07/24/08

Umax has done it again! Just when we thought that the Ugate Plus was the best thing since sliced bread, along comes the Ugate 3000 - the latest offering from the Umax networking group.

The Umax Ugate 3000, the successor to the Ugate Plus, is a Cable/xDSL router that is designed to protect your local LAN with NAT and Port Filtering capabilities, as well as to share your Internet connection with the other PC's on your LAN. It's suggested retail price is $399, and is available now from many Mail Order outlets like Buy.Com, as well as directly from Umax

The Umax Ugate 3000 is packed with features, and also has a unique feature called Dynamic DNS. The free 1 year of Dynamic DNS service powered by TZO.COM, allows the Ugate 3000 user to get a domain name for their Ugate 3000. Used in conjunction with the Ugate 3000 Virtual Servers features,

(Click Image to Enlarge) The Ugate has a built-in
4 port 10/100 autosensing hub and also includes
1 free year of Dynamic DNS service powered by TZO.COM

this allows any user to run their own Web, FTP, Email and other servers from their static or dynamic IP address. The nice thing about the free dynamic dns is that it can also be upgraded to a private domain. For less than $60 per year, a user can purchase an upgrade from TZO.COM, and actually run Myname.com from a Dynamic (Or static) IP. The Ugate 3000 also has a redefined interface for easier administration, allowing quick and easy access to the LAN and WAN ports for configuration.

The Ugate has link and activity lights for each port, and also includes a full feature (4) Port AutoSensing 10/100 hub. The unit also includes an Uplink port for linking the hub to other hubs or switches on the Local Area Network. The unit is powered by a small AC Adapter, and also has a reset switch for restoring a lost password.

There is a great manual included with screenshots of the setup and administration screens, and the Ugate 3000 administrative interface is available through a Java enabled browser, and can be password protected for security.

The browser interface is simple and easy to configure, and within 5 minutes I was sharing a single IP with 5 Computers on my local LAN. The Ugate 3000 is configured by default at IP address 192.168.0.1, which is a standard range of IP addresses set aside for internal use. In order to get into the interface, you need to set a local PC to that range, and then use your

(Click Image to Enlarge) The Umax Ugate 3000 retail box
shows off the numerous features and the free Dynamic
DNS service included. Pack with features, this thing really satisfies!

browser to connect to the Ugate-Plus. After I connected to the Ugate 3000 and configured it, I set the default IP range to 10.1.1.X, since I prefer the 10.X.X.X private numbering versus the 192.168 range. I find it easier to remember, but everyone has their preferences, and the Umax can work with either range of IP addresses. The device is capable of sharing a single IP address with 253 computers.

The unit is totally packed with features, including extensive port mapping and port filtering, as well as group access. The Ugate-3000 also has a setting called "Exposed Computer", allowing the exposed PC unlimited inbound and outbound traffic, without any port filtering. Although this can only be used on one server on the LAN, it is handy

(Click Image to Enlarge)
The Umax Ugate 3000 administration interface
allows quick and easy access to all the features.

for testing purposes until you configure your security and servers properly. The virtual LAN settings inside the Ugate 3000 are very handy, and I was able to run an SMTP and Web Server on one of the internal PC's without any hassle. We simply set both SMTP and WWW ports to the internal PC at IP address 10.X.X.X and it worked. As simple as can be.

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