Product Listing

SMC SMCWBR14-N 802.11n (Draft 1.0) Wireless Broadband Router

By Zachary Chan - 26 Jan 2007

Software Features

Software and Administration

As we enter the web administration panel of the SMCWBR14-N, we realized how similar it is to the aforementioned D-Link DIR-635 router. The menu design and layout were instantly recognizable, if only in a different color scheme. Generally very user friendly and easy to navigate, we had no trouble at all getting the router installed and setup. If the lack of a one-touch setup button is disconcerting to you, there is actually an intuitive setup wizard within the web admin panel that you can use. Just a few steps will ensure that your network, WLAN and Broadband connections are up and running.

The SMC SMCWBR14-N administration panel.

Here's the D-Link DIR-635 administration panel on the same page - Notice the uncanny resemblance. They are probably just skinned OEM versions of the Atheros panel.

There is also a very comprehensive help section that not only explains every option there is on the router, even those in the advanced tab. The manual is also pretty fleshed out with a glossary of general networking terms. Very user friendly indeed. However, we did run into a tiny glitch with the admin panel. From time to time, the scripts don't seem to load properly, kicking the user back into the login screen. When this happens, the only thing you can do is close your current browser session and restart it. Doesn't affect the router performance, but it is quite annoying when the error pops up halfway through configuration.

Intermittent script loading errors force you back to the login page.

Basic network and wireless configuration is very straightforward with wizards to get you through all three sections for Internet, Wireless and Network setup. By default, you can actually start using the router by leaving most of the Wireless and Network options to their automatic settings. The SMCWBR14-N supports WEP, WPA and WPA2 encryption models. However, users must remember that 802.11n does not have provision for WEP. Thus, if you do enable WEP, you will force the router to work in 802.11b/g mode. For best performance, it is recommended to enable WPA2-PSK encryption. For additional protection, MAC filtering is also available.

Basic wireless setup and security. You can leave it to its default, or click on the wizard to quick configuration.

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