X-bit labs

Edimax nMax Wireless 802.11n Broadband Router Review (page 5)

Category: Other

by Platon Scheblykin

[ 01/15/2008 | 08:47 AM ]

Firmware and Web-Interface

You may have already guessed from the router’s specifications and the previous section of the review that the BR-6504N has entry-level functionality. You shouldn’t expect anything extraordinary from it. Anyway, even this functionality must be implemented properly and accessed through a user-friendly web-interface.

Although Edimax is not a leader of the world market, its products, particularly 802.11g routers, get enough support from developers of alternative firmware. We couldn’t find an alternative version for the BR-6504n, though, probably because it is new and people just hadn’t had time enough to write alternative firmware for it. So, we’ll be discussing the latest official version available at the manufacturer’s website. It is version 1.32 and the single one available for download.

The BR6504N’s web-interface has a complex three-section structure. The heading of each page contains the manufacturer’s logo, the titles of three main groups of settings, and the Quick Setup group for a quick step-by-step setup. The left of the screen shows a menu with subgroups of the corresponding group of settings. If you choose one subgroup, it often proves to contain smaller subgroups. When the lowest-level subgroup is selected, the larger part of the screen displays the current page of settings. Each page has a minimum of setup options – that’s why the menu has to have such a complex structure.

The Quick Setup group actually duplicates settings you can find in other pages, so we’ll start out with the second main group. It is called General Settings and contains nearly all of the router’s settings pertaining to the parameters of connections and to the configuration of the router proper.

General Settings: System

The System subgroup that begins the list is further divided into three subgroups, the first of which is called Time Zone. Here, you configure the system date and time and specify the address of an NTP-server.

The next page of the System subgroup, called Remote Management, allows to specify the address of a host on the outside network from which the router’s settings can be accessed.

The Password Settings page is where you can change the administrator password.