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Agere ORiNOCO Wireless Point to Point Radio Backbone kit review

What a wonderful thing wireless 802.11b can be. The pain and frustration of dealing with the phone company for a leased T1 line is finally over. Gone are the days of waiting and waiting for the phone company to set up your lines so you can extend your LAN to other buildings and offices in the local area. Enter the Agere ORiNOCO 802.11b wireless Point to Point Radio Backbone kit. Using this wireless bridging kit, the average IT staff can set up their own wireless 802.11b link in a matter of hours! See this diagram for an example on a Point to Point backbone between 2 buildings.

The kit consists of (2) OR-500 outdoor routers, which include an ORiNOCO gold card in each OR-500. It also gives you (1) Ethernet crossover cable, (2) standard Ethernet cables, (2) pigtails, (2) 50 foot lengths of LMR low signal loss cable, (2) surge protectors, and (2) 14.5db yagi antenna's.

The Agere ORiNOCO Wireless backbone kit also supplies
some of the best tools available for any wireless products.

We first unpacked the kit and checked out the components and the quick start poster. One glance at the quick start poster and we were on our way to hooking up the components and getting ready to power up the bridges for a quick test across the lab. Each bridge is marked "slave" and "master" so there is no confusion with install and setup. We plugged in the master to the LAN, and plugged in the power. We didn't need to install any software to manage the bridge setup, since our test network handed out DHCP addresses to each bridge. As soon as the Slave was powered up, the bridges linked and all PC's behind the slave bridge would obtain an IP address from the DHCP server from the master LAN. Agere has done a wonderful job with the documentation and quick start poster, and the end result is a streamlined installation that can be done by almost anyone.

Also bundled with the kit was a CD with software and some documentation. The kit also comes with 2 softcover manuals, one for the software manager and another manual just for the antenna installation. We really liked the OR manager software tools supplied with the kit. This OR manager has excellent antenna and link tools, along with management tools for the remote management of the bridges.

Agere OR Manager

The Agere ORiNOCO OR Manager software gives you quick access
to SNMP, statistics, monitoring and link tools in one small interface

The kit is all pre-configured and this helps ease the pains of installation and setup. Security is also a top concern, and Agere helps that issue with the 128-Bit WEP (Wireless Encryption) and the unique "closed network" feature that helps the network avoid detection from wireless scanning programs such as NetStumbler. This doesn't make the network bulletproof, but it does help limit the possibility of a break-in. If you do use these kits, you should still use some secure tunnels such as SSH or VPN to secure sensitive data.

Overall, the Agere ORiNOCO Point to Point Radio Backbone kit has everything you need to create a secure wireless bridge that is easy to manage and has superior security and management capabilities than many other 802.11b wireless bridges. We really liked the quick setup poster, excellent radio strength and link quality, and the software tools are the best available for any wireless bridge we have seen. If you want to save money and stop paying the phone company for a leased line to connect two buildings, this kit is a great option. You should make it your first choice when evaluating wireless bridging for your small business or enterprise.

Here are some of the features of the Agere ORiNOCO Point to Point Radio Backbone kit:

- Easy setup, virtually plug and play without even opening a manual
- Secure wireless bridge with excellent radio backbone
- ORiNOCO OR-500 has excellent tools for SNMP and remote management
- Everything is included in the box that you need to get started
- Includes (2) RJ-45 cables and (1) RJ-45 Crossover cable
- Security minded feature set uses the "closed network" option by default
- Supports all clients, Windows, Mac, Linux, just like a normal LAN
- Excellent Documentation included, Printed and CD versions

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars - The Agere ORiNOCO Point to Point Radio Backbone kit smokes the competition with a product that is super easy to install and has some great security minded features. This kit is a winner for anyone looking to extend the reach of their LAN to other buildings/offices quickly and easily, with minimum hassle.
Pros: Easy to install, excellent 802.11b radio and antenna quality, super easy setup, flawless performance and reliability, ORiNOCO closed network and other security features, and superior management and monitoring tools.
Cons: We had trouble finding a flaw, this kit stayed up and running for weeks without a burp. The OR-500's are a lower end outdoor router, but the kit can be upgraded using other higher end outdoor routers.

Agere ORiNOCO Point to Point Radio Backbone kit
Current Street Price: $1999.00

Agere Systems Inc.
Phone: 1-800-372-2447
http://www.orinocowireless.com

Available now from PC Connection
Available now from CDW.Com

Like Agere ORiNOCO wireless stuff? Check out these tips below:

*Take a look at our tutorials that we have created for you to help add antenna's to your Agere RG1000/1100 and your USB client. We also have a quicktip on how to enable the closed network feature in your Agere RG1000/1100

*We urge you to review the basic steps in securing your wireless networks from detection and intrusion. The guys over at Extremetech.com have some great tips on securing your wireless network.



	07/05/08


Agere ORiNOCO 802.11b Wireless Point to Point Radio Backbone kit PRODUCT REVIEW "This kit was up and running in less than 20 minutes using the simple configuration poster, and we didn't even crack a manual!" "The ORiNOCO Radio Backbone kit is pre-configured to work out of the box, it's literally plug and play" "128-Bit Encryption helps protect your wireless data from prying eyes" "Forget the days of waiting weeks or months to get a T1 or leased line between 2 offices, with this kit, you can do it yourself in a matter of hours!"
			Agere ORiNOCO Wireless Point to Point Radio Backbone kit review What a wonderful thing wireless 802.11b can be. The pain and frustration of dealing with the phone company for a leased T1 line is finally over. Gone are the days of waiting and waiting for the phone company to set up your lines so you can extend your LAN to other buildings and offices in the local area. Enter the Agere ORiNOCO 802.11b wireless Point to Point Radio Backbone kit. Using this wireless bridging kit, the average IT staff can set up their own wireless 802.11b link in a matter of hours! See this diagram for an example on a Point to Point backbone between 2 buildings. The kit consists of (2) OR-500 outdoor routers, which include an ORiNOCO gold card in each OR-500. It also gives you (1) Ethernet crossover cable, (2) standard Ethernet cables, (2) pigtails, (2) 50 foot lengths of LMR low signal loss cable, (2) surge protectors, and (2) 14.5db yagi antenna's. The Agere ORiNOCO Wireless backbone kit also supplies some of the best tools available for any wireless products. We first unpacked the kit and checked out the components and the quick start poster. One glance at the quick start poster and we were on our way to hooking up the components and getting ready to power up the bridges for a quick test across the lab. Each bridge is marked "slave" and "master" so there is no confusion with install and setup. We plugged in the master to the LAN, and plugged in the power. We didn't need to install any software to manage the bridge setup, since our test network handed out DHCP addresses to each bridge. As soon as the Slave was powered up, the bridges linked and all PC's behind the slave bridge would obtain an IP address from the DHCP server from the master LAN. Agere has done a wonderful job with the documentation and quick start poster, and the end result is a streamlined installation that can be done by almost anyone. Also bundled with the kit was a CD with software and some documentation. The kit also comes with 2 softcover manuals, one for the software manager and another manual just for the antenna installation. We really liked the OR manager software tools supplied with the kit. This OR manager has excellent antenna and link tools, along with management tools for the remote management of the bridges. The Agere ORiNOCO OR Manager software gives you quick access to SNMP, statistics, monitoring and link tools in one small interface The kit is all pre-configured and this helps ease the pains of installation and setup. Security is also a top concern, and Agere helps that issue with the 128-Bit WEP (Wireless Encryption) and the unique "closed network" feature that helps the network avoid detection from wireless scanning programs such as NetStumbler. This doesn't make the network bulletproof, but it does help limit the possibility of a break-in. If you do use these kits, you should still use some secure tunnels such as SSH or VPN to secure sensitive data. Overall, the Agere ORiNOCO Point to Point Radio Backbone kit has everything you need to create a secure wireless bridge that is easy to manage and has superior security and management capabilities than many other 802.11b wireless bridges. We really liked the quick setup poster, excellent radio strength and link quality, and the software tools are the best available for any wireless bridge we have seen. If you want to save money and stop paying the phone company for a leased line to connect two buildings, this kit is a great option. You should make it your first choice when evaluating wireless bridging for your small business or enterprise. Here are some of the features of the Agere ORiNOCO Point to Point Radio Backbone kit: - Easy setup, virtually plug and play without even opening a manual - Secure wireless bridge with excellent radio backbone - ORiNOCO OR-500 has excellent tools for SNMP and remote management - Everything is included in the box that you need to get started - Includes (2) RJ-45 cables and (1) RJ-45 Crossover cable - Security minded feature set uses the "closed network" option by default - Supports all clients, Windows, Mac, Linux, just like a normal LAN - Excellent Documentation included, Printed and CD versions Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars - The Agere ORiNOCO Point to Point Radio Backbone kit smokes the competition with a product that is super easy to install and has some great security minded features. This kit is a winner for anyone looking to extend the reach of their LAN to other buildings/offices quickly and easily, with minimum hassle. Pros: Easy to install, excellent 802.11b radio and antenna quality, super easy setup, flawless performance and reliability, ORiNOCO closed network and other security features, and superior management and monitoring tools. Cons: We had trouble finding a flaw, this kit stayed up and running for weeks without a burp. The OR-500's are a lower end outdoor router, but the kit can be upgraded using other higher end outdoor routers. Agere ORiNOCO Point to Point Radio Backbone kit Current Street Price: $1999.00 Agere Systems Inc. Phone: 1-800-372-2447 http://www.orinocowireless.com Available now from PC Connection Available now from CDW.Com Like Agere ORiNOCO wireless stuff? Check out these tips below: Take a look at our tutorials that we have created for you to help add antenna's to your Agere RG1000/1100 and your USB client. We also have a quicktip on how to enable the closed network feature in your Agere RG1000/1100 We urge you to review the basic steps in securing your wireless networks from detection and intrusion. The guys over at Extremetech.com have some great tips on securing your wireless network.

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