Hands-On Review: AirLive N.Power – Modest in Appearance, Rich in Features

Author

Oik Yusuf Araya

Reading time:

Networking

October 11, 2011

readmode

We have explored the features available in N.Power’s “Router” mode. Now, let’s move on to the “AP” mode. Unfortunately, switching mode requires a reboot, which can be inconvenient since it takes quite a while. According to a notification that pops up at mode switch, the reboot would only take up to 60 seconds. In reality, however, the process took around 75 seconds. That may not sound like much, but it could be pretty annoying since you have to wait for the reboot every time you change a setting, not just when switching modes.

System Message 1312272028695 NEW R — This white screen will appear when the router is rebooting

In “AP” mode, the “Internet Settings” menu is no longer available. All of the main configurations for this mode are stored in the “Wireless Settings” menu. This menu displays the same list of options both in “Router” and “AP” modes.

AirLive N.Power 1311939551225 R — This is how the router management application looks like when the N.Power is in “AP” mode

When operating in “AP” mode, N.Power disables its internal DHCP Server. Instead, if the DHCP Sever on the main router is active, N.Power will forward the IP address distributed by the main router to every device connected to it.
The next operation mode, “Client”, turns the N.Power into a “wireless client” that can provide internet access from a Wireless Access Points to other devices connected to it.

AirLive N.Power 1311942126720 R — When in “Client” mode, most of the options in the “Wireless Settings” menu are not available

AirLive N.Power 1312272572934 NEW R — The "Site Survey" button brings you to a Wireless Access Point selection menu.

The next mode, “WDS Bridge”, gives exclusive access between Wireless Access Points. In this mode, N.Power’s wireless network can only be certain devices whose MAC addresses have been included in the WDS configuration.

AirLive N.Power 1311942520120 R — Like in “Client” mode, most of the “Wireless Settings” configuration options is not available in this mode

AirLive N.Power 1312271911541 NEW R — Input device MAC address here to give exclusive access to N.Power’s wireless network

All in all, based on our experience, Airlive does a nice job of arranging the menu layouts in all four operation modes available on the N.Power. User friendliness seems to be part of their main considerations in this matter.

Conclusions

If we were to describe the N.Power in one short sentence, we would say that it’s a useful networking tool equipped with user friendly configuration options. Its features, from four different operation modes, USB 2.0 ports, to PoE support give the N.Power an edge over the competition. It’s a pity that AirLive does not include PoE adapter in the standard sales package.

IMG 2520 R — AirLive N.Power during testing.

AirLive’s management application deserves some praise as well. With this application, users can make various configuration changes to the N.Power. The router remains easy to use despite its fairly comprehensive configuration options. Only, the 75 seconds re-boot process that occurs when a setting is changed can become rather annoying at times, especially when the user needs to change multiple settings.