Mobile devices and easy access to the net is becoming more and more appealing these days for most technology inclined users. The addition of wireless N routers to the telecommunications world is welcomed with open arms. What is it that makes a good router? For one the gain in which the antennas broadcast is important, this insures a better connection and further distances. Also very important is the routers through put. This is the amount of information the router is able to push through to the internet to ensure a faster connection. Let's see how well the Level One WBR-6001 N_Max Wireless N Router performs against its competition.

Price: $50.53

Closer Look:

The packaging is very well designed for the Level One WBR-6001 N_Max Wireless N Router. The use of black with orange makes the product stand out very well and a lot of the important information you need is clear and visible on the front of the package. If you want to get into more detail the back of the box has additional more technical information for advanced user.

The router comes with everything you need to get started: 6ft cat5 cable, power adapter, manual, software, rubber feet for the router, and the antenna’s.

The router is a nice design and comes complete with 4 hard wired ports for additional computers and the standard WAN “in” port for the internet or intranet server to plug into. The front of the router has a WPS button which stands for Wi-Fi Protected Setup.

Let's check out the specs and features:

	Works Well With:
	WNC-0601 N_Max Wireless PCI Card
	WPC-0601 N_Max Wireless CardBus Adapter
	WUA-0615 N_Max Wireless USB Adapter with WPS

Product Overview
The LevelOne N_Max Wireless Router is a costeffective wireless broadband router designed for home or small office use to share network resources or a high-speed internet connection. It is great for wireless streaming of movies and games, VoIP calls, or even video surveillance.

Fast and Stable
Notebook and desktop computers with the latest 11n wireless functions installed will benefit from the draft 2.0 11n speeds* up to 300 Mbps. WBR-6001 is compliant with the latest draft 2.0 11n standards and is backward compliant with IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g for reliable and robust connections to legacy wireless devices.

Advanced Network Security and Easy Set-Up
The N_Max WBR-6001 offers advanced wireless network protection with 64/128-bit WEP encryption, WPA and WPA2. It has a dual firewall with NAT and SPI firewall protection against DoS attacks and unauthorized data deliveries from the Internet. The WBR-6001 also incorporates Web-Address Blocking, VPN Passthrough, 802.1x user authentication and WPS (WiFi Protected Setup) that offers an easy way to connect securely to any wireless connection.

* Network speeds vary according to network equipment, network set-up and environmental influencing factors. For best performance, use LevelOne N_Max Wireless Network Adapters.

 Let's get to the testing:

For testing I will be putting the Level One WBR-6001 N_Max Wireless N Router against a Belkin wireless N router. I will flood ping for an extended period of time to the outside world for both routers using high packets. I will be recording latency in ms, connection speed and quality, and will record (if any) packet loss. The distance will be 20 feet from the router to the computer and will be running through a Trendnet wireless n usb dongle and a  Seimens Gateway to the outside world. I will also be doing a speed test to Seattle Washington using speakeasy.net/speedtest

Results:

Compared to Level One, Belkin is a very well know manufacturer, surprisingly enough the Level One beat the belkin in both throughput and gain. Although the difference wasn’t much but in the end the Level One held its own very well and the price point is about the same on these two routers. Let’s see the final thoughts:

Overall the router was very simple to use, had some great features, and performed very well. I was pretty impressed to see it go against a Belkin and win. Belkin is a well known electronics manufacturer compared to Level One, so it is nice to see the under dog win.

Would I recommend this product? Yes I would, it was very easy to set up and configure. Even the most basic understanding of computers can help you get this router going. There were great speeds for both packet return and download/upload speeds. If you are in the market for a new router skip over linksys, d-link, and belkin and try the Level One WBR-6001 N_Max Wireless N Router for a change.

Pros:

• Price
• Antenna Gain 
• Web Interface
• 30Mbps
• Backwards Compatible

Cons: 

• None

 

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."