Netgear Prosafe 802.11G WG102 Wireless Access Point

This powerful Netgear Prosafe 802.11G WG102 Wireless Access Point provides the industry standard access to home and corporate wired network resources, email and the Internet and includes support for MBSSID/VLANs, to enable more granular access to the network. Fully compatible with IEEE 802.11g, (2.4 GHz), it can also be set for dynamic 108 Mbps 802.11g.

With its robust security measures, simplified management and configuration, SNMP support, integrated IEEE 802.3af power over Ethernet (PoE), IntellilFi™ RF management technology and Wi-Fi certification, the WG102 brings standards-based enterprise-level functionality at a mid-market price.

The WG102 provides support for multiple Basic Service Set Identifiers (BSSID) and virtual LANs (VLANs). You can configure combination of VLANS and BSSIDS to provide stronger or less restrictive access to the network according to your requirements. For example visitors could be given wireless access for the Internet, but could be excluded from any access to the internal network.

WG102 with integrated IntelliFi radio frequency (RF) management technology, enables a wireless network to self-optimize by intelligently choosing channels and dynamically adjusting the power levels to ensure coverage and avoid interference. IntelliFi creates an additional level of privacy by providing self-organizing micro cells for enterprises. An additional level of security is added when used with NETGEAR’s IntelliFi-enabled client adapter, WAG511. In addition, the WG102 supports the ability to detect rogue access points and rogue stations.

Important Specifications:

Device type:
- Wireless access point

Wireless Network Standards:
- IEEE 802.11g
- IEEE 802.11b

Wireless Data Transfer Rates:
- Maximum 108 Mbps

Ports/Buttons:
- One 10/100 Auto-Cross Over (MDI/MDI-X) Port with Power over Ethernet (PoE) support
- One Reset Button
- One Power Port

Security Features:
- Wireless Security Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA, WPA2), WEP
- Wireless MAC Filtering
- AutoCell Rogue Device Detection

Other Features:
- Power over Ethernet
- VLAN Support
- Multiple BSSID Support
- Wireless Bridging and Repeating Support

Click here to purchase this Netgear Prosafe 802.11G WG102 Wireless Access Point if you like it.

User reviews on www.amazon.com:

No WPA Security in Bridge Mode! A. Wilder (Los Angeles, CA) December 21, 2005
The NG102 works like it should--with one exception that I've found. If you set it up in Bridge Mode, it will NOT work with WPA security--you can only use the inferior WEP security.

WEP can be cracked in under 24 hours (the netgear helpfiles built into the WG102 setup pages even say this), but they still force you to use WEP security when bridging.

Additionally, Netgear's tech support is ABYSMAL. I have submitted several trouble tickets with questions, and it sometimes takes them TWO WEEKS to reply--and even then they did not give a reasonable answer to my question, they gave a stock answer to something I didn't ask. The user suport forum is much better, but you're not guaranteed to get any help there, either.

*** UPDATE: 12/27 - I'd like to downgrade this product to ONE STAR! ***

This access point would lock up at least once a day. The only solution was to unplug the power and plug it back in.

I found it had particular difficulty when trying to transfer files over the local network and when running internet speed tests (such as www.speakeasy.net/speetest). Somehow they seemed to confuse or overwhelm the access point, and it had to be hard-reset. Neither of those activities should have caused it any trouble at all--especially not this (much more expensive) "business-class" access point.

After spending way too much time troubleshooting the problem, I have finally given up and will return it.

Works as it should A. Lindeman (Bloomington, IN) December 9, 2005
This product works as it should. I run a linux server off of my cable modem. I've tried multiple consumer priced wireless routers, but they all (3 of them!) had lock-up issues or slowness. I now have a complete "Netgear blue box" solution- the FR114P wired router with the WG102 wireless access point connected to it. I also have a Netgear GS108 gigabit switch. All are attached to my Motorola SB5100 cable modem. No lockups and my server is working wonderfuly well (I serve email and web for a handful of relatives.) It seems that this wireless access point is a bit more expensive than it should be, but I'm glad to finally have reliable networking! Now to get a wireless print server...

Works exactly as described Johnathon M. Jones (Monterey, CA) January 14, 2008
After researching several reviews from magazines and web sites, I decided to give this a try (mainly because of such great reviews on its range). I bought three of these and set them up to bridge our wired network from the main church to the MC building, with the third WG102 connected to the other end of the bridge, acting as an access point within the MC building for client use. I have been very happy with the results, but as a disclaimer I have to point out that it doesn't get a LOT of use. The great things about these have been: 1) No maintenance. Zero. These have been in use for nine months now. I am just finally writing this review because I'm getting ready to buy another one to provide a wireless access point within the church. I have not even had to reboot one of these access points. We have had power outages, and no intervention was ever required to re-establish the bridge or access point service. 2) Very good reliability for client connectivity: Even though the MC building has a lot of walls and distances, and signal strength is low in many places, we have no problems with client connectivity. 3) No special antennas required for the two WAPS dedicated to the bridge. We went into this project fully expecting to need to purchase external antennas for each of the bridge WAPs. However, the buildings are close enough that this wasn't necessary, even though both bridge WAP's are located towards the center of each building. This was a great surprise.

A word of advice - ALWAYS upgrade to the latest firmware when you buy any IT hardware. It eliminates one additional potential source of problems. Since there was a substantial firmware upgrade available for this product on Netgear's web site, I upgraded all three units without even trying the current version first. It probably saved me a lot of headache that others have experienced.

CANNOT support WPA2 in Bridge Mode. David J. Kovanen "Intelligentsia" (Seattle, WA USA) May 21, 2008
We purchased this unit to bridge our LAN between two buildings. But it cannot support Bridging in WPA2 mode. The manual claims WPA2 (which it can do) and Bridge Mode (which it can do) but it cannot do BOTH at the same time.

Misleading advertising and packaging Loh Phat February 13, 2008
Netgear advertises in various places and documents and even mentions on the box that it offers wifi bridging -- it does NOT mention the caveat that it can only bridge open or WEP protected networks not WPA protected networks.

Back to the store it goes.

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