As more of us take up broadband the ability to share the internet connection becomes something that delivers real value and benefit to most homes, alongside this wireless equipment has become widely accepted as the way forward in networking.

But how many bits of kit and what level of knowledge do you need to set up a wireless broadband network? to be honest its not that bad but it can be time consuming and far too much for anyone who struggles with basic PC problems, luckily a number of products are available that claim to give you wireless broadband "plug n go"

Netgear are a well known name in computer networking products their semi professional range is respected at its price point and domestic products get good reviews, the Netgear ADSL wireless router claims to offer the home networking solution for those of us with ADSL, but does it?

The router is a five component bundle in the one box, firstly an ADSL modem compatible with the UK ADSL standards it allows for direct cable connection to your phone line, however you will need ADSL filters but these are cheap enough if you don't have them already. Secondly a key component is the inbuilt firewall, as you will be connected to the internet for long periods (my current up time on the same IP address is 12 days) you must be protected against those that would like to see what is on your network. The firewall is pre configured for the most commonly used ports and gives good security out of the box, it can be accessed via  web browser interface or telnet session if you want to add of modify rules.

The router allows you to administer your network with inbuilt DHCP and NATS, the unit also houses a 4 port 10/100 switch allowing for cabled devices to be directly attached to the network this is also useful when configuring the network before you have setup the last element the wireless access point. This uses the latest 802.11g 54mbit technology allowing your network to run at a higher speed than 802.11b systems while maintaining backwards compatibility with any 802.11b devices you may have. Of course in terms of the internet the 54g standard means little as a 512k ADSL connection does not even tax the lower standard, its of more use for streaming music and video around your home network from a central server.

Firmware upgrades can be performed like all features via the HTML browser interface which is intuitive to use and password protected from here you can also enable VPN pass through if you intend to use your home network to connect to your work network.

Performance of this device is excellent with good build quality and its reasonably stylish if you have to put it somewhere visible, a few things we'd recommend are setting password as soon as you start to use the device do not stick with the default, also moving to a set IP range is a good idea as is downloading the latest firmware version.

If you do want to set your home network free the Netgear ADSL wireless router is a good option and offers as hassle free setup as can be expected from any networking product, you do need some knowledge but generally it does work out of the box. Similar devices are available from Alcatel and Belkin but we really can't fault this offering.

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