In order to create a good SOHO wireless network environment, one always has to provide reliable equipment. In order to avoid the regret of not having chosen equipment more wisely when first setting up the network (unlike some of us), make sure you look comprehensively at the current market situation. If you don’t have a personal contact that would provide adequate advice, cruise the internet a little and take a look at what others are recommending. It’s likely in both cases that you’ll end up in the default product gamma of a large manufacturer, but at times, you may be surprised by the quality of the solutions offered by other familiar names in the IT field. This is one such occasion, and we’ve had the chance to thoroughly examine two of ASUS’ wireless solutions, namely DSL-N10 (modem/router) and a dual-band router RT-N56U.
ADSL Modem and Router in One
ASUS DSL-N10 is a small, likeable and physically simple modem/router, and besides its functionality, the most compelling of its features is its accessible price. It’s made in a combination of matted black (or white) and grey plastic, with a good final touch. It only has a single antenna, marginally larger than in other devices of this type, but that 5 dBi antenna is the very thing that gives it advantage over competing solutions in the SOHO environment, due to a better signal coverage. Besides the antenna and router, you’ll also find an RJ45 and an RJ11 cable in the bundle, as well as a power adapter, CD with the accompanying software, and a short quick start manual. The front of the device contains a set of indicator LEDs, while the back contains four 10/100 LAN ports, the ADSL port, the antenna and power inputs, the reset button, WPS, the wireless on/off switch, as well as the standard power switch.
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This device belongs to the N standard, while remaining compatible with the somewhat older IEEE 802.11b/g standards, and works at 2.4 GHz, with a declared transfer speed of up to 150 Mbps via wireless (while it’s much lower than that in practice, as ever). Another attractive feature is the option of using up to four SSIDs at the same time, which allows more advanced device manipulation than usual. The initial setup doesn’t require a lot of effort at all - all that you need to do is plug in the phone line, connect to the PC via LAN, and then access the abundant web interface via any internet browser; you will need more advanced knowledge of the matter at hand to delve into the more advanced settings, though. However, the wizard will be more than enough to guide you through the basic settings - choosing your network provider, the SSID, as well as one of the offered encryption methods: WEP, WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK.
Stability in everyday conditions with no package loss and a constant speed are the main features of this device; in this regard, it doesn’t fall behind the more reputed wireless manufacturers at all. The range is quite satisfactory, since the signal was constant in our testing environment packed with concrete walls of a heavy-duty residential building in the best tradition of the 80’s.
