BIOS: Technology Means Business

Continuing the company's commitment to easy-to-use broadband networking solutions, U.S. Robotics' Wireless MAXg ADSL2+ Gateway (USR019108) combines the latest ADSL2+ technology with the company's exclusive MAXg wireless technology to offer a complete home or small business wireless broadband networking solution. If your broadband provider isn't yet providing ADSL2+, you'll be pleased to know the router supports existing ADSL connections.

Housed in a silver-and-grey plastic enclosure, the MAXg Wireless Gateway (Best Current Price: £66 ex. VAT) lets you securely share your ADSL Internet connection and USB printer over wireless or Ethernet connections (four network ports). It's the latest addition to U.S. Robotics' MAXg product family, and it claims delivers up to 50 per cent improvement in signal range and 125Mbit/s wireless performance (compared to 54Mbit/s for standard 802.11g). The MAXg Wireless Gateway is actually five products in one - an ADSL2+ modem for speeds up to 24Mbit/s, wireless MAXg access point, 4-port router, firewall and USB print server.

The router is well equipped for the price and includes the typical four Ethernet jacks on its rear edge, along with one USB 2.0 port for connecting a printer. At the rear of the device is also a single adjustable antenna found on most routers. The antenna's flexibility helps you maximise your signal strength, but there's no brackets for mounting it high on a wall where it would experience less signal interference. The front of the device accommodates four status lights corresponding to the Ethernet jacks, as well as a single LED for the USB port and four more lights that indicate when the router is drawing AC power, when its wireless radio is functioning properly, when the gateway is connected to the Internet, and when wireless clients are accessing the network.

The MAXg Wireless Gateway integrates an SPI firewall and supports Denial of Service (DoS), Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2)/802.11i and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), 802.1x authentication, 64/128-bit WEP encryption, SSID broadcast disable, VPN pass-through (PPTP, IPSec and L2TP), password protected configuration access, DMZ and virtual server support. It's also upgradeable to include VPN termination. The device is fully compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g devices, as well as other accelerated technologies, such as ATM QoS for high quality Video over DSL (bind ATM traffic to any Ethernet port).

The USR019108 is tailored for home-office and small-business networks. The router's well-rounded security options give telecommuters and small offices the protection they need, and its custom SureStart installation wizard provides a fast, foolproof setup (it even auto-detects your broadband connection so you can concentrate on Web surfing instead of endless settings screens). A built-in 802.11g access point provides for wireless connectivity, and an integrated print server sets the Maxg router apart from its competitors. You can even access the print server via the Internet and use your printer in place of your fax machine thanks to support for Internet Printing Protocol (IPP).

The router and print server combination make a lot of sense because you typically want your printer attached to a device that is always on and available via the network, such as a router. The USR019108's advanced encryption options are in step with the security needs of small businesses and home offices, so overall it's a well-rounded and very reasonably priced networking device. The downside is that its performance was mediocre (we averaged around 42.5Mbit/s, and just 22Mbit/s from up to 200 feet away) and there is no option to wall-mount the device.

That said, the Wireless MaxG router still offers one of the best long-range throughput of any router at this price. If you want to experience the increased speed and range across your network, you'll need MaxG wireless adapters for all your PCs and laptops. Wireless MaxG USB adapters, PCI cards and PC cards are all available for around £45. [7.5]