Does the Belkin N Basic Router Require Any Drivers?

Usage Requirements

Using the Belkin N router requires you have broadband Internet service in your home or office, such as cable or DSL. Any computers you wish to connect to the network must contain a standard 802.11 wireless network card , if you wish to connect wirelessly, or a standard RJ45 Ethernet port if you wish to hardwire a computer to the network. Your computer must also contain a network interface card, have a TCP/IP networking protocol installed and an Internet browser. When running Windows 98 and above or Mac OS X 8 and above, your computer has all necessary software requirements to connect to the router.

To configure the router settings, such as setting up security or changing the router SSID, you must log into the Web-based advanced user interface from a connected computer using the "192.168.2.1" IP address. When you first log in the password is blank. Using the router configuration you can control a variety of features about your network. If unable to log in or if you wish to reset the settings, you can do so by pressing the "Reset" button located on the back side of the router.

The Belkin N router features an 802.11N wireless protocol, which is backwards compatible with standard 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g wireless cards. Be aware that the speed and signal strength of the connection is limited by the slower device. The router has four Ethernet ports that allow you to connect up to four computer using an Ethernet cable and unlimited computers wirelessly. The Belkin N router also has a USB port, which allows you to connect an external USB drive for network storage purposes.

Included with the Belkin N router is a setup assistant wizard software CD. Running the software requires an optical disk drive and requires a system running Windows 2000 and above or Mac OS X 10 and above. Using the setup assistant software also requires a minimum of a 1 GHz processor and at least 128 MB of RAM. The setup assistant software walks you through physically setting up the router as well as connecting to the wireless or wired network and setting up any networked computers.