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Netgear RT314 Review

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  1. Scott Tovey •  July 24, 2003
    Rating: 2.5/5

    Review by : Dan Gaul is pretty much accurate as long as your using tcp/ip. However, after switching from cable to dsl, the need to utilize PPPoE showed a flaw in the routers firmware. The protocal works fine with dynamic IPs. Static IPs however are a different story. Once I upgraded my dsl from dynamic to static I logged into the router and entered the necessary IP. I then was not able to access the web. Another problem with the firmware is that you can not chande the netmask in the PPPoE wizard.

    The next step I took was to log into the router via telnet. This by the way requires the necessary serial cable connected to a serial com port on the pc. The telnet interface by the way does not require a great deal of telnet command knowledge. Simply telnet to the router IP address and enter the user name and password when prompted. At this point you will see a menu list which is accessed via tne menu number. Its not as clear cut as the webbrowser but if you decide to run a webserver on the lan side of the router you will need to enter this to make the necessary changes and activate the routing protocals.

    Going to the PPPoE protocal wizard I found that I could enter a static IP, yet despite the fact that the net mask is visible, the pointer jumps right over it. So as far as utilizing this router with a Static IP using the PPPoE protacol, it has bugs and doesn’t work. So if your dsl ISP requires PPPoE and you have a static IP, you need to look elsewhere.

    If all you need is a local network router without the dsl connection, then this one will work just fine.

    By the way, I have had this router for 2 to 3 years. And up until now, I have had no problems with it.

    Rating: 5 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

  2. JMS on FigStreet •  January 15, 2004
    Rating: 1.5/5

    I’ve had my RT314 since 2000, and it worked pretty well 90% of the time. It ran in dynamic IP mode (with a very static IP from BellSouth). I also ran mail and web servers behind it for personal use. One time in 2001 I needed to upgrade the firmware because it was losing it’s connection with my modem and not resetting.

    But this month (January 2004) the router finally gave out. The router needs to be rebooted every half hour or so to work. I can’t even pull up the telnet interface after about 30 minutes. After checking most of my network, I replaced the router and everything’s back to normal. So if you’re not running any servers on your high speed connection and get this router for cheap, I’d recommend it to work for you for about 4 years.

    Rating: 3 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful.

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