximum speed of 7 Mbps digital subscriber lines, or DSLs; and 10 times the maximum speed of 10 Mbps cable modems. While the SwitchPoint(TM) Neighborhood Network(TM) technology is currently capable of delivering speeds of 100 Megabits per second, the network technology is fully scalable, (and has been!) which provides cheap in home T1 connections. Currently SwitchPoint charges roughly $22 a month for this service for cheaper than DSL or cable internet services. 

Okay, enough bragging about my ISP. I was tempted to see if the DSL/Cable Router would work with SwitchPoint.  My experience was mixed at first. It worked great at times and had problems other times. I called Tech Support and spoke with a technician and was told I was a “rare miracle child to have gotten the WAN port to work with my T1 technology.”  Additionally, even though I was apparently attempting the impossible by trying to get this router to work with an ISP that it wasn't designed for, Linksys’  technical support team spent almost and hour on the phone with me trying everything they could think of to make things happen.  Which to me is quite impressive.  Further testing showed this router works with the SwitchPoint(TM)  technology, and I am happy to report we are up and running with no problems… how about that!

In conclusion, this is a great little box. It does everything it was designed to do and Linksys keeps adding new features to it with each new firmware release. It has a web-based setup, good speed, 4-port 10/100 full-duplex switch, firewall capabilities and it only costs about $150. It is one of the best home gateway/routers that you can buy, and when set up correctly, it provides a modest level of security. PPPoE users might have some problems, but firmware version 1.37 should fix that. For VPN users, the Linksys supports that as well. For home users who just want to share an Internet connection, the Linksys cannot be beaten. For gamers the Linksys won't disappoint, but try not to host any Internet games. From what I have seen, I would highly recommend this product to any small and simple home Ethernet LAN with a shared broadband connection, be it cable modem or DSL, especially if you are running more than one computer and you are looking for higher internet security.  

PROS

• Very Inexpensive
• Is  compatible with all newer ISPs With T1 Adapter for the WAN port.
• Real 10/100 switch for the LAN side (4 ports)
• Perfect for game servers
• Indicator lights make troubleshooting easy
• Web based admin interface makes setup easy
• Good for small business firewalls

CONS

• Static packet filter is a very rudimentary firewall
• Can only use one IP address on the WAN side
• Is not made with more than 8 ports

Also check out the linksys setup reference page for you novice users out there:

http://www.linksys.com/tech_helper/intro.html