For Net-addicted travelers, the
INTRODUCTION
arrival of high-speed Internet access in many hotels has been a welcome
change. No longer do we have to suffer through glacial downloads during
those times we need to access critical data (like the latest
pocketnow.com review!) during our travels. But why do all these hotels
insist on locating the network jack at some dinky little desk with a
chair that only the Marquis de Sade could love? Some hotels offer
wireless high-speed access but for those that don’t, your choice has
been to suffer at their idea of an ergonomic workstation or lug around
a bulky wireless access point and assorted bits and pieces to set up
your own wireless access. Well, someone at 3com must have gotten as
tired of this as I have because they have introduced the tiny
OfficeConnect Wireless Travel Router. Can it transform your hotel room
into a wireless Nirvana? Read on to find out!
Opening the box, I discovered a thin
SETUP
Quick Start Guide, short network cable, transformer, carrying case and
the router itself.
Here’s
what comes in the Travel
Router’s box – I was
immediately struck by how small and light the travel router was.
The
Travel Router compared to a CD. The
LED’s from top to bottom indicate power status, wireless status and
Ethernet status. The wireless and Ethernet LED’s will flash while data
is being transferred.
The
back of the Travel Router is where you find a recessed reset button,
the Ethernet port (to connect to a hotel LAN, for example) and the
power jack. If you give the reset button a quick push, it will reboot
the Travel Router. If you press and hold it for 5 seconds, it will
restore the Travel Router to its factory defaults.
The
Travel Router’s ports.
The
Mode Selector switch – on the
right side of the Travel Router (looking from above), you find a small
switch that selects the mode of operation.
The
Travel Router has four modes of operation:
- AP (Access Point) Mode
- Router Mode
- Setup/Configuration Mode
- Client Mode
In AP Mode, the Travel Router acts
as a wireless bridge, connecting one or more clients to a local
network. The Travel Router itself has no IP address in this mode,
allowing clients to access a DHCP server on the local network to obtain
their IP addresses. In Router Mode, the Travel Router can act as a DHCP
server and Stateful Packet Inspection Firewall with Network Address
Translation (NAT) for its clients. This is the mode you would most
commonly use for connection to the Internet. In Setup/Configuration
Mode, you can (surprise!) setup and configure the Travel Router. More
on that later. Finally, the nice addition of Client Mode allows the
Travel Router to perform as a 802.11g wireless access adapter. For
example, you could use the Travel Router in this mode to connect a
laptop without a wireless card to an existing wireless network.
If the
included carrying case were any smaller, you couldn’t fit everything in
it but with a little determination, it will zip shut.
The
Travel Router is ready to hit the road!
Before using the Travel Router, you
PRODUCT FEATURES
need to perform initial configuration. The complexity of this process
will depend greatly upon how you intend to use it. If you are
comfortable with a wireless network that is wide open and is highly
insecure, initial configuration is very simple. If, however, you need
to enable various security features, it can make the task much more
involved. This is not a reflection on 3com in any way. Rather, it is
simply the nature of wireless networking at this time. I’ll go through
setting it up in a fairly secure fashion, although this is certainly
not intended as a wireless security tutorial.
After setting the Mode Selector
Switch to position 3 and plugging in the power, you can connect to the
Travel Router either wirelessly or through the included network cable.
I chose to use the cable. Start up a web browser and enter
the first Configuration screen.
The
System Configuration Screen
This
screen allows you to perform various tasks like updating the router’s
firmware, saving and loading configurations and specifying which
computers can have administrative access to the router. The most
important thing to note here (at least initially) is to change the
Admin password. By default, there is no Admin password, allowing anyone
to connect to the Travel Router and configure it. Check the box next to
Change Admin login, type
the new password twice and click the Save
button.
On the
left, you will see links for configuring AP, Router and Client Modes,
as well as Ethernet and Advanced configuration options. I decided to
use Router Mode since it offers the most security and clicked on the
corresponding link.
The
Router Setup Screen
On the
Router Setup Screen, I recommend changing the
different, unchecking the Broadcast
SSID box and clicking Save.
This prevents the Travel Router from shouting out “Here I am! Come and
get me!” to anyone in range. Next click the
the screen.
The
Router Mode Wireless Security Settings
Here
you can choose from WEP or WPA-PSK security modes. WPA-PSK is certainly
preferred but many clients (like my older wireless card) don’t support
it. So, I chose 128-bit WEP for the strongest security I could
use. Clicking the Generate
button will create a 26 hexadecimal character key that you will need to
enter into your wireless client’s security settings. Click
The
Router Mode Trusted Settings
This
screen lets you specify by hardware address which wireless clients are
allowed to connect to the Travel Router. If you don’t have different
clients connecting each time, I recommend entering your client(s)
address in here for further security. How to find the hardware address
of your wireless card will vary depending on your client.
Now,
click on the Ethernet (WAN) Port
link on the left.
The
Ethernet (WAN) Port Settings
The
settings you choose here will depend upon what your Internet Service
Provider requires. In many cases, the defaults will work perfectly.
The
you to set all kinds of parameters that will help you use the Travel
Router in specific situations. This is where you can enter applications
that are allowed through the firewall, setup access for services you
are providing to the Internet (like a web server), perform diagnostics
and so forth. Most likely, none of these need to be changed just
to achieve basic Internet connectivity.
An
Example of Advanced Settings
If you
also wanted to configure the Travel Router for use in AP Mode, you
could click on the AP Mode link
on the left.
AP Mode Settings
three tabs here are almost identical to those in the Router configuration
we went through above. A very handy feature here is the button marked
that and you don’t have to retype your WEP key and the hardware
addresses of your trusted hosts. Nice!
Now that we’ve finished our configuration, we can move the Mode
Selector switch to position 2 to enable Router Mode. After making the
appropriate changes in the configuration of your wireless client (like
specifying the new SSID and WEP key), you should be up and running.
Keep in mind that this initial configuration will probably not need to
be changed very often, so don’t be dismayed if it seems like a lot of
work.
The only documentation included with
HELP SUPPORT
the Travel Router is the thin 12 page Quick Start Guide. It refers you
to the online help in the Travel Router’s web interface. There is a
to provide assistance with the task at hand and it seems fairly
comprehensive.
An
example of the help available in the web interface
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
client on just about any platform you can imagine should be able to
work with the Travel Router.
BUGS AND WISHES
Router. First, if you leave it on for days, it becomes uncomfortably
hot to the touch. This could be expected considering it’s compact size
and lack of a fan. It would cool better if the case were metal rather
than plastic but that would increase the weight and cost. However, I
would be concerned about the longevity of the device if it were used as
a full-time wireless router in your home or office. Second, I was
unable to find any sort of logging of firewall activities. I like to be
able to see what packets are being accepted and rejected. Finally, when
I tested the Travel Router in Client Mode, it was surprisingly slow.
This was not the case when using it in Router Mode. The Router Mode
performance was great.
PURCHASING
price of the Travel Router is $79. We were able to
find a great deal at
target="_blank">Computers4SURE for $62.99. If you know of a better
deal at a different site, please contact us and we’ll post your find!
PROS
Compact
Very configurable
Good range and speed
even though it lacks an external antenna
CONS
Gets very hot
No logging of
accepted/rejected packets in the firewall
Surprisingly slow in
Client Mode
| size="2">Ease of Use |  |
| size="2">Features | |
size="2">Overall |
 |
ratings mean?
The Travel Router is very well suited for
OVERALL
IMPRESSION
its intended purpose. Most of my complaints would be more serious if it
were used as a full-time Wireless Router. Used for occasional hotel or
LAN party connections, it works wonderfully. It may not be quite
wireless Nirvana for travelers but it is the closest thing I found so
far.
For Net-addicted travelers, the
INTRODUCTION
arrival of high-speed Internet access in many hotels has been a welcome
change. No longer do we have to suffer through glacial downloads during
those times we need to access critical data (like the latest
Pocketnow.com review!) during our travels. But why do all these hotels
insist on locating the network jack at some dinky little desk with a
chair that only the Marquis de Sade could love? Some hotels offer
wireless high-speed access but for those that don’t, your choice has
been to suffer at their idea of an ergonomic workstation or lug around
a bulky wireless access point and assorted bits and pieces to set up
your own wireless access. Well, someone at 3com must have gotten as
tired of this as I have because they have introduced the tiny
OfficeConnect Wireless Travel Router. Can it transform your hotel room
into a wireless Nirvana? Read on to find out!
Opening the box, I discovered a thin
SETUP
Quick Start Guide, short network cable, transformer, carrying case and
the router itself.
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 370px; height: 278px;"
alt="" src="http://cdn.pocketnow.com/html/portal/reviews/0000000606/review/overhead-all-thumb.jpg">
Here’s
what comes in the Travel
Router’s box
I was
immediately struck by how small and light the travel router is.
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 370px; height: 278px;"
alt="Overhead view" src="http://cdn.pocketnow.com/html/portal/reviews/0000000606/review/overhead-thumb.jpg">
The
Travel Router compared to a CD
The
LED’s from top to bottom indicate power status, wireless status and
Ethernet status. The wireless and Ethernet LED’s will flash while data
is being transferred.
The
back of the Travel Router is where you find a recessed reset button,
the Ethernet port (to connect to a hotel LAN, for example) and the
power jack. If you give the reset button a quick push, it will reboot
the Travel Router. If you press and hold it for 5 seconds, it will
restore the Travel Router to its factory defaults.
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 370px; height: 278px;" alt="Ports"
src="http://cdn.pocketnow.com/html/portal/reviews/0000000606/review/ports-thumb.jpg">
The
Travel Router’s ports
On the
right side of the Travel Router (looking from above), you find a small
switch that selects the mode of operation.
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 370px; height: 278px;" alt="Switch"
src="http://cdn.pocketnow.com/html/portal/reviews/0000000606/review/switch-thumb.jpg">
The
Mode Selector switch
The
Travel Router has four modes of operation:
- AP (Access Point) Mode
- Router Mode
- Setup/Configuration Mode
- Client Mode
In AP Mode, the Travel Router acts
as a wireless bridge, connecting one or more clients to a local
network. The Travel Router itself has no IP address in this mode,
allowing clients to access a DHCP server on the local network to obtain
their IP addresses. In Router Mode, the Travel Router can act as a DHCP
server and Stateful Packet Inspection Firewall with Network Address
Translation (NAT) for its clients. This is the mode you would most
commonly use for connection to the Internet. In Setup/Configuration
Mode, you can (surprise!) setup and configure the Travel Router. More
on that later. Finally, the nice addition of Client Mode allows the
Travel Router to perform as a 802.11g wireless access adapter. For
example, you could use the Travel Router in this mode to connect a
laptop without a wireless card to an existing wireless network.
If the
included carrying case were any smaller, you couldn’t fit everything in
it but with a little determination, it will zip shut.
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 370px; height: 278px;"
alt="In the bag" src="http://cdn.pocketnow.com/html/portal/reviews/0000000606/review/inthebag-thumb.jpg">
The
Travel Router is ready to hit the road!
Before using the Travel Router, you
PRODUCT FEATURES
need to perform initial configuration. The complexity of this process
will depend greatly upon how you intend to use it. If you are
comfortable with a wireless network that is wide open and is highly
insecure, initial configuration is very simple. If, however, you need
to enable various security features, it can make the task much more
involved. This is not a reflection on 3com in any way. Rather, it is
simply the nature of wireless networking at this time. I’ll go through
setting it up in a fairly secure fashion, although this is certainly
not intended as a wireless security tutorial.
After setting the Mode Selector
Switch to position 3 and plugging in the power, you can connect to the
Travel Router either wirelessly or through the included network cable.
I chose to use the cable. Start up a web browser and enter
the first Configuration screen.
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 370px; height: 277px;" alt="Setup1"
src="http://cdn.pocketnow.com/html/portal/reviews/0000000606/review/setup01-small.gif">
The
System Configuration Screen
This
screen allows you to perform various tasks like updating the router’s
firmware, saving and loading configurations and specifying which
computers can have administrative access to the router. The most
important thing to note here (at least initially) is to change the
Admin password. By default, there is no Admin password, allowing anyone
to connect to the Travel Router and configure it. Check the box next to
Change Admin login, type
the new password twice and click the Save
button.
On the
left, you will see links for configuring AP, Router and Client Modes,
as well as Ethernet and Advanced configuration options. I decided to
use Router Mode since it offers the most security and clicked on the
corresponding link.
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 370px; height: 277px;"
alt="Router Configuration" src="http://cdn.pocketnow.com/html/portal/reviews/0000000606/review/setup05-small.gif">
The
Router Setup Screen
On the
Router Setup Screen, I recommend changing the
different, unchecking the Broadcast
SSID box and clicking Save.
This prevents the Travel Router from shouting out “Here I am! Come and
get me!” to anyone in range. Next click the
the screen.
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 370px; height: 277px;"
alt="Wireless Security" src="http://cdn.pocketnow.com/html/portal/reviews/0000000606/review/setup06-small.gif">
The
Router Mode Wireless Security Settings
Here
you can choose from WEP or WPA-PSK security modes. WPA-PSK is certainly
preferred but many clients (like my older wireless card) don’t support
it. So, I chose 128-bit WEP for the strongest security I could
use. Clicking the Generate
button will create a 26 hexadecimal character key that you will need to
enter into your wireless client’s security settings. Click
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 370px; height: 277px;" alt="Trusted"
src="http://cdn.pocketnow.com/html/portal/reviews/0000000606/review/setup07-small.gif">
The
Router Mode Trusted Settings
This
screen lets you specify by hardware address which wireless clients are
allowed to connect to the Travel Router. If you don’t have different
clients connecting each time, I recommend entering your client(s)
address in here for further security. How to find the hardware address
of your wireless card will vary depending on your client.
Now,
click on the Ethernet (WAN) Port
link on the left.
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 370px; height: 277px;"
alt="Ethernet Setup" src="http://cdn.pocketnow.com/html/portal/reviews/0000000606/review/setup08-small.gif">
The
Ethernet (WAN) Port Settings
The
settings you choose here will depend upon what your Internet Service
Provider requires. In many cases, the defaults will work perfectly.
The
you to set all kinds of parameters that will help you use the Travel
Router in specific situations. This is where you can enter applications
that are allowed through the firewall, setup access for services you
are providing to the Internet (like a web server), perform diagnostics
and so forth. Most likely, none of these need to be changed just
to achieve basic Internet connectivity.
An
Example of Advanced Settings
If you
also wanted to configure the Travel Router for use in AP Mode, you
could click on the AP Mode link
on the left.
src="http://cdn.pocketnow.com/html/portal/reviews/0000000606/review/setup02-small.gif">
AP Mode Settings
almost identical to those in the Router configuration we went
through above. A very handy feature here is the button marked
that and you don’t have to retype your WEP key and the hardware
addresses of your trusted hosts. Nice!
Now that we’ve finished our configuration, we can move the Mode
Selector switch to position 2 to enable Router Mode. After making the
appropriate changes in the configuration of your wireless client (like
specifying the new SSID and WEP key), you should be up and running.
Keep in mind that this initial configuration will probably not need to
be changed very often, so don’t be dismayed if it seems like a lot of
work.
