TRENDnet TW100-S4W1CA

TW100-S4W1CA 4-port Cable/DSL Broadband router provides a way to share your high-speed Cable/xDSL Internet connection. It has four 10/100Mbps half/full duplex switch ports that directly connect to workstations or uplink to another hub or switch. The TW100-S4W1CA also functions as a firewall. It allows up to 253 users to access the Internet.

It can also be configured as a router between two network LAN's despite the terminology centered around ISP connectivity. It will handle complex routes. It will _not_ do rate limiting.

It does well for a $20 router.

Features

• Supports Cable/DSL Modem with Dynamic IP, Fixed IP, PPPoE and PPTP Connection Types
• Provides NAT (Network Address Port Translation) Firewall
• Supports Virtual Servers (Port Forwarding) and DMZ
• Supports Client Filtering by Date/Time (10 Entries and Special Applications Filter (10 Entries)
• Supports MAC Address Control to Allow or Deny Access (32 Entries)
• Supports DNS (Domain Name System) Account for Server Mapping and Dynamic DNS Service
• Supports IPSec and PPTP VPN Pass-Through (when each VPN client connects to a different VPN endpoint)
• Supports UPnP (Universal Plug & Play)
• Easy Web Browser Configuration and Remote Management
• Flash Memory for Firmware Upgrade and Save/Restore Router Configuration
• Multiple VPN Pass-through sessions for IPSec, PPTP and L2TP
• 5-year limited warranty

Built in Firewall

The Broadband Router provides extensive firewall protection by restricting connection parameters to limit the risk of hacker attacks and by defending against a wide array of common hacker attacks. The Broadband Router provides packet filtering rules by restricting service ports, IP address or MAC address. However, for applications that require unrestricted access to the Internet, you may configure a specific client/server as a demilitarized zone (DMZ).

When "Discard Ping from WAN side" is checked, it is causes the public WAN IP address on the Broadband Router to ignore ping commands. Pinging public WAN IP addresses is a common method used by hackers to test whether the WAN IP address is valid.

Client Filtering

To block certain client PCs from accessing the Internet: You can filter Internet access for local clients based on IP addresses, application types, (i.e., HTTP port), and time of day. For example, this screen shows that clients in the address range 192.168.0.50-99 are permanently restricted from using FTP (Port 21), while clients in the address range 192.168.0.110-119 are blocked from browsing the Internet (port 80) from Monday to Friday and from 0:00AM to 11:00 PM.

MAC Address Control

MAC Address Control allows you to block certain client PCs from accessing the Internet based on MAC addresses.

DMZ

If a local client PC cannot run an Internet application properly from behind the NAT firewall, open the client up to unrestricted two-way Internet access by defining a PC as a virtual DMZ Host.

Static Routing

Static routing determines the path that data follows over your network before and after it passes through your router. You can use static routing to allow different IP domain users to access the Internet through the device.

Support

According to TRENDnet there are 7 (A, B, C, D, E, F,G ) versions of this router. However, there is apparently yet another not listed on their site. Be cautious about this when upgrading firmware.