Introduction

ASUS isn't just known for its fantastic motherboards and bare-bones laptops. It also produces a series of wireless devices, most notably the WL-500G, an 802.11g-compliant wireless router that has a built-in USB port. The router can be combined with an external hard drive to set up a file server, or a printer to set up a print server. The WL-500W, the subject of this review, is the WL-500G's big brother. It is a pre-N router, meaning it supports the most current draft specifications of 802.11n as of its manufacture date and firmware revision. Read on for a investigative review.

Specifications

Draft 802.11n compliant, fully compatible with 802.11b/g, Ezsetup button provides easier network setup process for beginners, WMM(tm) enhances wireless transfers of audio/video content, data security including WPA2, WPA, WEP, ACL, and SPI firewall

WAN Ports: 1 x RJ45 for 10/100 BaseT
LAN Ports: 4 x RJ45 for 10/100 BaseT
Antenna: 3 x external dipole antenna
Power AC input: 100V~240V(50~60HZ); DC output: 5V with max. 2.5A~3A current
USB Interface: 2 x USB2.0
Operating Frequency: 2.4 - 2.5 GHz
Data Rate: 802.11n Draft up to 300Mbps* (*Note: The maximum wireless signal rate is IEEE802.11n draft specifications. Actual throughput will vary depending on the wireless environment and other parameters)
Encryption: 64/128-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2, TKIP, AES, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK, MAC address, 802.1x

Applications:
Download Master: Download ftp, http and BT (BitTorrent) automatically
FTP Server
WebCAM Server
Printer Server: TCP/IP (LPR, supported in Windows XP, Windows 2000 and MAC OS)

Management:
Smart Wizard browser-based administration
Bandwidth Management
Remote management
DHCP server, WAN DHCP client
Save/restore configuration files
Upgrades via web browser
Firmware restoration
Device discovery

Security:
Firewall: NAT and SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection), intrusion detection including logging
Logging: Dropped packet, security event, Syslog
Filtering: Port, IP packet, URL Keyword, MAC address

Buttons:
Restore button: Push for 5 seconds to restore factory setting
EZSetup button: Automatically SSID and WEP or WPA configuration

Operating Modes: 11 for N. America, 14 Japan, 13 Europe (ETSI)
Output Power: 12~15dBm(g mode), 15~18dBm(b mode), 14~16dBm(n mode)
WAN Service:
Static IP Address
Dynamic IP Address (DHCP Client)
PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE)
PPTP
L2TP
Big Pond

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