Test bench
What wireless protocols does the product support, and does it work with other vendors' products?
Futureproofing 
Will the equipment suit your needs into the future? Does it have useful extra features?
ROI 
The age-old price, performance, and features; does the product have the goods to justify the cost?
Service 
Since these products are based on some proprietary standards, prompt service and a long warranty are vital.
How we tested
We ran several tests for these products;
- Interoperability of the access points the vendors supplied and other wireless equipment. This included a Gemtek/Sparklan 802.11b Compact Flash adaptor in a Toshiba e740 PDA, a Toshiba notebook with an integrated Intel Centrino 802.11b wireless network interface card (NIC), and an Acer 650 notebook with a Lan Express integrated 802.1b wireless NIC.
Surprisingly, aside from one problem between the Netgear access point and the CompactFlash card, all the products passed this interoperability test without too much difficulty. Although wireless products are notoriously difficult to interoperate, at least at a basic level this certainly seems to be improving.
- Interoperability between a single access point and the PCMCIA cards the vendors supplied. We tried to connect each PC Card the vendors supplied to a Linksys WAP54G access point. All the cards were able to complete this test.
- Distance/performance tests. For this test, we measured the data throughput at various distances from the accesss point:
- With each vendor's access point (AP) and a 3Com 802.11g PCMCIA card,
- With each vendor's AP, using the Acer Travelmate 650 notebook with a Lan Express integrated 802.1b chip, and
- With each vendor's AP, using an Acer Travelmate 800 notebook with an Intel "Centrino" integrated 802.11b chip.
- Interoperability, interoperability, interoperability. We can't stress it enough! Please ensure before you buy that your proposed bits of equipment either work with each other as they should and/or work with your existing wireless infrastructure. Also, with the a, b, b+ and g standards, there is bound to be some confusion.
- Security. Many enterprises think that WEP is more than enough for their own needs or go by the even scarier "security by obscurity" theory of believing that their wireless installation is inconspicuous, but neither viewpoint is valid any longer. Please review your wireless security policy and practices before they turn around and bite you.
- Performance vs environment. Each wireless installation is unique and there are very few identical premises using wireless technology. A true site survey is needed onsite before any contracts are signed or any money is outlaid.
- Performance vs interoperability. Hopefully the testing we conducted for this review will allow you to see the differences in performance with the vendors' wireless equipment, not only their own cards with their access points but with other vendors' access points as well.
Company: Tonita Trucking Corp. This business wants to implement a wireless network at its new head office.
Approximate budget: $500 per access point.
Requires: Eight wireless access points each to serve approximately 30 users.
Concerns: At this point, the company only wants to use 802.11b wireless technology, but the ability to upgrade to a faster technology at a later stage is extremely important. The ability to manage the access points remotely, preferably as a group, would be a big plus. Security factors are also a big concern. Interoperability with other vendors devices will also be taken into consideration.
Best solution: The Belkin is clearly the best choice, coming out overall number one for performance across several different wireless tests, and being able to work with 802.11b and 802.11g networks. At less than $300, it is well placed under the budget set.
Editor's choice: Netgear FWAG114
Highly commended: Belkin 54g Wireless Access Point
Although the Belkin access point suits our scenario down to the ground, the Editor's Choice has to go to the Netgear FWAG114. Its amazing array of features--most notably the inclusion of support for a, b, and g wireless protocols--as well as the VPN support make up for its high price tag. In the performance tests, it came second overall which is a very good indication of its total quality.
While the built-in security in the access points may be sufficient for some smaller companies, most larger businesses would probably need a separate product to increase the security of their wireless installations--or at least include wireless as part of their overall security infrastrcuture.
A wireless access point is like a network switch, while a security gateway is like a firewall. If a dedicated security gateway is beyond the resources of your business, then we can only make the same suggestions that we did in the wireless security gateway review. These will enable you to secure most of these APs to the best of their individual capabilities--however you should note that some of the APs reviewed may not support all the methods described here.
- Disable the SSID broadcast (if SSID broadcast cannot be disabled then use a space as the SSID)
- Enable WEP to the maximum level that your AP will allow (if possible don't use an automatically generated key--create your own and change it regularly).
- Enable MAC address filtering allowing only known/registered MAC addresses to connect.
- If your AP supports it, use IP authentication.
- If possible use either a firewall or VPN tunnel between your wired LAN and wireless LAN so that even if someone attacks your WLAN they still have to get through the VPN authentication or firewall to access your servers and/or Internet bandwidth.
In the months and years to come the wireless scene is sure to hot up, akin to the evolution of wired networks. We are not saying that wireless will ever take over from traditional wired infrastructure, however it will certainly be used to augment it, particularly with the uptake of more mobile computing than ever before. It is certainly an exciting space to watch.
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The writer of these reviews was not aware that the word "however" is an adverb and not a conjunction. This word was used incorrectly in practically every review, e.g., "Excellent value when everything is considered, however purchasers must intend to use all its features to get good ROI."
An example from the net,
and I can recommend the cheap and useful Strunk & White "Elements of Style",
which is an updated version of the below.
William Strunk, Jr. (1869–1946). The Elements of Style. 1918.
V. WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY MISUSED
http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk3.html
"However. In the meaning nevertheless, not to come first in its sentence or clause.
wrong: The roads were almost impassable. However, we at last succeeded in reaching camp.
correct: The roads were almost impassable. At last, however, we succeeded in reaching camp.
When however comes first, it means in whatever way or to whatever extent.
However you advise him, he will probably do as he thinks best.
However discouraging the prospect, he never lost heart."