Wireless networking is one of those things that we all have come to rely on. We tend to expect to be able to connect just about anywhere now. I mean, even McDonalds has wireless now so why shouldn’t we? But what do you do when you come across one of those places that either does not have it, has poor quality (like many hotels) or you are just concerned about your security when on those open networks? Well there are a few companies that have a solution to this and we are going to take a look at one from EDIMAX today. It is one of the world’s smallest 802.11n wireless routers the EDIMAX BR-6258n.
The BR-6258n -As I mentioned above the BR-6258n is an odd looking product. It looks less like a router and more like a wedge or shim; something that you would put to even something out and not a piece of networking gear. The fact that it is bright red does not help either. In keeping with its Nano tag the BR-6258n is very small (as you can see in the picture with the US Quarter). There are four LEDs on the front that let you know status (power, LAN, etc).
On the flat front end is a small micro-USB port. This is your power connection and can be used with the power block or with a standard USB port on a laptop (if there are no power outlets handy). The back of the BR-6258n has 2 RJ-45 ports; one for the Internet (or the LAN you are connecting to but want to be safe using), and one for your computer.
The bottom is a plastic base that has the default information on it (in case you forget). We decided to break open the BR-6258n just to see what was inside. The top cover can be removed with a small flat head screw driver (or a fingernail if it comes to that). Once that is off you can pull the hardware out of the bottom tray easily enough and see what you have. Under the hood we find a Realtek RTL8196C This chip is a 5-Port 10/100 controller and is used for internal switching (both LAN and WLAN connected systems). Attached to this (and on the other side of the board) is an RTL 8188CE wireless LAN controller. These two combined together make up the connectivity of the EDIMAX BR-6258n.
The BR-6258n should have the right internal components to give us decent performance so let’s take a look at see what sort of features and controls EDIMAX has given us.
