NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: NEAL WEINBERG ON PRODUCT REVIEWS 09/23/04 Today's focus: Hawking H2WR54G
Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED], In this issue: * The Reviewmeister continues evaluating routers that support ��two WAN connections * Links related to Product Reviews * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia NW Special Report: Preparing an Infrastructure for Mobile Applications. Mobility, properly done, increases productivity and decreases operating costs. So get up to date information about building a mobile infrastructure, dealing with security issues, the latest networking options, connectivity alternatives and operational support enhancements. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=81444 _______________________________________________________________ DOWNLOAD THE LATEST SPECIAL REPORTS FROM NETWORK WORLD Focused reports on compelling industry topics, Network World Special Reports are available online at Network World Fusion. Network World Special Reports on Mobility, IP Telephony Security, the State of Wireless LANs and more are currently available. Download any or all of our Special Reports at: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=81391 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: Hawking H2WR54G By Neal Weinberg The H2WR54G from Hawking packs a bunch of features into a small device. Not only does the router support dual-WAN links, it includes an 802.11g wireless LAN module and basic firewall security. The H2WR54G was also the least-expensive unit in our test. Any of the four 10/100Base-T Ethernet ports can be used for DMZ by providing the IP address of the device to be seen on the Internet. There is no QoS support. Choosing the PC's IP address and selecting one or more of the 16 standard services displayed can create firewall rules. There's no way to block all users from using, for instance, MSN Messenger, only individual devices. This level of protection fits a consumer device or very small business, but not one serious about security. At least the firewall is enabled by default, as is the denial-of-service protection. There is no enterprise authentication support, such as RADIUS or even Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. The minimal browser-based management application uses the left menu template, but none of the pages are long or detailed enough to need tabs for drilling down. Two logs are available, one system and one security, but no parsing or explanations are offered, and there's no way to send the logs via e-mail or to a Syslog server as with the other units. When we tried to steer outgoing e-mail to the WAN1 link using the cable connection, we couldn't figure out where on the administration screens to configure SMTP routing, so we sent an e-mail to technical support. The good news: They answered by the next morning. The bad news: There is no way to route SMTP traffic to one WAN link. Users of this router must either have their own e-mail servers or be able to send outgoing mail through a hosting service because you can't reliably send e-mail if both WAN ports are active. WAN failover and reconnection worked, although streaming audio sessions had to be restarted. When set to backup rather than load balancing, the switch-over time from cable to DSl took about 20 seconds. Load balancing can be turned on, but the only control option is a percentage based on data transfer sessions. Feature-packed but detail-light, the Hawking's low price should make it popular with small businesses, but the minimal security settings and management control will limit its usefulness. For the full report, go to <http://www.nwfusion.com/reviews/2004/0913rev.html> RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS Cisco, 3Com fire up new WAN routers Network World, 09/13/04 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/091304routers.html Foundry jumps into WAN router market Network World Fusion, 05/11/04 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/0511foundry.html _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Neal Weinberg Neal Weinberg is features editor at Network World, in charge of product reviews, Buyer's Guides, technology primers, how-tos, issue-oriented feature stories and the Technology Insider series. You can reach him at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia NW Special Report: Preparing an Infrastructure for Mobile Applications. Mobility, properly done, increases productivity and decreases operating costs. So get up to date information about building a mobile infrastructure, dealing with security issues, the latest networking options, connectivity alternatives and operational support enhancements. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=81443 _______________________________________________________________ ARCHIVE LINKS Reviews archive: http://www.nwfusion.com/reviews/index.html _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE GETTING AHEAD OF SARBANES-OXLEY The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which was passed in the wake of accounting scandals at firms such as Enron and WorldCom, is one of the greatest challenges to companies' corporate reporting and compliance efforts. Find out how Thermo Electron's Michael Kamens is meeting the requirement for having a properly audited system of internal controls and processes is in place by November. 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