SUMMARY: Broadband Internet is becoming increasing popular in developed countries around the world that are sick of the turtle-like speeds that ageing 56k dialup Internet access provides. Nexland are one of the companies which offer their only broadband products. Cameron “Sov” Johnson checks out the ISB 800Turbo which features its own built-in 8 port hub and firewall to protect against intruders.
The Nexland ISB800 Turbo incorporates a hardware Firewall for Internet protection. For those who don't know what a firewall is, we have included this simple explanation. Firewall's monitor "ports" that connect the PC to the World Wide Web - These include HTTP, FTP, Telnet, Ident and many other services being used today. If unauthorized data is attempting to be accessed by external systems the firewall blocks the data and prevents any unauthorized data from entering or exiting the system.
Package and Contents
The box that the Nexland router is packaged in is very informative. It tells you a lot of information about the router and how a router works. Proceeding to open the box, inside you will find:
- Nexland ISB Pro800 Router - 9V DC Transformer - User Manual - CD with User Manual, Browser and Utilities - A Null-Modem (cross-over) Serial Cable - Quick Start Guide
The router looks awesome from first looks, and the most noticeable thing about it is the bright purple - the color sort of reminds me of your typical network hub or switch, so you don't get frightened away.
Something that adds a great deal of functionality to this router is the integrated 8-port switch, which makes it a lot nicer for a home network.
The ISB800 Turbo features two WAN ports for Dual broadband connection with load balancing. So some of you know what this means, for the others here is q basic explanation. The 800 Turbo can use two different (or identical) broadband connections at the same time. Load balancing allows the router to make each modem do 1/2 the work at full speed allowing 2x the data transmition and reception.
Located on the back is a power switch (I think you get the idea of that), reset button (another one that shouldn't need explaining), dipswitches and a serial port. The dipswitches allow you to reset your router back to factor defaults incase you do something and can't get access back to the router to change it back. Simply follow the directions in the manual and bingo, believe me I had to use it once or twice.
The serial port is for connecting a standard modem to the router for Analogue routing and backup - you will find more about this later on in the review.
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