Introduction

Compex is an established, yet forward-thinking company in the networking, wireless and telecommunications industry. The company was founded in 1987 and focuses on designing, development and manufacturing a complete line of networking products for the home, SOHO, broadband, and WLAN market needs.

The NetPassage 26G is a notable addition to the wireless wave of broadband routers that is sweeping the current home/SOHO market. It comes with a number of unique features that set it aside from the competition: USB Print/Webcam server, optional SPI firewall and Pseudo VLANs, what can this router really do ? It is a wireless-G router (54 Mbps) with a built-in 4-port switch. It comes with dual USB ports that can support a Webcam and a tracker pod, or a printer. This unit allows not only for seamless integration between wireless and wired networks at an affordable street price, but also for a wireless print and/or webcam server, think of the possibilities !

Together with the router, we tested a matching Compex iWavePort Wireless "G" PC card that according to Compex provides wireless access up to 1000 feet (with an external antenna). Both the Network Card and router sport the Prism Nitro technology that supposedly more than doubles their wireless performance compared to similar products. Will they live up to our high expectations ? First things first....

What's in the box(es)

• A "Quick Install Guide" with wall-mounting template. 
• CD ROM with drivers, configuration utilities and User Manuals
• NetPassage 26G broadband router.
• External 7.5V power adapter.

We also received a matching WL54G 54Mbps Wireless LAN PCMCIA Card in a separate package, it is available for purchase separately.

The Router box

Contents - There were no Cat5 ethernet cales included with the unit.

The NetPassage 26G...

front of the router.

back - note the dual USB ports for a printer / Webcam.

The Compex WL54G Wireless PCMCIA card

Box contents. The card, quick installation guide, CD with drivers and full user manual.

WL54G PCMCIA card front

WL54G card back

Specs

NetPassage 26G-USB router

• IEEE 802.11g & IEEE 802.11b Wireless standards, 11 Operable Channels
• Static/Dynamic IP, PPPoE
• DHCP Server, Print & Webcam Server support
• 1x RJ45 WAN Ethernet port
• 4x LAN ports, 10/100Mbps (expandable for 253 users)
• 2x USB ports for printer, PC Web cam and/or tracker pod
• Led indicators - Power, LAN & WAN link/activity per port
• Prism Nitro™ Technology Support
• 64/128 bit WEP encryption
• Wireless Distribution System support
• Parallel Broadband Technology support
• Fail-Over Redundancy support
• NAT Firewall, Optional SPI Firewall
• UPnP
• Packet Filtering, URL Filtering support
• 3 Year Warranty (North/South America only)
• Enhanced 802.11g compatability
• VPN initiation, termination and pass-through for IPSec. Termination and pass-through for PPTP

Key Features

As with other similar broadband routers, the Compex NetPassage 26G provides for sharing a single Internet connection across your LAN / WLAN. It includes a 4-port switch on the LAN side, as well as web-based management interface. The switch provides for painless integration in wired/mixed mode environments. In addition to its full set of features we've grown accustomed to expect from broadband routers, I'd like to point out a couple of unique ones that set it apart from the competition.

Parallel Broadband support - this is a unique Compex feature that enables multiple NetPassage routers to be installed in the same network, providing for load balancing and fail-over redundancy with multiple broadband connections.

Print / Webcam Server - this is an interesting and unique feature to that product (although we've seen a few routers in the market with a single USB or parallel port). This unit has two USB ports and can be remotely accessed and control a Webcam and act as a print server at the same time. The Webcam can be remotely accessed and controlled via a browser. According to Compex, the router is compatible with the Logitech QuickCam, Creative Labs Webcam and Samsung MPC fanilies of cameras, and the TrackerPod Pan/Tilt device.  Please see their website for a full list of the supported cameras.

Although the Webcam is one of this unit's unique features, seems that it requires a separate firmware for the router with the current firmware. The webcam firmware disables some of the router functionality. If you plan on using both the the Webcam server feature and the NAT router features of the product, Compex is supposedly introducing an updated version of the firmware in a month wich enables both router and webcam functionality concurrently.

Prism Nitro™ Technology Support - the NetPassage 26G and the WL54G PCMCIA card has the Prism Nitro™ technology embedded in their chipset, which (in theory) allows for up to 50% reater throuhput in pure G wireless networks and up to 300% in mixed mode wireless networks using Prism Nitro™ compatible routers.

Although the specs show a clear advantage of the Prism Nitro technology, we did not see any noticeable benefits in pure 802.11g. The router performed well under close/average range, but nowhere near the 50-300% improvement mark. Note the advantage might be more aparent in mixed b-g environments.

Wireless Pseudo VLAN - the NetPassage 26G, when configured with the Wireless LAN option, supports per node and per group pseudo VLAN, modes that provide users with some privacy and security in addition to WEP. Per Node Pseudo LAN is a mode that does not allow communication between WLAN nodes. Per Group Pseudo VLAN is a mode that allows for separate WEP keys for different groups of users. The router allows for 10 separate users in 4 different groups, not sharing information. Sweet ! Now if it would only allow for those users to turn on 128 bit WEP and turn off their unsecure shares, install anti-virus and anti-spyware we'd be all set... Argh, never mind :)

Optional High-gain Antenna connector - the WL54G 802.11g PCMCIA card that we received has a MC-Card connector for an optional high-gain antenna. Compex makes a 5dB antenna with magnetic base that works with those PCMCIA cards, and is available for purchase separately. The external high-gain antenna provides  for an extended range and more stable WLAN communication. The thing to note is that most competing products do not have such external antenna connectors, since it somewhat complicates the certification process.

Installation

The installation of the NetPassage 26G and bringing it online is comparatively easy. Securing it and understanding all the features might take some reading of the PDF User manual included on teh CD. One of the few grudges I have with the unit's administration interface (and the current firmware) is the fact that there is no help or descriptions of any type for the numerous settings one is supposed to edit. Even with experienced network administrators there seem to be some deviation with how manufacturers label features, and describing the settings within the management interface can greatly improve one's experience.  Besides the user manual, keep in mind you might need an extra Cat5 patch cable if you have wired clients that need to connect to the router - there are no network cables included in the package.

To install the unit, connect the WAN port to your broadband modem and any of the LAN ports to a PC; it should obtain IP automatically and be on the Net in seconds. Note that you might have to reboot the Cable/DSL modem for it to bind to the MAC address of the router. Also, the PC's Network adapter should be set to obtain IP authomatically. Even if you are only setting up wireless clients, there is an useful "uConfig.exe" utility included on the CD that should make installation a breeze. If you feel confident in what you're doing, the uConfig utility is not necessary.

Once up and running, point your browser to http://192.168.168.1 (the default IP of the router) for additional configuration settings.

The Login screen. Just hit ENTER and you'll login with the default password, whatever that is. The admin password seems to be filled-in automatically, not a very secure approach. I'd suggest you change the password as soon as possible.

LAN Setup - The built-in DHCP server is set to provide IPs in the 192.168.168.100 - 254 range by default. Note one can specify a different DHCP Gateway IP. You can reserve specific IPs for clients based on their MAC addresses from these screens as well.

WAN Setup - One can set the router as a DHCP Client, PPPoE client, or with a Static IP address from this screen. The unit has the capability of cloning the client adapter's MAC address (some ISPs bind the modem to your Network adapter), and manually setting 10/100 Half/Full Duplex for the WAN interface.

Wireless Setup - WEP is disabled by default (for ease of use), leaving your wireless network wide open to anyone that is within range. I'd strongly suggest you enable it. Note that even when WEP is enabled, if any client's key is compromised your entire network would still be accessible. Also, I'd change the default ESSID from "compex" to something unique you'd use throughout your LAN. Notes on securing the WLAN: The router accepts HEX WEP keys (even though it is not spelled out anywhare), you'd have to use either 10 or 26 digit hex key for 64 or 128 bit encryption, respectively. The "Close System" setting disables broadcasting of the SSID when enabled, another useful setting.

There are many other options in the Administrative interface, such as Remote Management, Parallel Broadband,  Static Address Translation, DNS Redirection, etc. that the quick installation guide does not address: please read the PDF User Manual on the included CD for more details. If you go through those settings in the PDF manual it will help you better understand and secure your router. 

Firewall - router comes with a good NAT firewall, as well as URL blocking and an optional SPI firewall.

Firewall custom rules - unlike many home broadband routers, the NetPassage 26G has an excellent interface for entering new custom rules for the firewall behaviour. One can set range of source/destination ports, protocols, as well as source/destination IPs and more.

Testing

The router firmware was upgraded to version 1.24, the latest available at the time of testing. The NetPassage  26G router and matching G PCMCIA card displayed average speed and consistency in our network environment, compared to Linksys and other brands we've tested. Throughput was similar in both directions, whether transferring to or from the router to the wireless network card. We did have WEP enabled at 64 Bit and transfered a 500+ Megabyte test file in both directions. Mixed / 802.11g only mode in the router's management interface did not show any difference in throughput, although we did not introduce a 802.11b client in the network.

Here are the results:

17 MBit average throughput at close proximity (within 6 feet), above 90% signal level inside the office.

11-12 MBit throughput at less than 40% signal strength, a couple of block walls and 75 feet away. Performance quickly dropped at larger distances.

The NetPassage 26G performed well in our testing, the wireless throughput performance was comparable to other 802.11g routers. We did not see any noticeable differences based on the Prism Nitro technology, which should probably be more apparent in 802.11b - 802.11g mixed environment.

On a separate note, the Compex iWavePort PCMCIA card did pick up an unencrypted neigboring Linksys WLAN we hadn't noticed before, even without a high-gain external antenna.

Conclusion

The NetPassage is a good product in synch with the wireless networking "renaissance". It packs a number of notable features, including WDS support for extended network range and Pseudo VLAN to divide groups and individual users into separate segments. As with any new product, it does leave something to be desired, as well as some questions as to the use of its Webcam functionality combined with its' router features. Currently, webcam mode requires separate firmware that disables some of the router functionality. According to Compex, a new version will be available within a month that has concurrent router and webcam functionality, as well as additional support for "hardware storage devices". A new firmware is expected for WPA support as well.

Overall, I'd recommend the NetPassage 26G as an innovative product with a few minor flaws that can probably be corrected with firmware upgrades. Even though some of the features might be an overkill for the average home user, the unit ensures that even the more demanding technicaly aware administrators can find the up-to-date features they need in a broadband router.

Pros:

• WDS / Pseudo VLAN
• Plenty of features, good management interface.
• Good NAT firewall features and optional SPI enhanced firewall.
• Webcam / printer server support
• Parallel Broadband support
• PCMCIA card has external antenna connector.

Cons:

• The WLAN does not have WEP enabled by default, as with most similar routers on the market. The user needs to be aware and secure it by changing SSIDs, enabling WEP, etc.
• Only WEP, no WPA support or external authentication via 802.1x / RADIUS currently. According to Compex a firmware with WPA support will be available within a month.
• Currently, webcam mode requires separate firmware. Again, there is a firmware in the works to resolve the issue.

Rating
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