TRENDnet 4-Port Broadband Router TW100-S4W1CA (Black)
by TRENDnet
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Our Price: $22.46
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Category: CE
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Digital product summary information
Manufacturer: TRENDnetAudio: English (Original Language)
Format: CD
Release Date: 2010-10-12
Platform: Windows
Model: TW100-S4W1CA
Product features:
- LAN Ports - 4
- WAN Ports - 1
- Firewall - available
- Protocal Support - Yes
- Weight - 236 g
- Windows Live OneCare 2.0 (Up to 3 Users)
- Norton Antivirus 2010 1-User [OLD VERSION]
- Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Standard [OLD VERSION]
- Nero 8 Ultra Edition [OLD VERSION]
- Roxio Creator 2010 [OLD VERSION]
Digital camera reviews of TRENDnet 4-Port Broadband Router TW100-S4W1CA (Black)
Digital camera Review: A quality router for a good price
Summary: 5 Stars
TRENDnet has always made some very good routers, and this little router is no exception. I have used the same Linksys router for 10years and it was time to retire it. However, finding a quality wired router was very hard it turns out. In the end I stumbled across this router and began to do some research into it.
the TW100-S4W1CA is actually the 4th version of this router. It was originally produced in 2006 and went through multiple changes (v1.0 v1.0r v1.1 and v1.1r) v1.1r was produced in 2009 i believe and contains the latest firmware (Jan 2008) The original versions of this router had a different design and a blinking "red" status light. The latest version changed it to a blinking GREEN light. I received a v1.1r which is the latest (sometimes you might end up with a 1.1 and some sites are even selling v1.0 originals which is very strange since Trendnet doesn't produce those anymore)
Anyhow, the router design itself is ultra simple. This is a $40 router normally so compared to a $80 linksys you will see some differences. The plastic casing is light weight and kind of feels fragile next to my old linksys w/ heady duty plastic or better yet, my netgear SPI firewall router(which broke in about a year) which has a metal case. However you aren't exactly throwing this thing around so for a device that sits on a counter, the light weight plastic design is helpful to keep it cool ; it just has this TOY look to it. The ports in the back are plastic w/ metal pins to hold the RJ45's in place. Simple but it works. The lights themselves are very simple and not over glaring (like the Gaming Routers from D-Link which actually can hurt your eyes if you look into them because of how bright they are).
A proper functioning v1.1r model will have a "solid green" power light. "flashing green status" "Green WAN light that flickers w/ activity" and the port w/ a network cable attached will be SOLID GREEN that flickers with activity.
FIRMWARE / SETUP
-- TRENDnet routers use some of the best router firmware on the market. It is done by an outside company which specializes in networking firmware and software, and supposedly they are one of the best. The firmware is windows/OS based, meaning when you hook up the router and get going, input your router IP and it will have a browser based firmware which will be like surfing webpages. This keeps it very simple for people who aren't familiar with networking since it lets them put in help bars, extra tool tips and make things look much nicer.
-- CABLE users this router works out of the box w/o even a need for setup . DSL users and others will require minor setup but this is easy as there are 2 setup methods
1. BASIC/QUICK. This setup is pretty much 4 steps. Time, Network IP, Network information, LAN settings in other words, the router will ask you to set your time, select your ISP provider (cable, dsl, etc), input network information if required by your ISP, clone your MAC ID(required if your ISP only grants you 1 IP based on your PC's network card)
** I didn't have to clone my MAC ID for it to work, but my friend bought this same router and he had to so well, this is a case by case basis. If the router is not working out of the box, CLONE MAC ID in the quick setup step. After doing that the router worked perfect for my friend.
2. ADVANCED. This setup avoids all the steps. Instead you are taken to a setup page that has all the firmware tabs. WAN, LAN, SETUP, FIREWALL etc Within each tab are options to use. This is for advanced users as tweaking a few things here can screw up stuff. However in the advanced setup menu you can go to LAN and change your router IP address, the IP ranges the router hands out, lease time etc. You also can set up DMZ, firewall features, port forwarding etc. Everything is well organized and help options are everywhere (it is so much similar than my old Linksys)
** In the FIREWALL option there is a feature called "BLOCK WAN IP" I personally would enable this. Basically this prevents the router from receiving "pings" on the WAN side (via your ISP). Now if you enable this and suddenly you lose internet then disable the option . Some ISP's do ping your network to make sure you are there. However most ISP's will not, instead HACKERS will ping along the network looking for a response. if you do not block your wan pings, you ping back and the hacker spots you and moves in for the kill. Is it necessary, no... but it is nice to have enabled.
OVERALL
Short story here, this router is a fantastic wired router. I call it "the little router that could.... and then some" as this router is half the size of my old Linksys yet has 8x the throughput (80Mbps WAN to LAN). This router has a very simple design, with very high quality firmware that makes it very simple to setup while catering to advanced users. I highly recommend this router for its price (currently $24). While you will get a very cheap looking router, the insides are HIGH QUALITY. Just look past the toy design and you'll see this has some high quality parts inside of it and that's what counts in the end. It works... and it works well.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this router if you are looking for a high speed wired router that can handle multiple computers and devices.
CONS
Like all great things, there are a few negatives to this router (minor ones)
1. Port 113 CLOSED not stealth. STEALTH is just an imaginary term by GRC testing. Basically it means your port isn't visible or responding to outside data access that was not requested.
Is this bad? Not really because this router contains "Block WAN PING" . My Old Linksys and Netgear routers did not have Block WAN PING but did have Port 113 filter. So pretty much it is one or the other from the research I did. You can filter port 113 (make it stealth) or just have the router block all PING requests from the WAN side.
2. Setup CD. I get so annoyed with these. Honestly, these Setup CD's cause more problems than they resolve. In fact some CD's wont even work on Windows Vista or Windows 7 . These CD's are really designed for users with Windows 95, 98 and 2000 where you had to configure high speed internet manually. XP, Vista and Win7 all have automatic configuration wizards. You should not have to use the CD to get this to work if you are on XP, Vista or Win7 (UPnP is enabled by default)
Summary of TRENDnet 4-Port Broadband Router TW100-S4W1CA (Black)
TRENDnets TW100-S4W1CA 4-port Cable/DSL Modem Internet Station provides the easiest and securest way to share your high-speed Cable/xDSL Internet connection. It has four 10/100Mbps half/full duplex switch ports that directly connect to workstations or uplink to another hub or switch. The TW100-S4W1CA also functions as a firewall for your PC, protecting your computer from hackers. It allows up to 253 users to access the Internet using a single ISP account. By sharing just one TW100-S4W1CA, one IP address, and one Cable/xDSL modem, dozens of network users can surf the Internet simultaneously. TREND-nets Cable/DSL Modem Internet Station is a feature-rich product that provides cost-effective functionality and an easy configuration.Routers
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