3Com Wireless Lan Access Point 8000
Setup for this unit is slightly different from the other units tested. It receives its power via the LAN cable (power over Ethernet) but it comes with what looks like a normal AC/DC power pack -brick"; however, this pack (in addition to the normal power connections) has two RJ-45 sockets on it: one labelled To Access Point the other To Hub/Switch.
This enables you to mount the AP unit wherever you like to take advantage of the widest area of coverage available and you only need to run one CAT 5 cable to it. The only downside is the possible damage one could do to the network if the wrong cable was plugged into the LAN.
We must admit that our first impressions of the 3Com product started off on a bad foot as there was no user/configuration manual included with the product kit, just a mounting template, a quick start guide which takes you through the plugging in of the device, and the warranty booklet. There was a CD included that had some documentation on it, however this was an older version, we found the resources on the 3Com Web site to be more up-to-date for this product.
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Worry-free wireless
Introduction 1. 3Com Wireless Lan AP 8000 2. Bluesocket WG-1000 3. Cranite Software Suite 4. D-Link AirPlus DI-614+ 5. Netgear FVM 318 Specifications Editor's choice About RMIT |
The bundled software from 3Com on the CD, that apparently allows you to perform WLAN site surveys to determine the best location in which to install the AP unit; unfortunately it failed to launch despite trying to install this software on two systems. There is also a utility included called 3Com wireless infrastructure device manager, which in theory sounds like it would save you a lot of time by automatically detecting your network settings, IP range, and subnet, and basically configuring the 8000's IP properties so that you can access it via a Web browser.
Initially the software that was bundled with the AP continually gave the error that no NIC could be detected in the system (despite two NICs being installed in the test system). Upon further investigation at the 3Com Web site it was discovered that this was a known bug with that release of the software and once we had downloaded the updated version and installed and run it, we were given the choice of both NICs, all well and good. However no matter how hard we tried to get this utility to work it simply would not detect our settings, even plugging it in directly to the NIC on the local system with a crossover cable did not do the trick.
The second option available (as with the other devices tested) is to set the IP address on your NIC to the same range as the AP, however upon reading the PDF manual that we downloaded, the IP address range of the 8000 is based on the MAC address of the unit, ie 169.254.xxx.1 where xxx is the decimal conversion of the last two hexadecimal digits on the access point (we are serious here, the PDF even goes to the trouble of telling you how to perform this conversion with the aid of a scientific calculator!). By this stage we were beginning to think that this was getting a little too complex for the relative simplicity of the task at hand. However, we dutifully decided to proceed, converting the MAC address' last two digits and entering that range into our LAN NIC. Suddenly, we could access the AP via the wireless infrastructure device manager and also via the Web browser.
| Reasonably priced basic entry-level security |
Issues to consider: The built-in 11Mb Wireless Access Point limits the customer to future possible upgrades, ie speed or distance. Should a client wish to change they will need to replace the whole unit. The removable antenna connections were very flimsy where they screwed/attached to the plastic casing. The Dynamic Security Link may be quite effective but obviously relies on proprietary firmware within the 3Com wireless NIC in the client device and as we were not supplied this for the review we could not evaluate its effectiveness.
Type of client this unit would suit: small to medium enterprise (SME) who have an existing LAN and want to add a small relatively secure W-LAN easily installed with no-frills units (ie, no WAN port, no integrated switch, etc) and is very easily wall or ceiling mounted with only one cable needing to be run to the unit.
| Product: | 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8000 |
| Price: | AU$1045 |
| Vendor: | 3Com |
| Phone: | 1800 644 606 |
| Web: | ap.3com.com |
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| Interoperability: |
Easy to deploy. No interoperability other than with 3Com NICs. |
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| Futureproofing: |
Inbuilt WLAN AP; only 11Mbps. |
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| ROI: |
Reasonably priced basic entry-level security. |
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| Service: |
1-year warranty. |
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