Rating: 
Summary: Works great, except...
Review: The BEFSR81 works great on my DSL application. I do note two problems with the unit. It doesn't keep an accurate list of the DCHP clients. If I reboot a PC on the network, the DCHP list will show both the former and the new IP address. It also drops the PPPoE connection for no apparent reason. The latter occurs even when the keep alive box is checked. Don't upgrade your flash code without checking versions. My unit shipped with a newer version of code than the "latest" version on the webpage. Overall, I'm happy with the unit. Linksys customer support is top notch and they bend over backwards to get you on line.
Rating: 
Summary: Worked First Time, Couldn't be happier
Review: I ordered it on March 12th, arrived March 16th. I had researched and decided that I wanted this particular router because I wanted 8 100mb fast ethernet ports. I opened the box, followed the instructions and within one hour I had it up and working on 8 pc's and VPN (Virtual Private Network using IPsec to connect into my work network) working on one of them. I had a speed improvement of about 100% from using my main pc as a NAT router using Win98Se Internet Connection Sharing, which is why I went to a dedicated router. All 8 PC's are sharing the net with no problems. I admit I am very experienced at this, but it was still very easy.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Product, with Excellent Tech Support
Review: I have this product on my home network, when i received it, i called tech support who talked me thru the whole installation. wait time was about 5 minutes. I installed one for a client and it went flawless. What a Bargain!
Rating:
Summary: this box is _great_
Review: I just got this thing. It took me about 20 minutes to get a Mac OS box and a Solaris box to share my PacBell ADSL line using it. I don't say this about much, but it's a bargain at twice the price. The only negative I can think of is that the manual focuses pretty exclusively on hooking up Windows boxes using dhcp... one assumes the UNIX crowd will know enough to make it work, but Mac users without some TCP/IP background might have a bit of a rough time left with only the provided documentation. The MAC address cloning feature is a thoughfull addition. I haven't had time to work with the "advanced" options yet, but this thing is definitely full-feature.
Rating:
Summary: Linksys BEFSR81 worked first try.
Review: This product worked flawlessly at the first try (a rarity with This kind of computer equipment). I have residential DSL from Verizon in Manhattan, NYC. Now, my old computer, my new computer and a laptop share the same DSL connection, in addition to been all networked, I can access files from every computer (the Linksys documentation on how to setup the network part is not very thorough in particular the sharing and naming of drives, mounting drives and priinters. Once you do this I can read from any CD drive and from my ZIP drive from any computer, and I can print to any of the printers from any computer, no more plug and unplug. As a bonus the Router keeps the connection alive constantly (you need to set a parameter). Before every time I was disconnected I had to reboot my computer (I was unable to find any other way). Verizon was no help. But it WORKS!!!
Rating:
Summary: Can you say "It Rocks"
Review: A router plus a 8 port 10/100 switch all in one. This is one sweet product. I connect my cable modem to this router and bang instant internet sharing. The bonus is I can now transfer files at 100mbs instead of 10. It also allowed me to replaced my 1 port router and 8 port hub with a single device. I connected it to the Linksys 10/100 switch and my house has become a high speed network. I am a wireless access port away from geek heaven.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for those who wish to share a DSL connection
Review: Due to the increasing size of my home network, I decided toupgrade to the 8 port BEFSR81 from the 4 port BEFSR41. The two areidentical in size. A Cable/DSL router is a MUST HAVE for those whowish to share a broadband connection. 99 percent of DSL providersutilize what is known as Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet(PPoE). This works just like a normal dial up connection where youhave a username and a password. Normally, this PPoE is done viasoftware installed on your computer. This has many limitations. First,the host computer must always be on for others to utilze aconnection. In that sense, each computer is not independent of theother.The Linksys has PPoE software built into it. Each computerplugged into the unit can access the internet independently of eachother. Better yet, you never have to see a username/password screenwhen connecting to the internet. In addition to allowing one toshare a connection, the Linksys also acts as a hardward firewallpreventing hackers from accessing your computers. A must have! Youcannot be secure enough these days! The unit is easy enough to useNovice to expert. While they're are many advanced features, it is notimperative to set or configure them. The html based interface of theunit is extremely intuitive and easy to figure out. The unit itselfleaves a very small footprint. The linksys supports DMZ which isknown as a demilitarized zone. It basically allows one local user tobe exposed to outsiders. It is used for such tasks asvideoconferencing and internet gaming where constant two waycommunication is essential. In addition Quality of Service (QoS) isonly offered on this 8 port model. It allows you to prioritizeinternet tasks such as http, ftp, telnet, etc.... Not really thatimportant unless you have many users on at once. Many cable modemproviders utilize a system where they "lock" your cablemodem service to either 1 modem, or 1 network card. This is to preventyou from sharing or using your connection with other suchcomputers. They're is a hardware number encoded onto your network cardand modem. This is known as a "MAC" address. To circumventthis, the Linksys cable/DSL router has a box where you enter in theMAC address of the item that the cable modem service is locked to andit will emulate it. Very clever and works very well!. One thing theLinksys cannot help you with is running cables throughout your houseto different rooms! Right now I have managed to run ethernet cablesthrough 5 different areas of the house. I have networked our homeLaser printer (HP LaserJet 2100TN)and have added a WirelessLAN setupso now with a laptop I can surf via wireless broadband!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent product.
Review: The linksys BEFSR81 is a MUST HAVE for anyone who owns multiple computers that they would like to connect on the same network to a Cable or DSL internet connection with only one IP address. It's easy to set up. I've set up several of them myself for others I have done work for and so far everyone I have set one up for tells me that they like it alot.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible throughput
Review: Apparently some have success with this unit and some don't. I bought the V3 unit and put the 2.50.2 firmware on it and 50k is the best download speed I can get. Spent time on the phone with LinkSys and they said take it back. Weird thing is, my upload speed is over 200k, about what it should be.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy to set up, but unreliable and limited lifespan
Review: I got this router two years ago and used it to share my DSL connection among my computers. Setting it up was very easy. I did get disconnected once or twice a week, but I never investigated if it was the router or my DSL provider who dropped the connection. Now it's been two years and the dreaded Diag light went solid red the other day. I contacted Linksys tech support through on-line chat from their web site and got a quick response. Unfortunatly they told me the router is broken and there is nothing they can do. Easy installation, low price, good tech support, but possibly dropped connections and limited lifespan -- that comes out at two stars in my book.
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