Review: Belkin N+ Wireless Router, F5D8235
Don Bradbury adds an enhanced wireless router to an existing Gigabit N1 Modem/Router
| Product | N+ Wireless Router, F5D8235 |
|---|---|
| Company | Belkin |
| Web | www.www.belkin.co.uk |
| Price | RRP £79.99 (inc VAT); Digital Fusion, currently £56.99 |
| We like | Gigabit Ethernet; LCD readout |
| We don't like | Lack of setup support for non-cable systems; low spec USB port displays currently unresolved difficulties. |
| Rating | 7/10 |
| Compatability |
While routers such as the Belkin N+, model F5D8235, are primarily intended for adding to a cable setup, connecting to an existing modem/router, not just for its extra networking ports, but also, in this case, for its USB interface and hard drive management capabilities, not to mention its informative lineup of front-mounted LED, may sound like a deal of sense.
This router is ostensibly capable of being added to a computer system by, a) using the printed quick install guide while wiring the devices to the computers, and b) making use of the Setup Assistant that comes on the provided CD if you're a cable user. This CD also brings the software for external drive management as well as a means of manual intervention during installation, should you need it. For our particular setup, we did.
Our type of setup was not catered for at all by the Setup Assistant, so we had to resort to delving deeper into things with the help of Belkin's technical department because, as we eventually discovered, they had had to make changes to the install routine of which we had not been made aware. Nor would current buyers be, should they happen to be adding the router to such a system as ours.
While cable users should have no trouble using the setup wizard, for non-cable users, here's the installation routine that worked for us. It had the router connecting to the Internet via a Belkin N1 Vision modem/router within a few minutes.
First, we connected the computer to the router via the supplied Ethernet cable, powered it up, opened the setup page by entering 192.168.2.1 in our browser, and logged in.
Then we opened the connection type, selected Dynamic, and applied the changes (the ISP user name and password should already be stored in the modem/router).
Next, we clicked on LAN settings and changed the LAN IP to 192.168.5.1 then applied the changes. Here we found we had to persist twice through the warnings from Vista while making the change of LAN IP address before we were successful in getting it to stick. The router setup eventually comes back to the page, or times out, before the next step.
Power down the router and make Ethernet connections between its modem port and one of the modem/router's LAN ports. Re-power the router and modem/router and, after booting, the system should connect to the Internet (the yellow flashing modem and Internet LEDs turning to steady blue).
This was necessary, making the setup wizard redundant for us, because the modem/router holds the account username and password and the router simply uses the information that's given to it by the modem.
Belkin say the change of LAN address had to be made "to enable proper routing" of such systems. All computers connected to the modem/router would have addresses in the 192.168.2.x range, while those connected to the new router would show 192.168.5.x IP addresses. After setup in this manner, Vista's Network and Sharing Center should show 192.168.5.1 access and default gateway.
We noted that the modem/router's setup page showed that our preferred Open DNS Server was reported correctly, while the router showed that it was auto from the ISP, but that was a satisfactory setup because the router believes the modem router is the ISP.
In service
The router functions of the N+ work well enough, with the sort of wireless speeds you'd expect, and simple access point and network bridge setup.
The router also features an automatic wireless deactivation feature to save energy when the router is not in use to reduce power usage. It's a green feature that some will appreciate.
Security
After a successful setup as described, or by using the Setup Assistant if it's applicable to your system, security for the router can be synchronised via a button on the router. First, in the setup screen, you have to select the security page, log in, choose your security type, then apply the changes.
Then in the pre-shared key field, you type in your security key and use the wireless security software on each computer on the network and enter the key. The security button on the router can synchronise your settings, as we said, but if any of your computers cannot accept the type of security you've set, you may have to modify it.
Storage Management
The Belkin USB drive management software should not strictly be necessary if all you want is to make connections to external drives, but it facilitates management and shutdown. After running at startup, it's right click menu from the Notification Area icon lets you access drives you've added, close them safely, or shut itself down.
The problem is when you actually want to add external drives and use them. A currently known problem for Belkin is that some users, ourselves included, find their drives will not report correctly to the Operating System when attached via the router. Judging by our own experience of adding half a dozen drive types from several leading manufacturers (Buffalo, Iomega, Hitachi, Maxtor, Fujitsu) sometimes the router knew that a drive had been added (steady blue LED) but the drive did not report to the OS, sometimes the response was ambivalent (flashing drive symbol), and sometimes there was no response from the router at all.
The problem is down to the type of USB cable that's been used to attach the drive, according to Belkin technical. They have found certain USB cables (20AWG preferred) that will work. Our own drives each had their own supplied USB cable, yet none was fully functional. In particular, they would not report for duty to the OS as they should.
We did finally find one cable type that let us access our external drives via the Computer folder or Explorer, a rather stout Belkin brand USB cable as it happens, but the issue is ongoing, and at the time of writing, unresolved.
USB Performance
As a possible application of such a USB port, we carried out main drive backup tests across the network with an added USB disk attached by our 'special' USB cable to check the performance when compared with direct access from a primary USB port on the PC and found that the router's USB performance was well below expectation in this regard. In fact the backup via the router took ten times as long to complete compared with using a primary port.
Belkin explained that the components on the router's USB port were neither designed for, nor claimed to run at, USB 2.0 speeds. The port was considered an additional feature on this router and was designed down to a price "to meet market expectations". Be that as it may, we think most potential buyers would expect the full USB 2.0 specification to be available for duty.
In conclusion
This Belkin router may be considered undeniably handsome, in the usual polished black plastic, and it has two quite large antennae on top so you can use it in a remote access point or bridge mode. But notwithstanding the potential of the F5D8235, we feel we cannot fully endorse it while the USB connectivity is compromised as seriously as we have described. Many users apparently have no problems with their external drives, but some, ourselves included, have found substantial difficulties, sufficient to render the service essentially unusable. If you have a USB drive/cable that works, the buying decision could depend on the applications you have in mind. Simply tapping into a thumb drive for small file access/transfer could be all you need, in which case speed may not be of the essence. In any event, Belkin technical are reported to be working on the problems, so until they discover a fix we recommend holding off from this potentially attractive buy.
