Netgear DB104 10/100 Network Kit
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Features
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The
Unit
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- (2) 32-bit 10/100
NIC cards
- 4 Port 10/100
hub
- (2) 25 foot RJ-45
cables
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It's been almost a year since I did the Linksys
Network Starter Kit review. The main selling points of that kit were its
price and easy install. A year later a 10 MBps network such as the Linksys
kit really is showing its age and 100 MBps networking is rapidly becoming
the home standard. While I think a very small home network that runs at 10
MBps is fine, I'd really recommend buying a faster kit right off the bat and
avoiding the need to swap out components later. Netgear was kind enough to
send their DB104 Network Kit for review. I think many of you would be very
happy with this unit.
First Impressions
The first thing that struck me about the DB104
kit is its weight. This is no wimpy kit here folks. It hefts! Once I opened
the box I could see why: the hub packed with this kit is not made from plastic
but has a metal housing. Wow, score one for build strength. The other thing
that struck me was the cool blue NIC cards (network interface card) packed
with this kit. Tired of boring green PCB boards? Netgear makes it a point
to color-coordinate their NIC cards with the hub and cabling in the kit. Takings
up ¼ of the box are the RJ-45 cables, each being a great 25 feet. Many kits
features cables as short as ten feet. I have a friend that has two computers
networked together through a wall - he literally drilled a hole in the wall
between two rooms so that he could run the RJ-45 cable from room to room.
Now he is stuck with a setup that cannot be moved in each room. I asked why
he didn't just invest in better cabling, and once he told me the prices he
had seen for long RJ-45 cables it all made sense. Its nice to see that Netgear
packs cables of such quality and length into their kit so you can run your
cables correctly the first time. Taking up the rest of the space in the box
are the wall-wart power supply unit and setup manual, which is really only
a couple of fold open guides: one for the hardware setup and the other is
for file and printer sharing setup.
