Review - Trendnet TEW-633GR Wireless Router
November 10th, 2007 | by Fitri |
Last year, when we reviewed the first draft TrendNet N router, the TEW-631BRP, we came away wishing that it was based on a finalized Wi-Fi specification. Now our desire remains with the last TrendNet, N Wireless Router Gigabit TEW-633GR, as the Draft 802.11N standard is not expected to be finalised before the end of 2008. But the TEW-633GR still manages to impress us with the addition of Gigabit Ethernet, to accelerate the speed wireline and wireless offering improved throughput - short-range, anyway. The TEW-631BRP older was faster on our long-range tests. While the TEW-633GR enjoys decent speeds - up to 95Mbps on CNET Labs tests - we still have an N recommend postponing the purchase until the router spec is finalized. Overall, the TEW-633GR is an improvement over the TEW-631BRP. Although it is still far from perfect, it is among the most comprehensive, easy to use and feature-rich Project N routers for the users we tested.
The TEW-633GR trades TrendNet ancient royal blue of the case for an updated, glossy dark blue case. It’s also a little square and smaller than the previous model. It provides the standard for allocating ports - 4-gigabit LAN and WAN to 1 gigabit - on their backs, and that the lights on the front. The device can be mounted vertically or flat, but it was not wall-mountable, unlike some others that we have seen. The three branches are attached along one side of the router (or if highly placed vertically), which is more convenient than their typical placement along the rear edge, where they crowd networking ports. A small button on the opposite side of the transformation of Wi-Fi function on and off, similar to the on / off that adorn many laptops. We question its overall use, but we suppose it can make, if you want to turn off your wireless connection, while running your appliances wired network via Gigabit Ethernet. Finally, there is a WPS button on the top can quickly as Wi-Fi Protected Setup for devices that support this feature. Wi-Fi Protected Setup is a voluntary certification program, introduced earlier this year by the Wi-Fi Alliance, and designed to facilitate the work of setting up and configuring security on wireless LANs.
Out of the box, well illustrated the Quick Start Guide and the CD well handle the setup process. (You can always set the TEW-633GR assistant with the web-based, in the same way as the TEW-631BRP, but we found that the use of the CD was much easier and more user-friendly, especially for novice users). The guide is simple and covers all the steps necessary for you to make it operational - plugging in the power cable network connecting to the establishment of basic wireless security. It even helps you replace your router with the TEW-633GR, for example: if you are already using another router on your network, you will be asked what to do step by step, to swap the two routers. The whole process has been very well thought out. There is a catch: You need to connect your computer to the router via wired connection, and the computer must have a single active network connection (thus disable the WiFi connection from your laptop if you use it to make configuration) Otherwise, The Go Easy Setup Wizard does not start at all.
Once the Setup Assistant is based on fact (and this is sufficient for most home networking scenarios), a smart network user can connect to the web interface of the router by typing its IP address by default, 192,168. 10.1. Here you will find a very robust and responsive Web interface with more options and sorcerers. (Most of the changes that you do not need to restart the router.) With advanced networking pages contain a lot of features handy for your network, including Virtual Server, Special Applications, games, Access Control, Web Filter, WPS, Firewall. The router also supports encryption each mode Wi-Fi, including the old school 64/128-bit WEP (11b / g) and the standard WPA/WPA2 and WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK. If that were not enough enough security for you, the TEW 633GR also argues that the MAC address filtering allow only specific network adapters (wired or wireless) to access the network.
The TEW-633GR also has a WAN port gigabit, which is obscene for almost all home networks and online gaming scenarios. Some small office networks with a very high-speed Internet access could take better advantage of this added speed WAN, even if the router TrendNet targets primarily at home users and games.
Like any draft N router we tested, the TEW-633GR’s performance is not up to the promises of the 802.11n specification, but the router turns in some good results compared to the Draft N competition. On CNET Labs’ maximum throughput test, the TEW-633GR implement a rate of 95.0Mbps, which was the second fastest score we have seen to date. (This is a certain distance from TrendNet claimed up to 300Mbp, but we have never seen any router that performs almost a manufacturer nominal). On our long distance speed test, however, we were a little disappointed by the performance of TEW 633GR. From 200 feet, the signal begins to weaken, and the rate has dropped significantly to 33.9Mbps, which is about the average we saw on our long distance speed test but less than that of his predecessor The TEW-631BRP.
During the testing process, we found that the signal dropped out from time to time. With the router, TrendNet also included in the kit to test our TEW-621PC / AN Draft wireless adapter that we used for the test. (That’s our standard test procedure for using the software vendor to manage their wireless adapter.) TEW-621PC / A map seems to have some sort of conflict with its own software, because we found that when we opted for Windows XP’s built-in Wireless Zero Configuration app, the card worked well and was able to maintain a stable connection.
In our anecdotal reliability test, the TEW-G633GR had no problem with the stability of connections to devices from different vendors over a long period of time.
TrendNet provides a generous three-year warranty for the TEW 633GR. Support toll-free phone can be reached 24-7. We called the number and - after a little more than 7 minutes of operation - has been in touch with a representative who has taken the product model and our phone number and promised to call us back at some point someone later. (We did not receive a call for a return TrendNet technical support team of about 48 hours later). While the call could have been more satisfactory, we were pleased that we got ahold of someone. TrendNet’s website offers comprehensive tools for self-help, including the configuration of the emulator, which allows you to try different settings in the router, as well as other materials such as downloading manuals, the latest firmware, etc.