| SMC7004VWBR Barricade Cable/DSL router w/ 4-port 10/100Mbps and 802.11b 11 Mbps Access Point |
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Model: SMC7004VWBR
Brand: SMC
Manufacturer: SMC
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 71
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b
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| Features: |
Share your Cable/DSL connection
802.11b High Speed Wireless Lan connection
4 port 10/100 Mbps switch
Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) Firewall
64-bit or 128-bit WEP encryption and MAC address filtering |
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| Description: |
| MODEL- SMC7004VWBR VENDOR- SMC NETWORKS FEATURES- Barricade Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband Router The Barricade Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband Router is the ideal networking solution for any home and business user. This platform independent multi-functional router combines a 4-port 10/100 Mbps dual-speed switch an 802.11b wireless access point Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall security network management and Virtual Private Network (VPN) pass-through support into one convenient device. The Wireless Barricade Router is the first router in its class to offer an integrated Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall. This firewall provides protection against hacker invasions such as Denial of Service (DoS) attacks by analyzing individual data packets as they pass through the Barricade to ensure that only authorized packets are allowed access to the network. To control network access parents or business owners can block certain web sites by entering either a URL address or just a keyword of the web site. In addition to these incredible features this latest addition to the Barricade family provides hacker prevention and logging functionalities. For example when a hacker attempts to access your network the Barricade can alert you via email so you can take appropriate action. The Wireless Barricade provides a 10/100 Mbps WAN port for high-speed integration into your network. Supporting NAT the Barricade can provide simultaneous Internet access for up to 253 PCs using a single purchased IP address. To manage these connections the Barricade has a built-in DHCP server to auto-assign IP addresses to devices on your network. To install this device simply place the EZ 3-Click Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive and in minutes you will be surfing the web. By using the web-based management system you can configure this router to handle IP routing and port forwarding through the Virtual Server option. For added management this router also has a full-featured Access Control ... |
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| User Reviews (71 total): |
Page 1 2 3 4 of Total 4 Pages
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Don't buy SMC, October 3, 2004
By tradingforaliving (Thailand)
Completely random blocking of functionality- sometimes I can click a link and it works sometimes I can't, sometimes I can send an email sometimes I can't. Problem goes away when not using SMC router. Repeated emails to customer support are repeatedly IGNORED. Would NEVER buy from them again.
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Makes a nice space heater!, April 15, 2004
By Writer of Real World Reviews (Long Island, NY United States)
I have now tried two SMC wireless Barricades (this unit and it's newer version, and both have "crapped out" after a few months.
Unfortunately, I also had problems with their older, wired router. Although I have ensured that there is adequate air circulation, and the ambient temperature never exceeds 70 degrees, it appears that these units are prone to overheating. (...)I found that my internet access was getting slower and slower, and my FTPs were aborting more and more frequently.Also, be aware that if you upgrade the firmware, you WILL lose all your settings (you [cannot] read the old .bin file back in!)
[Be sure] to write down ALL your current settings [before] doing an upgrade! It's too bad, since I have been a proponent of SMC ever since they marketed one of the first high speed UARTs many years ago!
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Great value, April 12, 2004
By Neil (Northern Virginia)
I've had this SMC7004VWBR running for over a year on my home network. I share a DSL broadband connection with several home PC's. The Windows XP and Windows 98 PC's have worked very well connecting thru the router. This is not a perfect product but the value and features it offers for the price is hard to beat. I am impressed with the ability to configure the firewall. I use the browser based console to disable my son's internet access by time of day. I also use the URL blocking feature to filter out domains that I don't want access to. The time-of-day feature could be beefed-up to provide more flexibility, but again, this is a feature that use to be in firewalls a few years ago that cost thousands of dollars. Make sure you upgrade to the latest version of the firmware before you spend any time configuring the device. Generally speaking I can go months without having to reset the router. I haven't had problems with the wireless range or interference from cordless phones, but YMMV. If I were to purchase a new wireless router I would consider the "g" version since that gives you Wifi Protected Access (WPA) as opposed to WEP (which can be hacked). If you are very concerned about security and someone stealing your bandwith or hacking onto your network, then you want a product that offers WPA. Then restrict access to the MAC address of your PC's and you'll be virtually hack-proof.
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No problem with installation, March 15, 2004
By john1996a (Morrisville, NC United States)
I was concerned with some of the comments, but decided to take the risk with the low price. I was able to set it up with little knowledge. It has been about a week and have had no problem. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get set up with a wireless router.
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horrible wireless, try Belkin or Lynxssys, February 5, 2004
By stuck at home (Arlington, VA)
It's cheap and you get what you pay for. The setup was easy. That's the end of the praise. If you don't use encryption on your wireless link it seems to work fine. But with encryption enabled it won't keep the link. It continually drops the link and the re-init time kills your connection. Even with excellent signal strength. My wireless card, SMC EZconnect 2635, works great with other networks, but this SMC 7004 WiFi AP stinks.
SMC EZconnect card seems to work fine, not great, but acceptable.
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Drops connections - poor customer service, January 31, 2004
By vlado@starlogic.net (Dallas, GA United States)
I have to reboot the router every day. There is not live support, you have to email the customer service. They recommended to reinstall old firmware. Did not help. I hate it!!
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TERRIFIC...for newbie or experienced user, January 19, 2004
By al042077 (Omaha, NE USA)
Easy to install, and easy to configure. I'm experienced, but not an expert, and I have no complaints so far with this router after a few months of use. Offers simple features like DHCP, and advanced features like DMZ, MAC filters, etc.
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Poor Customer Service, September 4, 2003
By unknown
I had no problem setting the hardware up, etc. Had slight difficulty with my work VPN. Hardware performs average. The biggest issue I have with SMC is their customer service (they stiffed me on my rebate, and did not reply back to my e-mails, etc), and therefore will not purchase anymore of their products.
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Junk, don't waste your money!, August 31, 2003
By Timothy Hurita (Portland, OR United States)
*** Update 2/23/2005 ***
Well this thing went into the trash can after it couldn't even function as a simple 4 port switch (no WAN connection). The ports were dropping in and out after about an hour of use, it does seem to run really hot, even in the basement of my house which is on average about 70 degrees.
All in all, I got a few days use for my $70+ investment, it had been sitting in a box since writing this review and I pulled it out for a LAN party I was hosting over the weekend. I ended up buying an 8 port Linksys that day to replace it and haven't looked back.
Don't waste your money on SMC like I did. D-Link, Netgear and Linksys all make capable home firewalls but as always, do your research first!
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I purchased this firewall to add wireless capability to my home LAN for my PDA. After browsing through the setup screens, I was so amazed at the functionality that I replaced my trusty Linux based firewall with it.
Not to long after that, I took it off my network and re-instated the Linux firewall, more on that later. I have a 24/7 cable modem connection to the Internet so a firewall is mandatory here.
The SMC Barricade features time synchronization via SNTP, dynamic dns (via tzo.com), 64/128 bit WEP, mac filtering, port forwarding, DMZ, intrusion detection, stateful inspection and some tricked out firewall features I've only seen in enterprise level or more expensive SOHO firewalls. You can actually create custom rules and apply them to specific clients on your network such as URL/keyword blocking (great for blocking porn sites) and specific tcp/ip services. You can also schedule these rules by specifying a time frame on any given day of the week and assigning it to one or several clients. This is great for keeping the kids off the net after certain hours!
After setting it up I ran it through several security scans over the web (grc.com, sygate.com) and probed it myself from the office with various Linux and Windows scan tools. Being a Network Security Specialist I can tell you this, the SMC Barricade is a solid little firewall and whether you decide to purchase it or not, do not go out on the Internet without one. <-period
I purchased mine at the beginning of 2003 for $$$, at the time of this review it is now $$ with a mail in rebate. Sounds like SMC wants to unload their stock as soon as possible.
The wireless capabilities are ok but not great with my PDA. After about 50ft the signal gets pretty useless. This is most likely my wireless adapter and not the SMC. What can one expect from a battery powered wireless card the size of a matchbook anyway?
Now for the complaint section of this review:
First of all, there is no provision for external logging outside of the built in security log which isn't too bad. But the ability to log the data via syslog would be nice.
Secondly, this thing chokes when UDP traffic gets heavy. Too put this in context for the non technical folks, when you have more than one client playing games on the Internet, this firewall is going to kill those connections. Even with the intrusion detection parameters tuned as loose as they'll go and/or even with SPI turned off, this firewall either just can't handle it or thinks it's under attack and blocks the connections. It shouldn't do this under the cirumstances.
Thirdly, there are bugs, even in the latest firmware, currently rev 1.23. If you are using the firewalls DHCP service and if you disable the UDP setting under SPI (you must also disable TFTP and h.323). When these are turned off, forget about any kind of DNS resolution from this firewall.
Because it doesn't pass along the DNS IP addresses it obtains from your ISP to the clients on a DHCP request, but instead assigns it's own IP address for DNS resolution, you must manually enter the DNS settings on your clients.
Now maybe I am missing something here but I don't think so. The SMC Barricade has quite a few bells and whistles for the price and would probably be great in a small office or home environment for web/email use, but outside of that, I can't recommend it.
I am sticking with my Linux firewall and the SMC get's to sit in a drawer and that's about all it's good for.
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Extremely easy to set up and works excellent., August 18, 2003
By unknown
This is my first wireless router and wireless USB adapter I have ever tried to install. I wired the router between the cable modem and PC (Win XP), then plugged the SMC USB adapter into a second PC which uses Win98SE. The setup was extemely easy to do and took only a few minutes. After rebooting the second PC, the browser web pages opened very fast over the wireless connection. I will be adding a notebook computer later with the SMC Wireless Cardbus Adapter. This was much easier than I ever anticipated. This product provides a lot of performance for the money.
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Good router once I got it to work, August 15, 2003
By . . . (Hawaii)
My router did not work with my Win2k and XP computers out of the box. My connectivity to the internet was good (ping and traceroute), but web and email was VERY VERY slow and often timed out. Finally, I downloaded and installed the latest firmware from SMC and it solved the problem. The signal strength is very good -- stronger than the Cisco Aironet that the SMC replaced. I don't have dead spots in the house like I used to. The configuration GUI is simple and easy to use. Although I haven't tested any of the firewall/security functions yet. Overall I am satisfied with this router, but I only rate it a 3 because it shouldn't have shipped with the old firmware. I would recommend downloading the latest firmware and installing it before engaging in any troubleshooting.
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Great Features - Horrible Wireless, August 13, 2003
By Dwayne R. Glover (New York, New York United States)
I wish I had paid more attention to some of the other reviews on this product. The price is just so seductive though. The installation was a breeze as promised although documentation was very scarce. Initially I was delighted to be up and running in minutes upon plugging everything in. Great features on router and easy maintenace. HOWEVER signal strength is just plain horrible for wireless access. I have problems at times in the same room (5 friggin feet away). Firmware upgrades, switching channels, moving phones, etc... just doesn't solve problem. Spend the extra few dollars and get another brand.
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the router that can make your home a wi-fi center, August 2, 2003
By rf1c (Hamilton Square, NJ United States)
The setup with router was easy do and make easy by windows XP. XP will show which setup to you to make easier. All you need to coonect 2 cat-5 wires one from cable\DSL modem to router and one to your desktop. Then will make an change in ip address and now your online with router. I have 3 computers on network 2 laptops and 1 desktop. All computers have fast connection to internet and can go any where inside and outside of house for connection. This router you want to have in your or any where you want internet access any where in your home or aparnment.
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Avoid this product, June 12, 2003
By Max Hodges (Tokyo, Japan)
wasted all day with a SMC barricade wireles router and SMC 2635W wireless adapter. I was getting dropped every couple minutes, so it was impossible to transfer any files of decent size. Talk to tech support half-a-dozen times. First they blamed my cordless phone, so I unplugged it. Next they blamed my cell phone, so I powered it off and called them on a landline. Then they blamed windows xp. I discovered that their driver wasn't signed (not windows logo certified.) SMC owns about 5.9% of the wireless market, LinkSys owns about 50%. Avoid Microsoft too. They are new to the wireless hardware game, and their products aren't well tested either. Good luck!
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Great Tool for Novices & Pros Alike, June 1, 2003
By unknown
I just ordered a second one of these routers for a friend. I have used mine for six months now, and reccomend it to anyone looking to enjoy a wireless connection, as well as ethernet connections too. All the negative reviews are due mostly to not reading instructions. Most issues can be resolved by making simple adjustments thru the advanced setup wizard. Another thing too... Buy all the same brand (i.e. router, cards, etc), and you find you get awesome distance with wireless, and no compatibility issues. I live in a highrise, and go three flights down and to the opposite end of the building to a friends house and get great signal strength. GREAT PRODUCT, EASY SET-UP, AWESOME PRICE!!!
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Doesn't work with Surfboard Cable Modems!, May 30, 2003
By unknown
I'm a computer consultant, and have setup 20+ wired and wireless networks for cable/dsl connections. The SMC gave me more headache than most, all because it is incompatible with the Motorolla Surfboard 4200 (and maybe more models?). The tech support politely suggested I upgrade and buy a newer SMC router. They didn't tell me of the incompatibility until the 3rd call and hours of wasted time. Granted, the SMC has more features than the linksys, or the netgear routers, but if it doesn't work, the features are useless. Also, while this does claim Dynamic DNS Support, you have to use their fee-based DYNDNS service, unlike netgear which allows autoupdating to a free account at dyndns.org and others. Perhaps the SMC firewall is better than linksys or netgear, but I wouldn't know until it works!
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Very Short Range, May 9, 2003
By Adam Brooks (Tempe, AZ)
My friends and I purchased this wireless router for use in our dorm, and we were sorely disappointed with the range. Our dorm is 100'x75' and we were not able to find a place anywhere in the dorm that allowed this router to reach the whole floor. We would get about 50% signal strength about 4ft from the router. From there it would drop to 0% only 50ft away. The software that came with it was very good, and did not require you to install anything like the linksys routers do, but limited range trumped out all of the positive features that it had. I have owned/purchased for others multiple standard SMC routers that were excellent, but if you are going to be going wireless stay away from SMC.
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No problems at all, May 5, 2003
By unknown
I don't know what all of these people's problems are. This router has run 24/7 for about 6 months with absolutely NO disconnects or other problems after updating the firmware (I also have it plugged into my UPS as along with my cable modem so even when my power goes out I can still use my internet connection). It's as solid as a rock as far as I'm concerned. The only thing I would like to see improved is the range. I can't get it to work from one corner of my house to the other. Of course, my house has really thick walls and the connection would have to go through a thick, tiled floor.
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A great Router for the price, May 5, 2003
By unknown
Great RouterGood Customer Service
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Stay away, May 2, 2003
By Computer engineer (Chicago, IL United States)
STAY AWAY!!!! This is the worst product I've ever bought in my life. The 3-click software never worked. I always had to used the advanced method. I haven't tried the 802.11b part, because I'm barely able to get the wired router part to work. When the wired router part does work, it slows down my computer and crashes it periodically. Within a 4 hour period, it crashed about 6 times.The tech support is horrible...
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