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Pros Unbeatable low cost Real 10/100 switch for the LAN side (4 ports) Lots of indicators for easy troubleshooting Very easy to set up using web based admin interface Good quality manufacturing Cons Very rudimentary firewall (static packet filter) No PPTP, L2TP & IPSEC tunneling for VPN (*) Can only use one IP address on the WAN side Who needs it? If you want to share a cable modem connection between up to 4 computers, and the ISP gives you only one IP address, you need to have some sort of gateway. As described in great detail in some of the internet sharing articles, this can be done with software running on a PC also, but it is a lot more convenient to do it with a small stand-alone box. All the standard stuff like DHCP client for the WAN side, DHCP server for the LAN side, NAT (Network Address Translation) is all handled by this box, so there is no need for setting any of the computers up in any special way to make this work. And if you are using an ISP that charges you extra for additional IP addresses, you can save that money and buy this box instead. Hooking Up I spent less than 15 minutes hooking this thing up, which is really good. Obviously I know what this thing does, so there was no learning curve involved. And it does all the simple things you would expect it to do in exactly the way I expected, so no big surprises. The WAN connection is limited to 10 Mbps Ethernet, and that is plenty enough as most broadband connections never gets over about 1.5 Mbps for any periods of time. The 4 LAN side connections are 10/100 and operate as a switch, which is better than a hub. With a switch, two computers can exchange data at 100 Mbps, even if a third computer is connected at 10 Mbps only. With a 10/100 hub, all computers in this example would have been operating at 10 Mbps only. Conclusion All in all thumbs up for a good product. I will recommend this product to any small and simple home Ethernet LAN with a shared broadband connection, be it cable modem or DSL. It just needs to be a 10 BaseT Ethernet connection.Read full review
* Why I bought it: I already owned a Linksys WRT54G wireless router that I received as a gift but most of my computers were hooked up with wired connection. I did use the wireless function occasionally, but most of the time did not. My wife was concerned about radiation from the wireless router (similar to cell phone radiation), and so I bought this Linksys EtherFast® BEFSR41 Router which I was able to find used for a decent price on eBay. * What's good about it: Overall, I'm very happy with the Linksys EtherFast® BEFSR41 Router. It I have three computers hooked up to it via wired connection to share a DSL internet connection. I frequently use all 3 computers at the same time, with two of them using a considerable amount of bandwidth, and yet I can't tell the difference in speed. That is, the internet connection for each computer seems just as fast as if it had its own dedicated DSL connection, and you wouldn't know that the DSL connection is being shared based on the internet speed. This is the only function my Linksys EtherFast® BEFSR41 Router serves (to share one internet connection. I also have my other Linksys WRT54G wireless router hooked into the Linksys EtherFast® BEFSR41 Router but I don't have it plugged into the wall (for electricity). When I want to use another computer in another part of the house, I simply plug in the electric cord of the Linksys WRT54G wireless router and then I have instant wireless capabilities, for a 4th or 5th or 6th (etc) computer, but my main 3 computers are still connected via wired connection to the Linksys EtherFast® BEFSR41 Router and I don't have to fool with them at all. When I no longer need to use the wireless, I simply unplug its electric cord and I'm done. In this way I can have an "always on" internet connection with WiFi capabilities, but my home is exposed to the wireless radiation only when the wireless function is desired. The Linksys EtherFast® BEFSR41 Router can also be used to share resources from one computer to another (i.e. hard drive storage space or printers). I cannot comment on its functionality for these purposes because I do not have a home "network" set up to share files or printers from one computer to the next, mostly because I'm a little paranoid that if one computer gets a virus that it might spread to the others on the network. If you’re looking for a review of this feature, you’ll have to read elsewhere. * What's not good about it: I will acknowledge that most people do not share my family's concern about radiation from WiFi sources. If you want or need WiFi and don't want to buy two routers the way that I did, then I would highly recommend the Linksys WRT54G wireless router over the Linksys EtherFast® BEFSR41 Router. Both of my Linksys routers have a firewall built in, which is nice because it provides an extra added layer of protection against viruses & worms sneaking onto my computers from the internet. This is a nice feature, except that the firewall on the Linksys EtherFast® BEFSR41 Router is a ZoneAlarm firewall and requires you to purchase a product key from ZoneAlarm. The firewall on my original WRT54G wireless router does not require a product key. This is my only complaint about the EtherFast® BEFSR41 Router, and is the reason that I gave it only 4 stars instead of 5 stars.Read full review
I really liked the web browser based configuration utility. It's very easy to use and the manual is easy to understand, unless you are truly a complete beginner-type computer user. One thing I didn't like about the manual was that it failed to mention that when the router is connected to a high-speed modem, in my case a Westell 6100, the computer serving as host for the modem has a hard time accessing the configuration utility--you need to use one of the other computers on the network. I chose to buy the Linksys router because of the company's reputation for reliability, and this unit did not disappoint.
Pros: Setup was a breeze when connected to cable modem. Did not use setup CD disk because other users advised not to. Rather, used the router setup menu instead. It is connected to a Linksys Cable modem with good internet speed, for my use anyways. Also running Dish-network DVR threw it with no problems. Cons: First tried setting router up to ATT/DSL service, could no get my computer to recognize it after multiple tries. Since I was changing from DSL to Cable service, I didn't press the issue. It was probably my short comings and not the router's. Summary: I bought it pre-owned for very low price, it was a good buy.
The BEFSR41 is a solid, basic 4 port Wired Ethernet Router. Set-up is pretty straight forward. Prior to this, I had the WRT54G, which is the same as the BEFSR41 but with the Wireless G. Most routers have the intergrated wireless now. I do not recommend that. I burned up two wireless routers which in turn brought down my entire network. Now I keep my network isolated; using the BEFSR41 as my router and an access point, such as the WAP54G or WAP610N for wireless connectivity. I actually purchased this unit as a back-up; my current router has been in use for the last 5 years straight and though I haven't had any issues its better to be safe than sorry. Another benefit is that WAP's are typically MUCH cheaper than Wireless Routers, and as the wireless standard is upgraded, you don't have to upgrade your router, just replace, or add the new standard WAP to your existing network. With only 4 ports you may want to add switches to your network to expand capacity. I've added two 8 port switches and one 4 port switch. These switches are located at different points throughout my home. It saved on wiring and install costs. Also this goes back to isolation. If one switch fails, the others will still work. No one piece, with the exception of the BEFSR41 can bring down the entire network; and for that I have a back-up. As a side note, never get an intergrated CABLE/DSL modem with your router. In 10 years I've gone through 6 modems. They burn up. They need upgrading. Save money. Save headache. If your running a home buisness, small buisness, or home network (wired or mixed) get this router. You won't be disappointed.Read full review
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