SMC has been turning up the heat recently with the addition of several more products for their Barricade line of broadband routers. It seems that the hottest features other than VPN pass-thru and VPN endpoints is the need for a more advanced firewall - such as an SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) firewall. An SPI firewall does more to determine attacks on the router, and accomplishes this by examining each packet in more detail. Packets that are designed to attack the firewall will be denied, making your network safer.

SMC has recently added these newer models which gives SMC users a wide variety of choices when selecting a broadband router. In this review, we look at the SMC 7004VWBR, a very similar design to the earlier cousin the SMC 7004AWBR - (See our past review of the SMC7004AWBR)

The only difference externally is the addition of another LAN port, and the removal of the COM and parallel printer port. This means you loose the backup option to connect your network via dial-up, a feature we really loved. The party isn't over with the loss of the COM and parallel ports, SMC makes up for this in the VWBR by adding in an SPI firewall and a few other neat ideas. One of the coolest things we saw for features was an email notification option if a DoS (Denial of Service) attack or any other attack occurs on your network. The VWBR also has some additional features that parents may really like, such as parental control, and URL filtering with time based rules. It also has some great features that will appeal to advanced users, such as support for up to 10 WAN IP addresses, and it also has up to 8 DMZ zones, something that any advanced user with multiple servers will love!

The 7004VWBR 802.11b wireless portion of the router is standard, offering 64 and 128 bit encryption. One thing we really like to see is more information on the wireless clients, as well as some security features like MAC address control lists, and hidden/closed network options (disable broadcast of SSID). The 7004VWBR is not a standout with it's wireless feature set, but it does run with the rest of the pack.

Configuring the router is super easy with the excellent start guide and the new SMC EZ 3-Click installation. You simply need to power up the router, connect to the LAN port on the router with the included RJ-45 cable, and renew your IP. Once you get an IP from the router, you need to go to the LAN gateway IP and click the "login" button. Setup is as simple as selecting the Time Zone, Broadband type (Cable Modem, Fixed DSL, PPPoE DSL), and IP Type (Static or Dynamic). Once you select these 3 items, the router does a quick restart and is ready to go.

In summary, we see SMC creeping up on the heels of D-Link and Linksys with solid features and low prices. SMC also has an excellent range of models that can accommodate almost any requirement of a small home/office. With a street price hovering around $120, you can't go wrong with this router, especially when SMC releases the new firmware with UPnP and dynamic DNS.

Features of the SMC 7004VWBR:
- Very low price
- 4-port 10/100 switch for your high-speed LAN network
- Fast routing/switching speeds, although approx 30% decrease - WEP enabled
- Excellent routing/security features including DHCP, NAT, 64/128 WEP and DMZ
- Intelligent SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) firewall for more advanced security
- Outstanding documentation provided on CD, LAN cable (RJ-45), quick start guide (included)
- Excellent parental controls, time based URL filtering, Supports up to 10 WAN IP addresses and 8 DMZ's - a first for a router in this class!
- Great web based setup/configuration - totally redone from previous Barricades
- Very small, unobtrusive size, metal construction means it will survive a short fall, but no wall mounting options we love to see.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars.
Pros: SPI NAT router, 802.11b wireless, simple 3 Click setup, fast, super low price, platform independent, nice web based configuration and a neat option to have the firewall mail you if a break-in or DoS attack occurs on your network.
Cons: No password by default, enabling WEP will cut wireless performance approx 30%, no external antenna support, and missing some wireless security features we love to see, logging could be better

Note: We heard from SMC that there is a new firmware coming out sometime in the near future. This firmware is currently in testing, and includes some really cool new features at no extra charge. We saw an example of the firmware and it includes UPnP support (Universal Plug and Play Router support) and DDNS (Dynamic DNS support). Word is they are also working on MAC address filtering for wireless connections, and more security improvements for wireless like disable SSID broadcast

SMC Barricade 7004VWBR
Current Street Price: $120.00

Available from
PCConnection.com

SMC Networks, Inc.
38 Tesla
Irvine, CA 92618
1-800-SMC-4YOU
http://www.smc.com