Digital Trends

Compex NP26G-USB

June 17th, 2004 | by Jeff Fila

Advanced Features

Besides the printer and webcam capabilities, and the usual SoHo router functions such as DHCP and port forwarding, the NP26G-USB has a host of advanced features for both home and office applications. Those features include:

• Remote Management — allows you to access the Web-based router configuration from anywhere on the Internet.
• Parallel Broadband — for scalable bandwidth, load balancing and fail-over redundancy capabilities.
• Wireless Distribution System (WDS) — allows you to extend the wireless footprint by adding more routers to create a chain or star configuration of access points.
• Virtual Servers based on Port and IP forwarding — allows you to easily set up application servers on your network that can be accessed from the Internet.
• DNS Redirection — redirects DNS requests from networked PCs, to avoid repetitive set up of DNS addresses on each computer on the network.
• VPN — allows you to set up a virtual private network, to allow secure communications over the Internet.
• Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) — Allows UPnP enabled devices and applications to automatically open required ports, reducing the amount of setup required (especially for gamers).
• Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) Firewall — this add-on feature ($25 one-time fee) allows for an advanced firewall configuration. An SPI checks the contents of packets on your network, ensuring the integrity of the packets.
• Wireless Pseudo VLAN — allows for data privacy and protection, making it so wireless devices can not communicate with each other. This feature is very useful in business applications and if you are using the NP26G-USB in a “hotspot” environment.

For a full list of specifications, click here or on the “Specifications” tab at the top of this review.

Setup and Configuration

Setup of the NP26G-USB is straightforward and relatively easy. Besides the printed 10-page quick install guide, the CD contains an 88-page detailed setup guide and user's manual. The NP26G-USB doesn't include a setup wizard like we've seen in other routers such as the D-Link DI-624, but as long as you follow the manual or quick install guide, it should be easy.

We strongly recommend that novice and expert users refer to the manual for setup and that all installs incorporate at least WEP encryption for the wireless network. As noted in this article, wireless security is something that many users miss in the setup routine. We were highly disappointed that the quick install guide suggests that users leave the wireless security mode as “none” and only refers to WEP in the PDF manual. This is important because we think many users will not go past the quick install guide once they get their network setup and working. Wireless security issues as noted in our “Protect Your Wireless Network” article are partly the fault of users that don't read the manuals, and partly the fault of manufacturers that leave the devices open by default and don't make enough users aware of the security concerns. The NP26G-USB doesn't feature WPA wireless security so the 64/128-bit WEP security will have to do for now. We were told that Compex will soon be releasing a firmware update that incorporates WPA, but we have not seen it yet.