Belkin FD5231-4 Internet Router

Recently, I purchased a Belkin router. I have a bunch of other Belkin stuff, and it all works fine. This router does not have a print server, but I already have an Ethernet connection on my big printer. Included in the case is a 4 port switch. This new router has stateful packet inspection and NAT, which makes for a pretty robust firewall.

The plastic case looks unremarkable. It was easy to configure, and seemed to work well. After a few days of use, the DNS server seemed to fail. From a DOS box, I was unable to successfully ping www.ibm.com (my standard host to ping). I did the kludgey windows "ipconfig/release and then ipconfig/renew" trick, and it didn't help. I rebooted my machine, and everything was working fine.

Roughly every 24 hours, I have the same problem. Sometimes, the release/renew thing fixed the problem. Sometimes not. I sent email to Belkin tech support. They said download a new version of the router software. Unfortunately, it was for a different Belkin router. Fortunately it was smart enough to not install. After a few more go-rounds with Belkin tech support, they said to call them on the phone.

The guy I spoke to was pretty unhelpful. He said to manually set my network card speed. I told him it worked just fine with another router. He wanted to set it anyway. I told him I didn't want to do so. He said all he could suggest was to set a fixed IP address for my machine. I told him I had 10 machines, and I didn't want to have to set the IP addresses for all of them. He said I could set the DNS address manually, and I told him that the purpose for the DHCP server inside the router was to not have to do this. I asked him if there was a new version of the software for the router, and he said no, there were no problems with the existing software. I told him there were problems, because I was having them. He was pretty unhelpful.

It turned out that the problem was not with the Belkin router, but with ZoneAlarm firewall software. See ZoneAlarm for more details. I was unimpressed with Belkin tech support, but the Belkin hardware is pretty reliable.

In Sep 2005, my Belkin router became unreliable. I had to reset it every day or so. I called tech support, and they had good ideas. They had me reset the router, but the problem persisted. I had switched to my DLink Router and it worked fine for over a week. I called Belkin back and told them. We tried the Belkin router again. Same problem. Switched back to DLink, and it worked. Belkin sent me a new router. It has the same part number, as the old router, but it about half the size. Didn't fit in my network closet as it was so small. I need to drill new holes to secure it. Belkin didn't ask for the old one back. It has worked with no issues. First rate technical support. This demonstrates a good reason to have a spare router.

Trendnet TEW-432BRP Wireless Internet Router

I bought a different wireless router a few years ago. I didn't realize it had WPA. When the vulerabilities of WEP became known, I decided to not use any wireless router without WPA. Recently, the Trendnet 432 was on sale, so I decided to buy it because it has WPA. The good news is that it works. The bad news is that virtual server settings do not allow a range of ports. So if you had some virtual server that happens to use 10 sequential ports, you will have to make 10 rules in the virtual server settings. Other than that, I have found no problems with the router. And for those who are interested, my WPA PKA passphrase has over 30 characters...

Zonet KVM3002 2 port KVM switch

I bought a KVM switch. They allow one keyboard/video/mouse to be shared between two computers. Some have manual switches to switch computers, some use keyboard shortcuts, some auto-detect. Doesn't sound very complex, but it would seem there are many things to go wrong.

I bought the Zonet KVM switch because it was cheap. I should have known better. If both of my computers were powered up, it worked fine. If only one (the ASUS CUR-DLS) was powered, it did not detect the keyboard. This is a bit of a problem, as the computer unusable. There is a place for external power for the KVM switch (the KVM switch draws some power from the PS/2 connector in order to operate). Zonet does not supply a power adapter. I hooked up one of the required power, but the switch still didn't work.

I contacted tech support. They told me they knew about the problem, and the rev B KVM switch would fix it. They told me I needed to fill out a RMA form and fax it to them along with a copy of the receipt. Since I don't have a fax, I asked if I could email it to them, and they said that was ok. I got a RMA number. I was told to mail in the unit, and they would mail out a new unit. I asked if they would cross-ship (as all civilized computer companies do like Adaptec, and APC to name a few) and they said they didn't do that. They also wanted me to pay for postage (some companies pay for return postage for defective equipment, like Gateway). I told them that I needed a KVM switch, as my computers were too far from the keyboard. I asked if I could drive down there, and they said ok. I drove there. I got a new, rev B KVM. I hooked it up. It was worse. It would only pass through about 1/3 of the keys of my keyboard. I tried with and without an external power supply. I have a Microsoft Natural Elite PS/2 keyboard, which is a very common keyboard. It did work with a cheapo Memorex keyboard I had handy.

The old KVM switch worked fine with my Microsoft keyboard, so clearly something in the rev B KVM had gone wrong. I called Zonet, and they told me they tested the old KVM switch, and said it worked. I told them they clearly didn't test with an ASUS CUR-DLS motherboard, as it didn't work that way. Zonet told me "I'll feedback this to the factory and hope they will have any fix for me. I'll keep you post." That was about 5 weeks ago. I heard nothing from them.

I sent them another email, asking for a working KVM switch, or my money back. I have heard nothing from them in about two weeks. I called them up. I spoke to tech support, and then to someone higher up. The higher up used a Microsoft Natural Keyboard, and wanted to get to the bottom of the problem. He brought his in, and tested it with the KVM products. It worked. So the next step is for me to drive down there, with my KVM switch and my keyboard and see what is going on. This is pretty dedicated support, except that it is a long drive for me. Hopefully it will resolve the problem. I can even leave the keyboard with them if needed, as I have a spare. We shall see...

I drove down there today with my keyboard, mouse, and KVM switch. After awhile, the tech was able to replicate my problem. Their Microsoft natural keyboard worked fine. The problem of most keys not working doesn't exist with their rev-A KVM switch, but does exist with the new rev-B KVM switch. Their new 2 port KVM switch that also switches audio has the same problem. I suggested they try their 4 port KVM switch. The 4 port switch works fine. I loaned them my keyboard, and they traded my 2 port switch for a 4 port switch (though I only have the KVM cables from my 2 port switch, so I won't benefit from the 4 port switch). They said they would send the keyboard to the factory to figure out what it is doing, and then send it back to me. The video quality seems better with the 4 port switch than the 2 port switch.

So I cannot recommend Zonet KVM switches, except the 4 port version. Their tech support is very hard to reach, and had a hard time fixing problems. Their testing of their products is clearly substandard. Needless to say, I won't be buying any more Zonet products. I would have never thought that so many things could go wrong with a KVM switch design.

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