Is Cisco Valet right for you?

Cisco Valet is an attempt by the company to simplify wireless home networking even further than it has been. But is the simplification worth the higher price?

Cisco introduced the Valet wireless router for people who want high-speed wireless networking but are intimidated by the idea of becoming a network administrator. It bills Cisco Valet as “home wireless made easy.” Setup is simplified as much as possible, a feat that Cisco claims was made possible by contributions from the team that designed the easy-to-use Flip videocamera.

Wireless router basics

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Cisco Valet is an attempt by the company to simplify wireless home networking even further than it has been. But is the simplification worth the higher price?

Cisco introduced the Valet wireless router for people who want high-speed wireless networking but are intimidated by the idea of becoming a network administrator. It bills Cisco Valet as “home wireless made easy.” Setup is simplified as much as possible, a feat that Cisco claims was made possible by contributions from the team that designed the easy-to-use Flip videocamera.

Wireless router basics

What’s interesting is that on the same day Cisco came out with the Valet products, it also introduced the Linksys E-Series, which basically consists of several of the same devices, but without the simplification in setup.

The corresponding E-Series devices are $10 to $30 cheaper than their Cisco Valet counterparts, so you have to ask yourself whether the supposed ease in setup is worth that cost.

Note that both sets of products make use of Cisco Connect software for administering the network. It allows you to: add Internet-capable devices to the network, set parental controls for each device on the network, give visitors access on a separate guest network, and customize security settings.

Part of what sets Cisco Valet apart is its “Easy Setup Key,” which you plug into the USB port of your PC or Mac. The software takes over and does the configuration for you.

I mentioned that the Linksys E-Series has comparable models at lower prices than the Cisco Valet. All of the devices support IEEE 802.11n, or “Wireless-N.” Here is a comparison:

The Cisco Valet base model is a $100 wireless router and has four Fast Ethernet ports for wired devices, in addition to the wireless access. The comparable Linksys model is the E1000 Wireless-N Router for $80.

The Cisco Valet Plus is a $150 wireless router and has four Gigabit Ethernet ports for wired devices, in addition to the wireless access. There is another antenna for better wireless coverage. The roughly comparable Linksys model is the E2000 Advanced Wireless-N Router for $120. The latter actually supports two different wireless bands on three antennas, to ensure signals get through.

The Cisco Valet Connector is an $80 Wireless-N adapter for computers that don’t support 802.11n. The comparable Linksys version is the AE1000 Wireless-N adapter, which costs $70.

The upshot is that if you have even a slightly technical bone in your body, you can get more for your money with the Linksys versions. If you possess no such bone, then the Cisco Valet may be for you.

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