Smc barricade setup wizard

We can't recommend the Barricade N. Sign up for our daily newsletter Newsletter. Image 1 of 2. Our Rating. Unlike a number of competing routers, which only support an administrator login to the router's management tools, the Barricade supports both an administrator and a lower-level user.

You can control what the user has access to in the management interface--a good way for parents to give kids the ability to tweak certain router settings while keeping them out of other tools, like parental controls. SMC's Web filtering is a little different that what's usual. Typically, routers will allow you to build a black list--a list of sites the router will block. But because there are so many of those from a parental standpoint, SMC opted for a white list.

However, some of its prose would daunt a novice user, and could be less verbose. A small point, but it's easy to see how this oversight could be a show-stopper. The Barricade g has a well-designed and attractive user interface. This is important because these diminutive devices are surprisingly complex and can require subtle configuration tweaks: if the UI is poor, achieving that optimal configuration becomes an uphill struggle.

The configuration home page gives you just two initial options -- Setup Wizard and Advanced Settings, a neat touch that caters both for rank novices as well as grizzled sysadmins who know their way around. The online help, while not extensive, offers enough assistance until you can load the online manual.

Stepping through the Setup Wizard was a less than stressful experience. You set the time important for logging and scheduled filtering. You then select your country and ISP. Subpar documentation; odd arrangement of configuration options; inconvenient warranty. This low-cost Home networkers, though, should look elsewhere. SMC delivers the Barricade 54Mbps wireless router with its pamphlet that illustrates the basic connections and tells raw beginners how to launch the installation wizard on the included setup CD.

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