Linksys by Cisco WAG160N Review

[aaur4man]

Pure Cisco would have been a better choice.... if not for the price...

http://www.linksysbycisco.com/?blobcol=urlimg_highresolution&blobheader=application%2Fx-download&blobheadername1=Content-Type&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fx-download&blobheadervalue2=attachment%3B+filename%3DWAG160N%252C1.jpg&blobkey=id&blobtable=CBGProductImage&blobwhere=1224638635354&ssbinary=true

http://www.logmanenergy.co.uk/images/tick.jpg
- Fast DSL Sync
- Good wired connection
- Draft N wireless throughput similar to competitors
- Highly responsive gateway menu
- Wall-mountable
- High Line Transmit power output dBm
- 24/7 Stable* (currently wired only)



http://bviins.com/demo/_zone/img/wrong_cross.gif
- Dismal wireless signal strength (worse if wall-mounted)
- Current buggy firmware drops wireless client in WPA2 mode
- Extremely Short power cable
- No multi pvc
- All black would have been nice?
- Price not fully justified for its drawbacks

Personal Verdict: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

[aaur4man]

This is a short and simple review of the Linksys WAG160N Wireless N ADSL2+ Gateway Router.

Menu
Accessing the menu of this silver-black piece of N hardware is a breeze.
192.168.1.1 brings you almost instantly into their menu, with both username and password set to default as "admin".

BroadBand Config
Simple and easy to read, single-paged clear layout for all your settings. Just enter your username and password, PPPOE/PPPOA, VPI/VCI and you will be up in no time.

You can setup the DHCP IP range here.

Wireless
Default SSID is 'linksys' with no encryption. You can choose from the standard channels, and whether to broadcast in 20mhz or mixed 20/40mhz. The latter will have better signal coverage.

The standard encyption protocols, WEP - WPA - WPA2 are up to your choice.

Access Restrictions
This WAG160N has quite a nice restriction setting, which allows you to either choose when to allow , or deny (yes you can select Allow/Deny) internet access to the specified IP address. Bad thing is, right now it is unable to fix the DHCP address to the client, and the only way is to issue a static IP which is rather troublesome. Everytime you hard reset the device to reconfig, these DHCP goes all random.

However, it is quite clear cut on what time to limit, what services to limit. Very good for parental control.

QoS
Disabled by default, I dont see why it should be enabled. Wired and wireless performance for a Singnet 15mbps is excellent on default.
You can choose the QoS setting for each DHCP client, whether to limit bandwidth or to set priority (Low to High).
If you just want fastest possible access for your own PC, do not toggle priority as it will surely affect the speeds.
Even with Priority High, you cannot leave the QoS Bandwidth to Auto as it will limit the access. For the case of 15mbps, the bandwidth is bottlenecked to 10mbps. Even when set to the highest possible QoS bandwidth (100mbps), there is still a minimal ~3% drop in speed which does not justify for the setting.

Do not worry, even without QoS it will work better than your 2wire.

Portforwarding
There are alot of rules you can set for port forwarding and port triggering. NAT and DMZ available as well. Easy to use, even on default there were no complaints of ports being blocked for no reason.



This just about covers the basic aspects of the Menu. Should you require more info, let me know and I'll see if I can remember.

[aaur4man]

Usage and Performance
This is the most juicy part where potential buyers decide whether this ADSL2+ N Router is worth the quids.

Bittorrent
Test torrents are legal Linux torrents with healthy peers running 3-5 simultaneously.
Test client via Lan with 1 wireless client.

Results: With a good ADSL line, this router has no problems establishing multiple connection to peers, attaining max speed. Wireless client is also responsive and able to surf the net with no problems. Wireless Client BT is not tested, do not ask regarding that.

BT client is set to Global Max 1000, however surely not all is used. Daily usage however has no effect on speed.

Pretty good for heavy downloaders.

Transfer Test
Tested via Laptop to PC, 2M away with no obstruction.
Laptop uses Wireless N 300mbps 2T2R Atheros Chipset USB Adapter.

LAN-LAN
http://i29.tinypic.com/14l0pzm.jpg
Reasonable, since theoretical max is only 100mbit.

WLAN-LAN No encryption
http://i26.tinypic.com/1214w2h.png

WLAN-LAN WPA
http://i27.tinypic.com/f2ojz9.png

WLAN-LAN WPA2
http://i25.tinypic.com/x0noyd.jpg

Real world speeds should not be affected, as ADSL2+ can only go up to 24mbit/s. Unless you need to stream HD content from a media pc, this may not be the best choice.

Nothing special, nothing to boast about. While reviews on other routers reveal a significant drop in WPA2 mode, WAG160N still performs alright, though short of a 300mbps paper spec.

Wireless Coverage
First, look at the sleek-designed box. You then begin to wonder, "Where are the antennas?" Cool, no ugly protruding sticks that may break if mishandled. However, Linksys has it traded in for performance. WAG160N is equipped with 2 x 2dBi internal antennas (hence 2T2R) which arent as classy as it looks.

Wireless Client PC 5M away with 2 walls in between arent getting better than 30mbit/s. Sync rate is a poor 108-180 mbps fluctuating.
Did they mention you can wall-mount the router? Doesnt come without an extra trade-in; wireless coverage is affected due to the direction of the signal.

Even in N mode, it is impossible to stay connected 15m away, 2 walls. This defeats the purpose of private home owners wanting to expand their coverage through Draft N technology. Stick to your APs and Homeplugs.

DSL Sync
WAG160N has a rather high transmit output for DSL sync. This can be beneficial if your ADSL line suffers from bad quality, low sync rate.
While dBm output is not openly revealed for most routers, this should not be a huge factor if you are not using a high connection rate from your ISP (>10mbps in this case)

DSL sync speed is very fast, generally less than 30s. Some routers require a reboot (either manual or auto) everytime certain settings are changed, but this one doesnt and recovers almost instantly. It is noted that in most cases the internet will at most suffer a short pause, but no major disconnections. I have not checked whether the IP address has changed, but good enough that other users' surfing experience is not brought to a halt everytime the admin makes changes.

24/7/365
With little downtime on LAN, this is definitely suitable for wired users with occasional wireless usage.

[aaur4man]

Sad to say.............

DHCP Problems
Wireless Clients are often affected by this DHCP bug which has not yet been resolved at the time of posting. Countless posts on Linksys forums indicated Limited Connectivity issues. I also face this problem, and have noted that it mostly happens in WPA2 encryption. WPA seems to be fine, but have not been extensively tested.

No IPTV / VOIP integrated
As it does not support Multi PVC, users are not able to separately configure another channel to support Mio TV or Mio Voice. Just plain Internet. For users on 15mbps Mio Home Plans, you get a separate line for MioTV (like me), so this will fit the bill if you want it.

No Gigabit Lan
This has to be mentioned, since we want more for less. However, it is uncommon to find ADSL2+ with in-built Gigabit, unless you are willing to pay over $200 for Belkin's N1 Vision with a pretty LCD display.

Extremely short power cable
Do you want the small power brick to be close to the socket? If so, then it is not an issue. I want the adapter to be so high up so more dust can find their way on it. In short, you can mount your router high up in the sky, but the adapter stays on the ground. The adapter plug is also not commonly found, and most likely can only be seen in Sim Lim Tower.

Conclusion
The Linksys WAG160N ADSL2+ Wireless Draft N Gateway Router is a sleek piece of hardware to look at, but not nice enough to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 24/7 is only for LAN connections at the moment, until a new firmware fixes the DHCP bug.
However, for an ADSL N router, this is rather competitively priced among competitors. It will be more worth its 362g of weight with future firmware updates, but not for its wireless coverage. Still, it works better than the popular in-built antenna adsl router :)


Hence, this personal review gives it 3.5 out of 5 stars, an above average router for basic home use and decent features.

[aaur4man]

Status: Full Review ish UP

[Optimus Prime]

Any recommendations for better router modems?

[aaur4man]

Personal Review fully up now.

Yes I have used 3COM Officeconnect DR101A Wireless-G ADSL2+ Modem Router for over a year and have had no regrets buying it. Its going for $150 now, maybe u can check out the PC show in 3wks' time. It is possible for it to fall below $100 but stocks go fast.

I do want to give a full review for it, but I have already sold it to a happy singnet user who doesnt even want to reply me any more to register his name on the warranty lol. guess too busy playing with his new toy.

Do note that they provide a good next-day Advanced Hardware Replacement. You get ur new router first, then u send in the faulty one. Online RMA is very fast. I am extremely impressed by this.

For N wise, haven been able to use others :)

If you have >$200 budget, get 3COM DR300A Wireless-N ADSL2+.

They were originally built for office use, so 24/7 is a must for it.

[raj4mnz]

Hi, can you please suggest from where I can buy 3COM DR300A Wireless-N ADSL2+? I tried google to search for it in NZ but comes up with nothing. Thanks Raj

[aaur4man]

We're based in Singapore so I wouldnt know. cheers.

[marklim]

try updating to the lastest firmware, that should improve any drop issues.

[eventidephoenix]

I'm currently using the V2, it works fine... so far no complain from 3 laptops in my family

But I do notice a horrible drop in signal strength as compared to other N routers whenever a wall is involved. The blind spots in my house became blinder, but the reachable spots became stronger (This is weird)

I don't have any software to test it, maybe the pros around here can recommend and I can do a test to share :p

[aaur4man]

that is due to its internal antennas.

wireless N will broadcast stronger signals than G. you will achieve higher throughput.

i used jperf which is free. Ixia chariot also has a free version that looks more toyish in its layout, but i forgot the name.

[amazone]

I am on V3 quite frustrating cause on wireless, keeps dropping signals, cant connect on more then 3 wireless connection over a prolong period. any1 having these problems? you think getting it to linksys centre will help?

[aaur4man]

try upgrading the firmware. banging the table probably gets u a replacement but may not solve the problem.