SoHo Office?

For those of you who have clients working from SoHo offices, you may be interested in the Netgear Modem RT314, a combination router/switch for DSL or cable modem users.

Netgear, now on its own after recently being spun off from Nortel Networks, is known for making affordable quality networking equipment. Nortel acquired Netgear during its acquisition of Bay Networks in 1998.

The RT314 boasts a long laundry list of technologies, which at first glance would make your mouth water. Included in this list are plug-and-play technologies, NAT, 4-port, 10/100 switch and a DSL or cable modem connection. We decided to take it on a trial run to see if it was as versatile as the marketing literature stated.

The setup of the switch was quite simple. Plug the power connector to the modem. Plug your cable or DSL modem into the modem port, and then your computers into the 10/100 ports. All this is explained in an easy-to-follow, well-documented and diagramed installation guide. Next is configuring the built-in router.

Just set your computer to a reserve address in the 192.168.0.xxx range, and use your browser to access the RT314's internal Web page. The Web page makes it tough to make a mistake, but if you don't spend the extra second to read the instructions, you may end up repeating the Wizard.

From there, the basic Router and NAT technologies could be configured in roughly 3 minutes. Using this approach, your SoHo office could be up and operational.

Just a question about your computer name and domain name, what type of connection you have (Ethernet or PPPoE), how your IP address are doled out by your ISP, and you're done. According to Netgear, all that's left to do is access the Internet. We had to reboot the RT314 modem, but after that, it was smooth sailing.

Included with the RT314 is a Resource CD-ROM. This CD is chock-full of very well-done--if brief--FAQs and application notes. Included in those notes are explanations on how routing works, how to set up PPTP, and adjust NAT to work with specific programs such as Quake, etc.

Why should the VAR recommend this unit? The reason is that you, the VAR, have the expertise to configure the firewall and the different routing protocols (TCP/IP, RIP-1, RIP-2). You will be able to change the default DHCP server settings or make it a client instead. Want or need to modify the NAT server? With a VPN connection using PPTP or PPPoE, the RT314 can handle all these requirements. All that is needed is either a Web browser or a telnet client.

Did the RT314 live up to the marketing literature? It sure did. It's inexpensive, fast, easy to set up, configurable and provides you not only with an ideal inexpensive solution from the client's perspective, but also from the VAR's perspective: It makes you look like a hero.