Cisco Releases Linksys E4200 Dual-Band Router

Back in January Cisco announced their new dual-band wireless router range, known as the E-Series. After a long wait, us Brits can finally get our hands on the flagship product, the Linksys E4200.

In theory the E4200 should be the perfect device for people looking to setup a wireless network that can stream "jitter free" high definition video. This is made possible through the use of Wireless-N technology, which utilises a 3x3 MIMO configuration for a maximum potential throughput of 450Mb/s on the 5GHz band. As the E4200 is a dual-band router it can also simultaniously deliver up to 300Mb/s on 2.4GHz band (for devices that are not compatible with 5GHz). When you add Quality of Service (QoS) to help prioritise streaming media, a four port Gigabit switch and USB 2.0 port supporting UPnP media server capabilities, things look very promising.

Cisco have released a short promotional video showing off some of the E-Series new features:

The E4200 is available now from Amazon for £130. I plan to pick one up in the next few weeks for testing and I'll do my best to post an update. In the meantime, be sure to check out the full specification on the Cisco (Linksys) Home website.

Configure a Linksys AM200 for O2 Internet

I recently switched to O2 as my Internet Service Provider (ISP) as they are one of the few companies in the UK that offer an ADSL2+ service in my area. The reason O2 are ahead of the game is due to their acquisition of Be Unlimited which had already invested a lot of money unbundling their hardware from the local loop and therefore could provide advance DSL services before BT had upgraded the exchange. By making the switch I went from a 2Mb/512Kb to 5Mb/1Mb. Also as I am an iPhone user the unlimited Internet service offered by O2 is subsidised making it a very affordable option.

To check what ISP’s can provide ADSL2+ services in your area be sure to check on Sam Knows Broadband by typing in your post code.

The one downside to my upgrade is that my existing Cisco 837 Router is not ADSL2+ compatible and to upgrade to the latest Cisco model would work out expensive. Therefore I need a device that can reliably terminate my ADSL2+ connection, allocate IP addresses via DHCP and provide port forwarding/DMZ features.

I eventually chose the Linksys AM200 which is a tiny device that only has two interfaces. One external RJ11 and one internal RJ45 rated at 100Mb.

O2 use ETHoA to deliver their ADSL2+ connection and therefore the Linksys AM200 requires a specific setup that differs from more traditional connection methods such as PPPoA or PPPoE.

To configure your Linksys AM200 please follow the diagrams below (Please note ETHoA does not require a username/password): 

Although this configuration is specific to the Linksys AM200 it should be transferable to any DSL modem/router.