This review is of the Netgear DG834G, an ADSL modem, NAT router, 4 port 10/100Mbps switch and 54Mbps 802.11g wireless access point all-in-one device. This device is aimed at home/small office users.

To see if this device suits your needs, and your Karoo Broadband use, read on!

Overview

Netgear have a number of products in there range, along with the already reviewed DG834GT which is very similar in appearance and function to the DG834G.

Status Indicators & Ports

On the front of the DG834G are 8 status indicators. From left to right, these are as follows [Screenshot]:

• Power. Green when powered on.
• Booting up/firmware upgrade. Flashes orange during startup or flashing firmware.
• Wireless. Green when wireless access enabled. Flashes to show wireless activity.
• Internet. Green when connected to DSLAM. Flashes when connecting to the Internet or sending/receiving data from the Internet.
• 4 wired LAN port indicators. Green when Ethernet plugged in to corresponding port. Flashes to show activity on Ethernet port.

On the reverse of the DG834G are 8 ports. From left to right, these are as follows [Screenshot]:

• Power input.
• 4 RJ45 network ports.
• Reset button which can be held down for 20 seconds to reset to factory defaults.
• RJ11 port for ADSL line-in.
• Wireless antenna port. Antenna is detachable.

Configuration

The DG834G is operating system independent and is setup using Netgears web based interface. The DG834G is preconfigured with the IP address of 192.168.0.1. So, assuming your computers is network ready, simply open a web browser and enter http://192.168.0.1 in the location bar.

A prompt box will ask for a username and password. The default username is 'admin' and the default password is 'password'. Once logged on, you will be presented with the routers current status.

The simplest way to get the router connected to Karoo is to navigate through the menu items down the left hand side setting the following options:

• Setup Wizard
  1. Country - UK
  2. Language - English
  3. Auto Detect - No
• Basic Settings
  1. Require Login - Yes
  2. Encapsulation - PPPoA
  3. Login - your karoo nodename
  4. Password - your karoo password
  5. Idle Timeout - 0
  6. IP Address - Get from ISP
  7. DNS Servers - 212.50.160.100 and 213.249.130.100
  8. NAT - Yes
• ADSL Settings
  1. Multiplex - LLC Based
  2. VPI - 1
  3. VCI - 50

Note: You MUST click Apply on each of the menu items, otherwise the settings will not be saved.

Once your settings are saved, navigate to the Maintenance - Router Status page. You should hopefully either be connected already or in the final stage of connecting. Connecting via ADSL can take up to 20 seconds. [Screenshot]

For a more advanced and secure setup, navigate through the following menu items down the left hand side:

• Wireless
  • Ability to set wireless channel in case of interference from other networks or devices in 2.4Ghz spectrum.
  • WPA-Pre Shared Key security.
  • Ability to authorise with a RADIUS server.
  • White/Black list function to allow/block certain devices access to the network at MAC address level.
• Security
  • Full syslog reporting function with email security alerts
  • Blacklisting of websites and keywords, with trusted IP address bypass.
  • Fully configurable firewall, with ability to setup custom services (open ports).
  • Network time service to allow for the firewall to function differently at different times e.g. to stop the kids accessing the Internet past there bedtime!
• Maintenance
  • Full output of the current state of ADSL, Internet, wired and wireless networks, with detailed uptime statistics.
  • Ability to backup current settings, return to factory settings change username/password and upgrade the firmware of the router.
  • Basic ping, DNS lookup and reboot diagnostic functions.
• Advanced
  • DMZ function for server based applications and customisable MTU size.
  • Support for the DynDNS service which provides a static DNS name for a dynamic IP address.
  • DHCP for easy network setup and remote maintenance for the router.
  • UPnP ability for UPnP aware software which makes port forwarding transparent to the user. Useful for online gaming.

Performance

Initially the DG834G was very unstable, with both the Internet connection and wireless links proving troublesome. However, as was found with the Netgear DG834GT, a visit to Netgears Support pages paid dividends, with a new version of firmware (2.10.22) available. Updating the DG834G with the latest firmware was not as easy as it should have been however, with the update only successful when the router was set back to factory defaults.

Downloading and uploading speeds seen during reviewing the DG834G where accurate for each Karoo Broadband service it was tested on. For a guide as to how quickly each Karoo Broadband service can download/upload, please see the separate Service Reviews.

The DG834G is as good as any router tested so far latency wise, with a 17ms first hop timing making this router suitable for online gaming.

Transferring a 272MB file across the claimed 108Mbps wireless took 5 minutes and 21 seconds, resulting in a disappointing 6.7Mbps transfer speed through 2 brick walls and a bookshelf. The 2db antenna provided with this router is really a sore spot for Netgear, however the fact it works through multiple walls should please most home users.

Wireless latency ran at between <1ms and 4ms making wireless games play a possibility. Throughout the testing of the wireless function the DG834G provided a 'Good' to 'Poor' signal, with no noticeable drop outs. The wireless testing was performed with the Netgear WG311T 108Mbps PCI Adapter.

Conclusion

Like the DG834GT, this Netgear router performed solidly, but only after being updated to the latest firmware. If you are not prepared to flash this device straight after purchasing it, you will encounter glitches, bugs and disconnections.

However, with the latest firmware, not only did the DG834G became being 100% reliable but a a couple of new features have been added, for instance support for 5 VPN-to-router connections and support for the ADSL2/+ standards.

The DG834G was very user friendly with the excellent Netgear web interface, along with a 3 step setup wizard allowing you to setup this router wearing a blindfold. Explanations are provided for all settings in a window on the right hand side of the web interface.

As seems to be the norm, there is no way of knowing how much data you have transferred when using this router, making this router unsuitable for those users on a Karoo Broadband Starter package.

The DG834G shares almost all of the features of the DG834GT, apart from the reduced wireless speed, however, as has been discovered the difference in wireless transfer speeds between the two are not greatly different, so if you want to save yourself £30 on the DG834GT, the DG834G is the way to go!

Additional Notes

The KUG would like to thank KC for providing the DG834G for review purposes.