Netgear Wireless N Upgrade Kit (WNEB3100)

The easiest way yet to upgrade to dual-band Draft N



IF YOU'RE CURRENTLY RUNNING A 802.11b/g network and want to make the switch to the faster 5GHz Draft 802.11n standard without starting from scratch, the Netgear Wireless N Upgrade Kit (WNEB3100) is an easy way to make everyone in your home happy. It plugs into your existing router, adding a new 5GHz network alongside your old 802.11b/g network while creating a dual-band scenario where adapters of all ages can connect wirelessly to the network. Netgear also includes a dual-band USB network adapeter, but even though the access point works with Windows, Mac, and Linux, the USB adapter works only in Windows.

The WNEB3100 is basically Netgear's HD/Gaming 5GHz kit with just one access point instead of two. The kit includes the unit, which can serve as either an access point or a bridge, and a dual-band USB adapter. The unit's front features activity lights (which can be turned off) and a Wi-Fi Proteced Setup button. On the rear are two Fast Ethernet ports. a mode switch (bridge, access point, or auto), and a factory reset button.

Netgear preconfigures the kit to make installation simpler, and we admit that this was one of the esaiest-if not the easiest- installtions we've ever experienced. We simply connected the unit to our existing 802.11g router with the provided Ethernet cable and waited a few minutes. (These instructions were printed on a foldout card inside the box.) Then we went to our PC and ran a detection utility from the included CD; it found the device on our network. We double-clicked the device name, and it automatically opened the browser-based administration utility. You usually have to enter the browser window to configure the network, but we quickly discovered that Netgear had already set everything up for us. Not only did our network have name, but Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2) security was also already in place, and our router even had a preselected password that was printed on the back of the device. The whole setup took about five minutes-blissfully fsat as most network-configuration tasks go-and we give Netgear kudos for streamlining the installation process.

Poking around in the Web-based administration window, we noted the WNEB3100's advanded features,which include Media Access Control (MAC) filtering, Wireless Intelligent Stream Handling (WISH) for prioritizing network traffic, and the ability to lock your wireless settings to prevent miscreants from changing them. All of the standard control ra available, too, such as viewing connected clients and looking at IP addresses. You also get a wizard if you want to change the stock settings. The WNEB3100 is missing features such as port forwarding, VPN pass through, and a firewall, but since it's attached to another router, that router would need to suply these anyway.

Next, we headed over to our laptop and ran the installation CD for the USB 802.11n adapter. After we installed the drivers and the network monitoring utility, we inserted the device. It detected both our new 5GHz network and our old network.

To test the WNEB3100's speed, we performed our standard file-transfer tests at both 50 and 100 feet. The unit's 5GHz performance was about average, but it was significantly faster than the lsat N upgrade kit we tested, the Trendnet 300Mbps Wireless Easy N-Upgrader. From 50 feet away, the WNEB3100 took 21 seconds to transfer 100MB of data, and 1 minute and 54 seconds to transfer 500MB. For comparison, a standard dual-band router like the LinkSys Simultaenous Dual-N Band router took 49 seconds for 100MB, and 3 minutes and 5 seconds for 500MB, so the WNEB3100 is faster in this close-range scenario. At 100 feet, the kit took 39 seconds for 100MB, and 3 minutes and 16 seconds for 500MB, which is so-so.

Its 5GHz range was also average; we were able to stream media from up to 100 feet away, but once we moved about 10 feet far that, we coulnd't stream anymore, though we could still surf the Web. another 10 feet and we lost the signal completely. Bexause 5Ghz routers are always a bit finicky past 100 feet, our experience with the WNEB3100 was typical.



Though the WNEB3100 isn't as fast as some stand-alone dual-band routers, its performance is still respectable. Factor in its sublimely simple setup and configuration process, and you have an upgrade we highly recommend. -Josh Norem

Computer Shopper November 2008
www.netgear.com