2. Unboxed, Unpacked and Unbound

As we unboxed this unit, we uncovered numerous accessories. Beneath a cardboard tray, Draytek stashed a 28-page quick-start guide, a two-page Web Content Filter activation guide and three standard jointed Wi-Fi aerials with male RP-SMA connectors. Immediately to the right, DrayTek included a wireless USB 802.11n adapter, a short 3" USB extension cable, a seven-foot CAT5 patch cable and a 15V wall-plug AC converter.

On its front panel, the 2930n proffers company branding and its product name, nine LED indicators, two pinhole switches, two WAN interfaces and a four-port 10/100 Ethernet LAN switch. This front-panel design lets the unit function as a desktop, rack-mount or wall-mount device. Rack-mounting requires a special kit (an RM1 bracket) sold separately. This bracket fits a standard 19” rack or cabinet, takes up a one-up (1U) slot and may require extension aerials for the wireless antennas. The next five photos depict the 2930n in more detail.

The underside includes four slide-in mount points near each of the 2930n’s four corners, any pair of which can serve for wall mounting.

The 2930n power adapter is a typical, compact "converter-on-a-wall-plug" design (dimensions: 2.87" x 2" 1.38" / 73mm x 51mm x 35mm; weight: 5.1oz / 145g).

A Draytek Vigor N61 Wireless USB adapter (included) lets you use 802.11g on a desktop or other PC.

Exploring the Front Panel

First, let’s examine the 2930’s nine LED indicators, stacked in a 3 x 3 array. From top-to-bottom and left-to-right you find ACT, DoS, CSM (Column 1), WLAN (Wireless Area Network), WAN 1 (Wide Area Network 1), WAN 2 (Column 2), MGMT, VPN and QoS (Column 3) indicators. ACT stands for "Activity" and reports when the router is running or powered-off. Denial of Service (DoS) protection is active when the LED glows continuously and blinks as a DoS or DDoS attack is detected. Content Security Management (CSM) glows when management profiles for instant messaging (IM) or peer-to-peer (P2P) applications are active.

DrayTek 2930n wireless router front panel close-up.

The Wireless LAN (WLAN) LED glows when the wireless access point (AP) is ready and blinks in synch with wireless traffic. WAN indicators on both ports indicate connection ready states. The MGMT (management) indicator blinks when the unit is accessed through a browser or Telnet connection. When Virtual Private Network (VPN) activity occurs, that LED lights up; the same goes for the Quality of Service (QoS) LED. Two pinhole switches are stacked vertically at front panel center, which offer factory reset (above) and restart (below). The former restores factory default settings and kicks in when depressed for five seconds. The latter forces a cold router restart. Both are shielded from casual access (the tool of choice is a straightened paper clip) for "last-ditch" recovery from configuration problems.

Rear view of the 2930n wireless router

On the back, the 2930n includes three gold-plated RP-SMA connectors (for its pivoting dipole antennas). There is also a power jack for the AC adapter and a power switch.