Last year we covered the predecessor of this product, Asante’s FriendlyNET FR1104-G, and came away thrilled with its comprehensive security functions, solid routing capabilities and wireless connectivity. This year we look at the updated model, the FR1104-G, which brings 802.11G connectivity to the table and strengthens the security aspects of the router, particularly with the wireless portion.

The FR1104-G comes with an antenna which you can attach to the back of the unit without any tools. Whoever produced the retail box and its material obviously knew what they were doing. Right on the router itself is the default password for the router’s web browser interface. Next is the IP address you need to be on the same subnet as to configure it. This is very smart and made the manual almost a supplementary guide. We wish other manufacturers would take note of this level of care when it comes to ease of use.

The web interface used to administer the FR1104-G router is more streamlined than its predecessor. Fewer graphics are shown. While it looks less appealing, it’s more functional, simply because this updated product brings far more options to configure than before. We thought the previous product we looked at was running out of room. But the new interface can be a little daunting for novices. Some sections, like the Primary Setup and DHCP settings can jump around to pages two or three levels deep.

The FR1104-G, like many routers aimed at the home and small office environment, is a DHCP server. You can control the IP address pool assigned to DHCP. If you have your own DHCP server, you can configure the router to lease an existing one. The FR1104-G also comes with a quick view of all clients attached to the device. You can click on one and initiate a Wake Up call (basically Wake on LAN) – which we found to be pretty handy. The unit also supports cloning of MAC addresses.

Configuring WAN or Internet connectivity is not hard either. A set up wizard can guide you through making these selections or you can dive into the menus yourself. This unit supports the usual cast of WAN connectivity: PPPOE, Static IP and Dynamic IP. These cover any cable or DSL modems on the market today. One neat thing you can do is map global IP addresses to internal IP addresses. This is helpful to those who run their own servers in a SOHO setting.

The third configuration option you can perform is the wireless section. The FR1104-G brings 802.11g to the table. Various security options have been added as a result of this upgrade. These include encryption up to 256-bit WEP keys. Interestingly, the FR1104-G also integrates with RADIUS servers for WPA; one of the more popular ways of securing wireless client devices in corporate settings. Wireless clients can be restricted by MAC address too. With a combination of all three controls in place, we were able to put together an effective and secure wireless solution.

Because of the inherent limitations of NAT technology, there are instances where users stuck behind the firewall will need to map ports to internal servers. Asante provides some default mappings for popular protocols like SMTP (if you run your own mail server), PPTP (if you require VPN access) and HTTP (if you run your own web server). In addition, we found the ability to put incoming port triggers to be a boon to gaming services like Battle.Net and MSN Gaming Zone. In fact, Asante has already pre-configured the port ranges that these services communicate on eliminating hassle for gamers. Xbox Live and MSN Messenger (in UPNP mode) are listed as supported. If all else fails, there is DMZ support that lets you expose one internal computer to the Internet.

Speaking of running your own server, we continue to praise Asante for supporting popular dynamic DNS services like dyndns.org. Without running a separate update client, you can task your router to update your Internet IP address automatically.

Another time saving feature (no pun intended) put in is the ability for the router to synchronize with nist.gov for the date and time. How is this important? The FR1104-G comes with rule sets that are basically a series of time windows. Combined with the port mapping section, you can effectively create a rule to the effect of: Nobody can open a game server or P2P hub between this and that time.

You can fine tune this control by using the packet filters in the router to create a rule that says something like: don’t allow communication with a certain IP address for a specific time window. Asante has created several filters for the FR1104-G. This includes the aforementioned packet filter. You can thus do domain name blocking, i.e. no one can access any server that has Kazaa in its name. You can perform URL blocking, i.e. no one can go to any website that is www.foxnews.com. The latter two, unfortunately, don’t work with the time window rules.

There are additional security provisions for DOS attack detections as well as SPI firewall features. You can even open up a special port to the outside to allow remote administration; a feature that we often see in higher end routers for businesses. While Asante has given considerable filtering capabilities for the average consumer, the packet filter can be a bit misleading. They don’t really filter depending on packets so for people who want to only allow HTTP (website request) packets and not P2P traffic, they can’t do that with this router.

Unfortunately, the FR1104-G drops the print server support we saw last year. With routers becoming more and more like appliances, we were disappointed this feature wasn’t replaced with something else. A tie-in to hard disks, removable or USB storage devices would have been nice to see. A VPN server would be another good substitute.

Most people who want to simply get their notebook online or start a little LAN won’t need to go into so many of these options. Luckily, if people stick with the wizard and the basic screens, they shouldn’t be worried about the complexity. It may have been nice for Asante to create separate expert and basic configuration websites to hide some of the complexity from novices. But the website itself is fairly informative. It has working help buttons and explanatory text.

Ultimately, it’s the enthusiasts and power users who will come to appreciate the FR1104-G the most. It provides a lot of functionality, particularly with filters and security options that are normally associated with small/medium business products. A two year support and warranty accompanies the product. Don’t be mistaken by the four port device. It may sound like a starter product. But we can easily see the FR1104-G, with its many features, becoming the cornerstone of any consumer and SOHO network.