Gigabit ethernet for the home

Stuart Corner
Saturday, 14 October 2006 13:36

Business IT - Technology

Need to network your home at 1Gbps? Linksys thinks so and has just introduced its first 1Gbps wireless router to enable you to do just that.

The Wireless-N Gigabit Router with Storage Link (WRT350N) has  a four-port full-duplex 10/100/1000 switch and when used with the Wireless-N notebook adapter (WPC300N) or Wireless-N desktop adapter (WMP300N) is claimed to  provide up to four times the range and 12 times the throughput of standard  802.11g wireless devices.

According to Mani Dhillon, director of product marketing, Home Networking, Linksys. "Including gigabit ports on the WRT350N enables users who like to push the limits of technology to reach maximum performance levels by removing the bottleneck caused by 10/100 ports." He added: "Wireless speeds exceeding 100Mbps gives users the opportunity to simultaneously watch high-definition video, stream digital audio, play games online, make Voice over IP calls and surf the Internet without any significant effect on performance."

The Storage Link facility enables any USB 2.0 storage device to become a networked attached storage by plugging it into the WRT350N. No custom software is required. The media server functionality within Storage Link enables users to stream digital media to any UPnP-enabled digital media adapter without the use of a PC. The WRT350N has gone on sale in the US for $US229.99.