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SMC SMC7004BR Cable/DSL Router with 4 Port Switch

SMC SMC7004BR Cable/DSL Router with 4 Port Switch

List Price: $179.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great, Awesome, Easy to use
Review: Just plugged it in, set DHCP, web to the web config interface and presto it works. 10 min max. Great price too....

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Easy setup; made my connection faster!
Review: Just wanted to make three points about this great product:

1) Setting it up consists of filling out web-based forms from your favorite browser -- so if you can order this product from Amazon, then you already know how to set it up when you get it home!

2) It increased my cable modem performance! This won't happen to everybody, but for me I think the reason was that I previously had the cable modem connection going through a USB adapter (I have @Home in SF Bay area). When I got rid of the USB adapter, performance went from a maximum download speed of 300KBps (that's kiloBYTES), to 450KBps! Sweet!

3) You can hook up a dial-up modem as a backup. This is handy, because you don't have to muck with your computer network settings whatsoever. Usually when you switch ISPs you have to do said-mucking.

All in all a very nice product.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A very pleased user
Review: Product is excellent. Easy to follow instructions and within an hour had my desktop and laptop both working on the net with no trouble. @home uses " mail " as their POP3 and SMPT addresses and as expected I could not get their mail... but after the end of the month it won't matter. A very good experience..

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very nice package... especially for the price
Review: Summary: works well and I recommend it based my personal experiences.

I can't get high speed access yet where I live even though I live in a very metropolitan area, so I selected this unit because of its analog dialup support (now both kids can surf with two PC's on my one phone line) in anticipation of finally being able to get cable modem access early next year. I also have been wanting a print server and DHCP (DHCP for convenience because of my laptop going back and forth to work and always having to change network info). I didn't care about the integrated switch as much because I already had a switch, but I did put it to use to eliminate a component.

I powered the unit up and configuration is pretty much how it calls for in the manual. DHCP was a snap to set up, and I chose to fix addresses based on MAC address to I'd know which PC triggered my analog service (logged in the Barricade log by IP address). Configuring the dialup connection was easy, and there seems to be no problems with throughput compared to a modem directly connected to the PC.

The only "issues" I have are all related to dialup, not because of the Barricade itself. These issues should mostly be eliminated when (IF?) I can ever actually get high-speed internet at home. If you do try dialup with such a device:

(1) I occasionally have to power the modem off and on in order to have the Barricade be able to talk to it again, but that could be a modem issue since powering off the Barricade doesn't help.

(2) To hang up the modem before the inactivity timeout (configurable) you have to open up a browser window on the Barricade and click on the hangup button for the modem. But this is just a few more clicks and keystrokes more than closing an open dialup networking connection.

(3) Windows Me doesn't seem to want to give up on trying to do a dialup networking connection if you have one configured despite setting up for a LAN internet connection!!! I've set it to never dial a connection countless times but doesn't want to take.

Again, these are far from being Barricade issues; I mention them here for folks trying dialup.

I upgraded the firmware image to the latest version available from SMC... was a snap to do and, as advertised, my existing configuration was still intact.

Setting up the printer took just a little more work. I couldn't get my HP DeskJet 720 to print until I diabled bidirectional communications on the printer settings on the PC; then it worked great. I haven't tested for communications throughput issues yet while printing. NOTE: if you're currently sharing the printer via Windows print sharing, disable all print sharing first before moving the printer to the SMC printer server port. My PC's got confused and were hanging on the printers window until I got it all squared away, and I think I would have avoided this had I un-shared the printer first.

One last note. SMC's support has been nothing short of great. I haven't had any technical questions for them, but I called them for pre-sales opinions and advice from a nuts-and-bolts perspective. The biggest plus is you can actually reach a body!!! Second plus is they try to help you and don't hurry you off the phone!!! Third is they speak frankly and give honest opinions. The SMC7004BR has been superceded by the SMC7004ABR, but support will still be there for the 7004BR for a few years to come, it sounds like they're still working the kinks out of the 7004ABR, and I didn't need any of the new features being offered by the ABR. The only negative is I sent an email support request for any known issues for connecting to my particular ISP several days ago and still haven't heard back, but I'll forgive them 'cause I can call 'em on the phone anytime. Longest on-hold time for me has been less than 10 minutes... most times much less.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nice product, good luck getting your rebate
Review: The product is just great. Easy to use, easy to configure and [inexpensive]. I strongly recommend it. HOWEVER you have to be very persistent to get your rebate. I don't know if it's because they're understaffed or if they're hoping that people will forget or get bored. Anyway, it has taken me almost four months of chasing them before they said the check has been sent. I'm wondering why I haven't received it yet...
They would have 5 stars if they were serious with the rebates.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: SMC DSL ROUTER
Review: They don't make sharing networks and high speed internet access easier than this.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Bang for the Buck
Review: This device has met and exceded all of my expectations. The WEB Browser interface is straight forward. The downlable documentation is fully detailed. And, after my technically expert friends configured my Win2K network and FTP, SMC's tech support people patiently walked me through the fixes required to recover.

I have taken it through one firmware update, and it went seamlessly.

I am going to replace this one with it's wireless counter part so I can use my wife's laptop on our patio this summer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Bang for the Buck
Review: This device has met and exceded all of my expectations. The WEB Browser interface is straight forward. The downlable documentation is fully detailed. And, after my technically expert friends configured my Win2K network and FTP, SMC's tech support people patiently walked me through the fixes required to recover.

I have taken it through one firmware update, and it went seamlessly.

I am going to replace this one with it's wireless counter part so I can use my wife's laptop on our patio this summer.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great, but Mac users beware
Review: This is a great router for those who want to share an internet connection of any kind. Instructions are provided for various types of connections, be it Cable, DSL, or simple dial up connectivity.

The print server is also a very nice addition. However, if you are using a Mac or other non-Windows OS (e.g. Linux), don't bother with the server unless you happen to have a Postscript printer.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great, but Mac users beware
Review: This is a great router for those who want to share an internet connection of any kind. Instructions are provided for various types of connections, be it Cable, DSL, or simple dial up connectivity.

The print server is also a very nice addition. However, if you are using a Mac or other non-Windows OS (e.g. Linux), don't bother with the server unless you happen to have a Postscript printer.


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