2000 was a big year
for broadband. Cable and dsl service
exploded on the market. Being so affordable, it’s THE alternative to a 56k dialup.
Not everyone can qualify for the services, I know, because I can’t get anything
but dialup. So I got some help for this review from a friend, thanks
jet_rider! For the lucky people who can get broadband service, there are a
few ways to share your connection with another PC or a few PC’s in your
household. The one way we will be looking at is the SMC SMC7004BR
Barricade™ 4 Port 10/100 Mbps Broadband Router.
"The
Barricade™ is an ideal all-in-one networking solution for home and small
business users. This platform independent multi-functional broadband router
combines a 4-port 10/100 Mbps dual-speed switch, a built-in print server, an
RS232 COM port for fail-over dial-up or modem connections, an Internet firewall
for security against hackers and other unauthorized users, and simultaneous
Internet access for up to 253 users."
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The
SMC barricade comes with great instructions.
Simple physical installation instructions come as the cover for the
CDRom. Just toss the CDRom into the cd drive and run the install.
Upon completion of the install the system status screen can be seen
in a simple web format that can be accessed from IE or Netscape. -
The
hardcopy instructions are supplemented with a more extensive set of
instructions that include some common issues with different services. One of these I actually used because the @home service binds
your IP to a computer or device name. To
actually get in and setup the barricade router one simply needs to enter the
administrative password. One of
the nice features of the system status page is the page contains not only
the password interface, but also lists what the default password is.
No fumbling around trying to find the default password or ensure that
it does not get lost. After entering the administrator password the system status
page gives fine-tuning options.
DHCP
The
SMC barricade comes with an ip range of 100 thru 199 as a preset
configuration with DHCP enabled. DHCP
being enabled as a default made setup of the pc on the router very easy. In my case the pc’s were already using dhcp from the cable
modem. All I had to do was
release the ip addresses and then renew them and I was on line with the
router. DHCP server gives the user the ability to customize the range of ip
addresses in the 4th octet.
If 100 to 199 is not to your liking all that needs to be done is
change the starting and ending address to meet your need.
