This review is of the Netgear DG834GT, an ADSL modem, NAT router, 4 port 10/100Mbps switch and 108Mbps 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, the DG834GT being one of there latest to hit the market. If you shop around, you can often pick this router up with a free PCMCIA card or USB wireless dongle.

Status Indicators & Ports

On the front of the DG834GT 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 DG834GT are 8 ports. From left to right, these are as follows [Screenshot]:

• RJ11 port for ADSL line-in.
• 4 RJ45 network ports.
• Power input.
• Reset button.
• Wireless antenna port. Antenna is detachable.

Configuration

Like most, if not all, ADSL routers, the DG834GT is operating system independent and if setup using Netgears web based interface. The DG834GT 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. [Screenshot]

The quickest 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 [Screenshot]
  1. Country - UK
  2. Language - English
  3. Auto Detect - No
• Basic Settings [Screenshot]
  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 [Screenshot]
  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
  • Support for Atheros eXtended Range WiFi which provides twice the bandwidth of standard 802.11g at 108Mbps.
  • 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

The DG834GT was very stable during the review period, however under heavy load the sometimes the Internet connection would drop. Investigating Netgears Support website, lead to flashing the router with the latest firmware (1.01.28) which has corrected this issue. With the new firmware, the DG834GT has being 100% reliable. Downloading and uploading speeds seen during reviewing the DG834GT have been spot on.

For a guide as to how quickly each Karoo Broadband service can download/upload, please see the separate Service Reviews.

Latency wise, the DG834GT will provide you with a steady 17ms first hop timing making this router suitable for online gaming.

Transferring a 272MB file across the claimed 108Mbps wireless took 4 minutes and 33 seconds, giving a rather unacceptable 8Mbps transfer speed through 2 brick walls and a bookshelf. Dropping the wireless speed down to 54Mbps only made things worse, which really highlights how weak the antenna is on this router.

Wireless latency ran at between <1ms and 3ms, again making this router suitable for use with a video games console connected wirelessly. Throughout the testing of the wireless function the DG834GT provided a 'Good' to 'Poor' signal, although no noticeable drop outs occurred. The wireless testing was performed with the Netgear WG311T 108Mbps PCI Adapter.

Conclusion

The Netgear DG834GT performed very well throughout the review period - but only when flashed with the latest firmware. If you are not comfortable with flashing hardware, as many people are not even though it is an easy process, then caution should be urged with this router.

Having said that though, the DG834GT is much more user friendly than the previously reviewed Linksys WAG834G, with an excellent web interface, along with a setup wizard that really does make setting up this router as easy as 1, 2, 3! The help window, in view all of the time when logged on to the web interface of this router will be a godsend for many users who would otherwise be confused by the many settings there are.

Like previously reviewed routers however, there was no sign of a data transferred reading in the web interface, making this router unsuitable for those users on a Karoo Broadband Starter package.

While the DG834GT definitely has the external look and ease of setup a consumer product should have, the router is not short of advanced functions either. The firewall is configurable to the nth degree, while the syslog service will keep the security conscious users happy. While the DG834GT does not have a VPN-to-router facility, there is a full VPN passthrough, which will allow you to run a VPN server behind the firewall.

Future firmware releases will add VPN-to-router, however the current firmware update added support for the up and coming ADSL2/+ standards, which Karoo users will hopefully get to experience in 2006.

In summary, this is an excellent router, only flawed by the need to flash the firmware and weak wireless antenna, although both of these issues can be easily and cheaply rectified. Many novice users will find this router easier to setup and maintain than most USB modems on the market making it well worthy of it's price.

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