Slashdot Mirror
Linksys Shows Off New Products To SOCALWUG
John Hering writes "Last night at the Southern California Wireless Users Group (SOCALWUG) meeting, a representative from Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems, presented several new never-before-seen Linksys products which including a wireless-G range extender, a wireless switch, wireless network attached storage and even a new Boingo co-branded wireless-G router which will serve as an off-the-shelf hotspot solution. It's interesting to note how the new Linksys products continue to look more and more like Cisco products."
... is the one that won't allow unencrypted 802.11 links to happen. Whenever I go wardriving, half of the hits I get from kismet have SSID="LINSYS", WEP="NO".
but of couse none of us ever associate with the network, we just passivly look at them... right?
404
Cisco's stuff may be nearly bulletproof, but the damn things take forever to power on. A 350 AP or BR can easily take over 3 minutes to boot. I really hope that they can find a way around boot speed issues. The public at large will not be as willing to wait as a network admin.
I thought that Linksys was a subsidiary of Cisco... So why should it be surprising that Linksys products are beginning to look like Cisco's. I for one would welcome Cisco products at Linksys prices.
Cringely has an interesting article on how Linksys has embraced Linux in products like the Linksys WRT54G and how the teaming of this technology may well be the next disruptive technology.
Personally, I think the design style that linksys has gone with has built a little mini-brand and I can't see why they're messing with that. By changing that I think Cisco goes a long way to telling customers 'the name might be Linksys, but you're not really buying Linksys products anymore'. They might think it's a good thing, but others might not. The products seem to D-Link-y now.
What did you eat today? http://www.atetoday.com/
For LinkSYS to support WPA in AP-AP (Wireless Bridge) mode on their WAP54G.
"Note:WPA does not work in Wireless Bridge mode in this release"
Dammit people, WHEN will you get it right?
We don't need no stinkin NEW Products, we need completed features in our firmware for existing products.
Visit CryptoGnome in his home.
... the G-spot :)
Here it comes the 802.11n and the 802.16. I'm pretty sure I'll start making move toward wireless adjustments then.
I'm not about to compromise wired ip network with inferior products and standards using 802.11a/b/g
FYI, Cisco is already on board with 802.16 move toward WISP and WifiMax inititive. It will hit the market as soon as early next year.
--
Cisco, the maker of internet device and Crisco, the maker of cooking oil and grease product merged today to create world's first internet greasing device which will revolutionize the way we grease the dotcom industry. They are expect to hit the market as early as second quarter of 2005.
"Don't let fools fool you. They are the clever ones."
(I'll take the Cisco firmware and software for the Linksys price, though.
If you post, they will mod it.
Sounds like an interesting concept, but I wonder how it will scale...
Assuming single-channel G/B operation, the best it could do is divide G/B users into three distinct segments (three non-overlapping frequency ranges at best). With this lack of flexibility a switched architecture seems not to yield much benefit... In fact, the alternitive use of overlapping channels to increase the overall 'bus' of the netork (the dual channel 108 mbps devices') seems more beneficial. If the net is only segmented into 3 segments, best case, and any given two hosts on the network communicate, there is a 33% chance they are on the same segment anyway, and the switched benefit isn't had. With dual channel, single segment, sure there is a 100% chance for contention in that case, but far more bandwidth available, and much better performance in wireless to lan communication (which is 98% of usage anyway).
Of course, it could be different from what I'm picturing, maybe it is more akin to a managed hub, where packets are only retransmitted to each host on 'switch-like' rules, but it remains the standard single-media solution. Perhaps kept very switchlike by different encryption keys per host, but ultimately the media is still shared in a hub fashion, so the typical network performance benefits of switched ethernet networks are not there to be had.. Of course, more intelligently handling mixed B/G devices could be the case, which would be a good thing..
Anyone know any more details about what they are meaning by a 'switched wireless network'? It certainly could be an interesting concept if the standard had more non-overlapping channels...
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
I'm glad to see they seem to have dumped that horrible design they had.
But more importantly, it looks like this will make what I wanted possible:
Wireless switching with the Linksys WET54GS5 Wireless Ethernet Switch:
- Managed Ethernet switch
- Wireless supports virtual LANs (VLAN)
- Supports up to 69 VLAN users
- Each wireles suser gets a separate Subnetted IP address
- Targeted release June 2004
This should enable you to share your wireless Internet access, without opening up your own network to strangers.
This, for anyone who knows dick about radios, is the height of stupidity. There are, very rarely, time where it makes sense to amplify a low gain antenna, but monkeys are not qualified to make this decision.
Tell me, do you really pay Slashdot to pass for a raving lunatic, or did someone offer you a subscription for Christmas?
I have new for you: if you knew "dick" about radio yourself, you'd know that stock AP "antennas" aren't really antenna at all and rarely reach 2.2dBi anyway. As for the "morons" who buy RF amps, they may not be "specialists" like yourself.
In fact, most 802.11 users don't know anything about it, except that it's convenient and they just have to connect to the router's internal web server to configure it. And when they want more range, they buy whatever solution the shop sells them. Just like most people who drive cars don't know anything about how cars work, and let AutoZone sell them gasoline additives to "clean their injectors": well, if you don't know anything about cars, how will they know it's snake oil?
So, why don't you get off your high horse and stop talking out of your arse?
Are they going to be making the source code free as beer.. for this new product?
True, but then you have companies that insist on having "open" conference rooms, lounges, lobbies, and so on. Out of the box, IMHO, the router shouldn't start serving up wireless, UNTIL the EU properly configures WEP; or acknowledges having an open network will allow "anyone" in.
If you don't want encryption, why should you be forced to use it? WEP has its flaws anyway, as has been repeatedly pointed out. Personally, I think MAC filtering is a much more hassle-free method of securing a network, especially for small home networks.
No, an access point that doesn't allow encryption is simply the wrong solution. It is the responsibility of the user to secure the network, and it's not like it's such a great deal of work.
I hear there's rumors on the Slashdots
Why in the WORLD would you want that?!
;)
First off...
We want to ENCOURAGE open wireless networks! If you live in a dense city like San Francisco (where I live) if we had enough open networks we would have a decentralized Internet infrastructure across the city.
I'm sitting in a coffee shop right now in the Haight district of San Francisco (Waller and Cole actually) and there are 5 wireless networks on the corner.
The downsize is that 2 of them are WEP and I can't really get decent signal on the others due to lack of decent antenna and LoS.
Criaglist founder Criag Newmark is nice enough to have an Open AP right up the street but it's too far for me to reach it.
Second... WEP is NOT secure. What we REALLY need is a decent AP that has ipsec already setup and still allows open connections.
Of course I've been leading the way here. I've had an Open AP in my last 3 appts. Never had any problem.
Also.. when the RIAA comes calling I have probable deniability. I can just tell the Judge that it was some random wireless user and I have a Linksys AP and I'm not smart enough to secure it
Kevin
The SAN device looks cool - it appears to be a device that makes any USB mass storage device appear as a network drive. I wonder if it shows up as a windows file server, nfs server, or a network attached block device? Can two computers use it simultaneously? Does anyone else make something similar?
-jim
Anybody else notice that the network attached storage specifically says it's *NOT* wireless?
So when are Linksys going to support IPv6? That's what I'm waiting for.
From the linked article:
Network attached storage with the Linksys NSLU Network Storage Link for USB 2.0 Disk Drives:
- Creates an Ethernet network connection for USB devices
- Supports external USB hard drives and Memory Sticks
- Connects to wired LAN (not wireless)
Too bad, because wireless NAS options are few right now.
Want to see the video of the meeting? I'll get the meeting video archive online asap. Check SOCALWUG within 24 hours or so and you'll see the new Linksys products presented at the meeting.
http://wireless.pasadena.net
Perhaps Cisco will change this... But we've had nothing but trouble with them at work. Those 8 port switches? Forget using them on any network that requires uptime. If you get a little power flicker they are gone, they hold onto the last piece of traffic they had (usually an arp) and just keep repeating it until the network floods and goes down. I've experienced this with no less then 6 DIFFERENT linksys 8-port switches (the 4 ports are fine and do not do this).
The Broadband routers do the same thing occassionally, they will packet storm on the network and cause traffic problems.
So far all i've seen says YUCK junk. Our company used to purchase linksys exclusively to use internally (when we didn't need something as powerful as a 24 port DELL switch) and also on our broadband network when customer's needed equipment. We've since switch to D-Link and have had not an issue.
Also.. when the RIAA comes calling I have probable deniability. I can just tell the Judge that it was some random wireless user and I have a Linksys AP and I'm not smart enough to secure it ;)
;-)
That will only work so many times. After a couple of people use that defense, you can bet somebody is going to push some law mandating the securing of wireless networks, either by requiring manufacturers to make it easier or passing a law that says that the network owner is responsible for *anything* illegal that goes thru his/hers network.
Rest assured, they'll try to convince people it's in the interest on national security *and* to prevent child pornography ("won't somebody please think of the children").
No sig
Umm, why is this a troll? Cisco's support policies and hardware reliability are not that great, given the extreme expense for same.
Ferinstance, just try downloading a flash image for say, a CSS 11150 box. You pay $10k for the thing, and then you can't download a ROM image without paying about $1500 a year for support.
Riiiight.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
Now only if they could actually SUPPORT or at least make an ATTEMPT to support their products!!!
m od e=flat~days=9999~start=480
Anyone ever get their BEFW11S4 V4 to work for more than a few hours??
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,7069184~
The idea was you installed a driver on your PC. Then you plugged your USB stuff into this device, which plugged into ethernet. Then any computer on your ethernet network could use that USB device (assuming it had all the drivers/etc).
It only worked with some things (HDs, printers, etc) and not others (can't think of any off the top of my head, but I doubt that an ethernet adapter or wifi adapter would work). OH! Hubs wouldn't work either.
The product had it's problems (such as only one computer could "use" each device at a time) but it was still a neat product. It would let you do the same thing, but only one person could use it at a time.
As for the Linksys thing, my guess is that it appears as a Samba server on the network and multiple people can use it at once (like any Samba server). I think it's just a NAS device without the hard drive already attached.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Amazon.co.uk have them from 58 quid including postage.
Ever since Cisco purchased Linksys the frequent firmware updates for my router has dropped to zero!
An email to tech support about the subject yields troubling information about the company. Not one person can tell me if development on the router firmware has stopped or if the router is being discontinued or when/if a new one will be released.
My next router will not be a linksys. I am going into IT work soon and that equipment will not be linksys either!
When i hit the switch on the powerstrip, by the time my cable modem connects, the wireless router has booted, and is followed shortly after by my computer. Although you shouldn't have to be constantly booting network hardware.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
There's actually a "Southern California Wireless Users Group"? Wow. And they thought us Linux guys were nerds.
As what you've said is sort of like saying "I'm giving up on door locks for my house, I think filtering guests as they enter is secure and hassle free."
The Internet's nature is peer to peer - 20050301_cs_profs.pdf
Linksys has been really good at innovating for a while now, and they have always been good at getting the price down.
My big concern is quality. Looking back, almost half the access points we've gotten from them have been DOA or died shortly afterward. Two out of three GigE switches had bad fans in them, one of the replacements did as well. One BEFSR41 power brick melted.
On NICs, I can't fault them; they're 100% reliable and install with zero issues. I'd reccommend them as easily as Intel or 3Com. But their external hardware has been really spotty. Compared against the rock-solid reliability I expect from even low-end Cisco gear (1600-series routers or even ATA's) I think they're taking a big gamble putting the Cisco label on it.
That said, I want one of those usb-to-ethernet storage gizmos.
Cisco already has IP phones for use in business and they seem to be quite good, solid products.
How about an IP phone for use at home or possibly in a small office where the Cisco offering may be too expensive?
People, what's wrong with choice? I like using open networks when they are intended to be open, but at home, I really don't want anyone sniffing my data or exposing my network to liability based on what they're illegally downloading. So I lock down my own network. If someone I know comes to visit, I give them an account.
You also don't seem to realize that ease-of-use is a critical selling point and a way to prevent returns to the mfg. These companies must design defaults that allow Joe Average to take the unit out of the box, plug it in, and have it work right away. Even though that is the worst possible default for security. When you make people go through secure configuration procedures, they become frustrated. They just want it to work.
And why are we still debating WEP? That's so 20th century. WPA was the answer to that.
Why, yes, its CISCO.
And who could stop all all the spam in the world if they wanted to, with simple, anti spam software?...
why, Yes, its CISCO.
Next time you get a spam, thank CISCO for it.
Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
Just a while ago Tom's Hardware reviewed a product that was a USB->Ethernet converter. The idea was you installed a driver on your PC. Then you plugged your USB stuff into this device, which plugged into ethernet. Then any computer on your ethernet network could use that USB device (assuming it had all the drivers/etc).
Do you have a link to this review, a search at Toms Hardware did not provide any thing similar. Just usb devices.
1311393600 - Back to Black
The product is from Keyspan, the USB Server, released within the past couple of months, $130 I believe, link below:r /
http://www.keyspan.com/products/usb/serve
It is only USB 1.1 right now, and is limited in what devices it supports (multi-function printers, HID devices are specifically supported, I believe mass-storage devices are specifically not supported yet), but allows you to connect up to 4 USB devices to your 10/100 network and with a driver on your networked computers (Mac OS X, or Windows) all the computers can see the devices as local USB devices, and the admin program allows you to set access controls to restrict access to certain devices! This is THE perfect solution for those of us with multi-function printers that thus far have had to accept network printing but no network scanning or faxing.
Within the next year they plan to release a USB 2.0 version and they are also actively working on upgrading the software to support more devices like hard drives and others.
If you fail to see the value of this product, here is my use for it:
I have a laptop on a wireless home network, I hate plugging things in to it as it makes it less wireless that way. Yet sometimes I need to plug in my PDA to sync it, or my camera to download the images, or my external HD to update the backup, and of course there is that MFP I mentioned for scanning. I'm sure not all of these devices are supported yet, but I'm looking forward to the day they are!
- Jeff (long-time slashdot reader, never created an account, not affiliated with Keyspan)
You're right about one thing ... you're definately not smart enough.
Did they by any chance say what they were going to use to replace their now-pulled WSB-24 signal booster?
Polymorphism -- It's what you make of it.