RouteFinder RF802EW router + wireless AP
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Score: 3 out of 3 
Review Type: Hands On
Date: Aug 8, 2001
Multi-tech has added new product to its famous RouteFinder line with support for
802.11b wireless Ethernet (11Mbps). The new router, the RF802EW, is essentially
an RF500S (reviewed here) with a wireless Ethernet access point built in. Along
with wireless support the RF802EW also ads MAC address based client pass/blocking,
prefect for securing your wireless environment without using WEP. Unique in the
industry, the RouteFinder natively supports a variety of VoIP protocols including
h.323/NetMeeting.
 Although Multi-tech is a latecomer to the 802.11b arena,
they seem to have taken queues from other manufacturers shortcomings to present
us with a fantastic product. An extremely robust feature set makes this router a
joy for advanced users but beginners my find some features confusing.
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Features
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NAT based internet sharing
1 10/100Mbs Ethernet LAN port
802.11b Access point
WEP 64bit or 128bit encryption
Statefull Packet Inspection
Serial port for backup analog modem or ISDN connection
RAS network dial-in
MAC based wireless client access/blocking
TUCOWS top100 application CD
H.323 outgoing pass through (NetMeeting)
Event logging monitor that can output to MDB files
IPSec Pass through
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VPN Support
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Passes PPTP and IPSec
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Missing
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Port range forwarding
Triggered application (probably not needed with all the VoIP support)
Dynamic DNS
HTML Admin interface
Built-in Ethernet Switch
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What it does
The RouteFinder RF802EW allows multiple computers on your LAN to share a single
Internet connection made using a cable, DSL, ISDN or Dial-up modem. The RouteFinder
uses NAT to share a single Internet IP address with up to 254 computers.
 The
single 10/100Mbps LAN Ethernet can be connected to a standard Ethernet hub or switch
to support multiple wired Ethernet computers. The 802.11b wireless Ethernet access
point is bridged to the wired Ethernet LAN to allow unrestricted traffic between
your wired and wireless computers (for file sharing, games, etc). The router also
acts as a RAS server allowing other computers to dial-in to your LAN using a standard
modem or ISDN modem.
The admin and install software
The administration and monitoring software included with the RouteFinder runs on
Windows. There is no HTML based administration, however all the features are available
in a TELNET interface. A wizard guides you through basic the basic setup for the
router but advanced routing and RAS features can get in the way of a streamlined
install for users not knowledgeable in networking terminology.
The administration software was easy to use, but some important options are buried
too deep in the interface – 3 or 4 clicks deep. Considering the number of features
and advanced options available in the RouteFinder a simple straightforward interface
would have been very difficult to create.
The monitor software is excellent. This software runs on one of your windows
PC’s and can monitor events, traffic and attacks on your router. Events and attacks
can be exported to a text file or Microsoft Access database on a schedule for easy
analysis. The screen shows al the latest data and allows you to click on some to
find out more information. No other home broadband routers give you this much information
on the status of the data traveling around your network.
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RouteFinder + 802.11b wireless
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