SmallNetBuilder

Setup and Admin

Admin is via WinXP's ZeroConfiguration or the Client Manager program supplied by Buffalo if you're running other OSes.

Figure 1: BuffaloTech Client Manager Profile Edit screen

Figure 1 shows the Client Manager edit screen for a wireless profile and you can see that there are a few things missing. You can't set Transmit rate, adjust power save mode, or force the adapter to an 11b-only mode.

Broadcom's mixed-mode throughput-enhancing "Xpress" technology isn't supported either, nor can you take advantage of the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) modes that Buffalo supports in its drivers. If you use WinXP with the WPA patch or a third-party supplicant, you'll see that WPA and WPA-PSK are supported with both the mandatory TKIP and optional, stronger AES encryption.

Documentation needs work since there's only a printed Quick Start Guide. There's no User Manual either on the install CD or on BuffaloTech's support website, but additional documentation (for Buffalo's Notebook Adapter) can be obtained by clicking on the ? in the Client Manager.