the lay of the wireless

At least one technology in this arena is proven, widely available, interoperable, and selling at a reasonable price— while others try to catch up.

www.pcmag.com THE INDEPENDENT GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY MAY 21, 2002

By Davis D. Janowski and network. Connected to the rest of Those 802.11b products that pass Stephanie Chang the network via Ethernet cable, the WECA’s tests are given the Wi-Fi AP translates your wired network (wireless fidelity) seal of approval. IFYOU’VE NEVER experienced the traffic into radio signals and trans- Though 802.11b products adver- convenience of roaming your home mits it out via either the 2.4-GHz tise a throughput of 11 Mbps, our or office with your laptop—unfet- band (for 802.11b products) or the 5- testing revealed that they actually tered by cables yet able to send e- GHz band (802.11a products). The achieve a maximum of 4 to 6 Mbps. mail, retrieve server files, or instant- signals are picked up by laptops or The remaining throughput is usual- message someone no matter where desktops with either removable or ly occupied by the processing of you are—trust us, it’s a good thing. At permanently embedded wireless- radio-signal control and network PC Magazine’s offices, our wireless network interface cards. protocol information. Likewise, the network allows many of us to stay Our testing has shown that the newer 802.11a products advertise a unplugged and connected through- range of these devices can vary throughput of 54 Mbps but at most out the day as we move among greatly based on their environment. achieved only about half that on our offices, conference rooms, and our Large open areas allow ranges tests. testing labs. We’re far from alone. extending anywhere from 200 to 500 Today the most common work Wireless networking is coming of feet from an access point, but for performed across wireless LANs age, as lowered prices and inter- typical offices with dividing walls involves office applications, such as operability have turned many organi- and hallways, the range is about 60 e-mail, spreadsheet building, Web zations on to the idea, particularly in feet. The range can be limited by the browsing, and word processing. the retail, financial, education, and types of building materials in the Both 802.11b and 802.11a can handle health-care fields. walls and by other interference. So if such traffic. But as streaming video The maturity of wireless LAN you’re planning to cover a large and dynamic content become more technology based on the 802.11b office area, you’ll need to set up mul- common, the throughput of 802.11b standard, introduced in late 1999, tiple access points. This will let products won’t suffice. has spawned a variety of reliable, users roam from one area to another Enter 802.11a. Ironically, this stan- reasonably priced wireless prod- without losing access to the network. dard was approved shortly before ucts. What’s more, new 802.11a 802.11b, but the technology present- products are building momentum, BATTLE OF THE STANDARDS ed more engineering challenges, as is the promise of a third standard, Devices adhering to the 802.11b and products didn’t enter the mar- 802.11g. standard actually work and, for the most part, are interoperable, mean- reviewed in this story HOW IT WORKS ing that one manufacturer’s access PC Magazine Labs tested 20 sets of wireless At its simplest, wireless LAN tech- point will work with another’s wire- LAN products: 17 running under the 802.11b nology, no matter which standard it less PC Card. Prices have dropped as standard and 3 under 802.11a. The reviews adheres to, lets computers commu- well. Two years ago an AP cost are presented in a table format. nicate with the rest of a local area about $1,000; today you can buy one network via radio signals rather for as little as $140. than over wires. The agency that tests for interop- There are two key components. erability is an industry consortium First is the access point, or AP, known as the Wireless Ethernet which is the last wired stop on your Compatibility Alliance (WECA). ket until late last year. These prod- company may not communicate with ucts operate at a higher frequency those of another. WLAN Lingo and have higher throughput at short- WECA is working on an 802.11a cer- Access point (AP) A device that serves as a er ranges. Our tests revealed that the tification, to be called Wi-Fi5, but this communications hub for wireless clients and typical short-range throughput is will not be ready until a second chip provides a connection to a wired LAN. about 22 Mbps. The sole manufac- set is available and has been tested. Ad hoc mode A peer-to-peer connection turer of 802.11a chip sets, Atheros, Atheros is also producing sample method in which wireless PC Cards communi- cate directly with one another. By contrast, has engineered into its chips a fea- combination chip sets that have both infrastructure mode requires a wireless PC ture known as turbo mode, which 802.11a and 802.11b on-board, but we Card to communicate with an AP. purports to deliver a throughput of suspect products will not arrive AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) A 75 Mbps between products from the before the end of the year or early federal information-processing standard, supporting 128-, 192-, and 256-bit keys. same manufacturer, but we saw no 2003. DSSS (direct-sequence spread spectrum) improvement on our tests with turbo The third standard we mentioned and FHSS (frequency-hop spread spectrum) Two incompatible technologies used in radio Pros and Cons of Wireless LAN Standards transmission. EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) An authentication protocol that supports multiple 802.11b 802.11a 802.11g authentication methods, such as Kerberos, passwords, or smart cards. Cisco’s authentica- Modest price. Mature technology Higher throughput at short Compatible with 802.11b. tion protocol, LEAP, is based on EAP, an exten- with many products available. ranges. Probably better suited Throughput will be at least Throughput is adequate for most to throughput-intensive multi- double that of 802.11b, sion to PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol). PROS: home and office applications. In media applications than and the range will be at 802.11 x A series of IEEE specifications for the best devices, throughput 802.11b. Eight simultaneous least equal. Will use both LANs: currently 802.11b, 802.11a, and fluctuates little, out to the channels and OFDM technology, DSSS and OFDM tech- maximum range. resulting in less interference nologies. 802.11g. Using any one of these extensions to among APs—and more users. the 802.11 standard permits wireless commu- nication between a client and an access point or between two clients. The various specifica- Lowest throughput. Less More expensive; immature Products will be unavail- spectrum and only three channels technology. In our testing, had able until late 2002 or tions govern transmission speeds and radio available in the 2.4-GHz band. a shorter range than 802.11b. early 2003. Only three frequencies as well as fall-back rates and CONS: 802.11a also had greater simultaneous channels other characteristics. The upcoming standard throughput fluctuation at will be available in the 802.11i will provide additional security specif- ranges beyond 20 feet. 2.4-GHz band. ic to WLANs, and 802.11e will address quality of service. Encryption Scrambling data so that only the mode enabled. earlier, 802.11g, holds promise but authorized recipient can read it. Usually a key An added advantage of 802.11a for has not yet been ratified by the IEEE is needed to decrypt the data. a relatively large organization is the (which develops standards for the ESSID (extended service set identifier) A number of channels available. The 5- computing industry, including type of unique identifier applied to both the AP and the wireless PC Card that is attached GHz spectrum has more bandwidth 802.11b and 802.11a). Products for to each packet. This allows the AP to recog- allocated for 802.11 wireless technol- 802.11g aren’t expected until at least nize each wireless client and its traffic. ogy than the 2-GHz spectrum. That, the end of this year. But like 802.11a, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics coupled with a complex technology 802.11g has a nominal maximum Engineers) An organization involved in set- OFDM ting computing and communications stan- known as , which is imple- throughput of 54 Mbps, and because dards. mented in these devices, makes eight it is on the 2.4-GHz frequency band, Kerberos An authentication system enabling nonoverlapping channels available— its products should be compatible protected communication over an open five more than 802.11b technology with 802.11b products. network using a unique key called a ticket. has. With more channels, more For this story, we focused on the MAC (media access control) address A hardwired address applied at the factory. It access points can be added to an two existing standards. We reviewed uniquely identifies network hardware, such as area without interference. 17 sets of 802.11b products—access a wireless PC Card, on a LAN or WAN. Still, 802.11a has some issues to points and wireless PC Cards—and 3 OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multi- work out, particularly in the area of sets of 802.11a products. We’ve plexing) A modulation technique for transmit- ting large amounts of digital data over radio compatibility. For starters, its prod- divided the 802.11b products into waves. 802.11a uses OFDM, as will 802.11g. ucts aren’t backward-compatible four classes—enterprise-class, Preamble A preliminary signal transmitted with 802.11b products, which clearly midrange, and small-office/home- over a WLAN to control signal detection and dominate the market. And although office access points, as well as clock synchronization. all 802.11a products use the same small-office/home-office routers RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) An authentication and accounting chip set, their implementation by with built-in access points. We cate- system that verifies users’ credentials and each manufacturer differs enough to gorized the products on the basis of grants access to requested resources. make them incompatible. Until an features, management, security, and RC4 An encryption algorithm designed at interoperability standard is estab- price. RSA Laboratories; specifically, a stream cipher of pseudo-random bytes that is used in lished, 802.11a products from one WEP encryption. Shared key An encryption key known only to the receiver and sender of data. Our contributors: Andrew Garcia is a freelance writer. Stephanie Chang is an executive editor; WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) A security standard established for wireless LAN Francisco Cheng is a technical analyst; Daniel S. Evans is a staff editor; Matthew D. Sarrel is a techni- technology. It has proved less secure than cal director. Associate editor Davis D. Janowski and PC Magazine Labs project leader Oliver Kaven initially believed. were in charge of this story.

PC MAGAZINE MAY 21, 2002 www.pcmag.com and those by Intermec and Symbol device. We also reviewed two small- were strong performers and offered office/home-office routers, simply to impressive features, but the Cisco compare their built-in 802.11b APs unit’s price and security features with the standalone APs in our (specifically LEAP) cannot be beat. roundup. Because we included only Having said that, we wish both Cisco two and looked solely at their wireless and Symbol would take a lesson from features, we did not choose an Edi- Agere and improve the simplicity and tors’ Choice. ease of use of their interfaces. In the 802.11a category, we were The Agere Orinoco AP-500 wins the able to obtain all three of the access Editors’ Choice for the midrange cate- points on the market at the time of ENTERPRISE: gory. In addition to its great interface, this writing, and all three performed Cisco Aironet 350 Series it offers solid performance as well as inconsistently. We feel this market, a quality AP survey and placement with only a limited number of prod- MIDRANGE: Agere Orinoco AP-500 utility at a very good price. ucts and all using the same chip set, SMALL-OFFICE/HOME-OFFICE: In the small-office/home-office remains a bit immature for an Editors’ Linksys WAP11 category, the Linksys WAP11 wins our Choice. We plan to do a more com- We have awarded three Editors’ Choice for its extremely easy plete roundup later this year or early Editors’ Choices in this setup, reasonable performance, and next year. roundup. For the enter- bargain price. We give an honorable prise class, we recom- mention to the Actiontec product, mend the Cisco Aironet which exhibited strong throughput, 350 Series. This product especially for such an inexpensive

The Look of WLANs Access points come in many different shapes and sizes. a. Symbol 4131 b. Intermec 2101 c. 3Com AP-6000 a d. D-Link DWL-1000 b e. Intel PRO 5000 f. SMC 2655W c e

f d

www.pcmag.com MAY 21, 2002 PC MAGAZINE lllll EXCELLENT llll VERY GOOD Wireless LAN Reviews and Scorecard lll GOOD ll FAIR l POOR Product Overall rating/price/review 802.11b ENTERPRISE-CLASS ACCESS POINTS

Agere Orinoco llllm AP, $900 street; PC Card Gold, $119 list AP-2000 There are trade-offs to be made when deciding on any of the products in our enterprise class. Perhaps the most interesting feature about the Agere Orinoco AP-2000 (and the similar higher-end, security-specific AS-2000, which is not included in this story), the chassis design, is at the same time, a performance inhibitor. The design allows for the installation of two wireless PC Cards. For now, that means two 802.11b cards, but as soon as Agere Orinoco World PC Card produces an 802.11a wireless PC Card, you can have one of each. Unlike the Cisco and Symbol products, which use sealed APs with embedded radios Agere Systems Inc., that offer slightly better performance, the AP-2000 uses the PC Card as the radio and has a lower transmit power. Initial installation is sometimes 866-674-6626, confusing; for instance, the access point management utility can find the AP only when it is on the same subnet. But the subsequent Web www.orinocowireless.com. browser–based interface (which this model shares with the Agere Orinoco AP-500) is very straightforward.

Cisco Aironet 350 Series lllll AP, $760 street; wireless PC Card, $199 list Price, performance, and security are key with the Cisco Aironet 350 Series; they were the deciding factors as we selected it for our Editors' Choice. The Cisco and Symbol were the two top performers in our throughput testing; each sustained sufficient throughput at our maximum test range, and Wireless LAN Adapter AIR-PCM352 each offers plenty of enterprise features. Power over Ethernet (PoE) and a metal case that can easily be mounted on a wall or even under the ceiling Cisco Systems Inc., 800-553-6387, are two different features that underline the enterprise ambitions of the Aironet 350. LEAP security and support for many features necessary for the www.aironet.com. enterprise—including RADIUS, SNMP, and extensive logging and reporting—establish it as a serious enterprise player.

Intel PRO/Wireless llllm AP, $700 street; wireless PC Card, $149 list 2011B LAN Access Point The Intel PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN can serve either as a bridge between wireless and wired networks or as a repeater between wireless networks. Targeted at medium to large businesses, this is a feature-rich AP in terms of settings such as AP-to-AP state exchange, which provides load balancing when you have multiple APs on your network and a high client density. A variety of SNMP traps can be configured to ease the burden of Intel PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN management. Poor performance and the lack of RADIUS support (which will require refined authentication and security features) are the most PC Card consequential negatives for us. Besides 40-bit or 128-bit WEP, security features include the ability to create and maintain access control lists, or Intel Corp., 800-538-3373, filters, based on WLAN adapter MAC addresses. A comprehensive set of statistics are collected and reported via the browser-based interface. www.intel.com.

Intermec MobileLAN llllm AP, $795 list; wireless PC Card, $199 list access 2101 Several features separate the Intermec MobileLAN access 2101 from the rest of the pack: It can act as a DHCP or RADIUS server, it can perform NAT, it can provide fiber-optic connectivity, and it supports dual-radio-frequency usage for companies already running an older WLAN technology. If you Orinoco Gold PC Card lack these features in your network and have legacy wireless devices, the MobileLAN 2101 is a good choice. Its browser-based management Intermec Technologies Corp., interface is easy to navigate for configuring myriad settings. The product can act either as a standard access point or as a repeater to extend the 800-347-2636, range of the WLAN. It even supports QoS for VoIP optimization so that the WLAN can be used for both voice and data. IP tunneling, which allows www.intermec.com. users to roam from AP to AP, is also provided. As with Symbol, systemwide upgrades can be performed from a single access point via flash memory.

Nokia A032 Wireless lllmm AP, $800 street; wireless PC Card, $100 street LAN Access Point The Nokia A032 is a well-constructed piece of hardware and a strong performer—once you finally have it configured. But we were frazzled by the time we finished configuring it, using its confusing Web browser–based interface. We were also surprised to find that following the user manual Nokia C-110 PC Card, sometimes required referring to other manuals before a task could be completed. Although finding anything is something of a wild goose chase, the Nokia C-111 PC Card documentation was comprehensive overall, which cannot be said for all the products in this roundup. Like the Agere Orinoco AP-2000, the Nokia Nokia Internet Communications, A032 uses a wireless PC Card as its radio, though it offers only a single slot; Agere's product offers two. The range of the Nokia A032's PC Card 877-997-9199, www.nokia.com. antenna can be extended with an external antenna that ships with the product.

Symbol Spectrum24 llllm AP, $1,099 list; wireless PC Card, $200 list High Rate 4131 The Symbol Spectrum24 4131 was neck-and-neck with the Cisco and Intermec products in performance and stability, but as of this writing, it remains more expensive. You should weigh its additional features against your needs to see how they balance against the price of the Cisco product. Access Point As with most of the enterprise devices we tested, you can perform configuration and management chores via HTTP, a serial interface, or telnet. Symbol has developed the ability to perform systemwide upgrades from a single access point via flash memory. The Spectrum24 4131 has in-depth event logging, data packet tracing, bandwidth filters, and support of SNMP (including configurable alarms). In addition to 40-bit and 128-bit WEP Spectrum24 High Rate PC Card encryption, it supports Kerberos V5, EAP/TLS, and RADIUS. Another feature (shared only by the Intermec product) is a packet engine that can Symbol Technologies Inc., classify data traffic for prioritization based on format; this can help with QoS for multimedia applications. High signal stability and resistance in 800-877-3897, environments with radio-frequency and Bluetooth interference, as well as a Plenum rating (which means that it meets the fire code and can be www.symbol.com. placed in dropped ceilings), make this a true industrial-strength product.

802.11b MIDRANGE ACCESS POINTS

Agere Orinoco AP-500 lllll AP, $350 street; wireless PC Card, $119 list A great price, an easy-to-navigate browser-based management interface, and decent performance make this an easy choice for managers in small to Orinoco World PC Card midsize businesses or even small enterprises. The Agere Orinoco AP-500 could be considered the little brother of the AP-2000. The unit has an Agere Systems Inc., identical management interface, PoE and SNMP support, and RC4 encryption. With an access control table as well as RADIUS authentication, this 866-674-6626, lighter version of the AP-2000 still incorporates all the necessary features any serious business needs to build a secure WLAN. The unit does, www.orinocowireless.com. however, lack the expandability of the AP-2000. An integrated antenna replaces the dual PC Card slots found on the AP-2000.

Symbol Spectrum24 llllm AP, $700 street; wireless PC Card, $200 list 4121 Access Point Symbol submitted two almost identical products with slightly different feature sets (both are similar to the Agere products reviewed here). The Spectrum24 4121 is a lighter version of the Spectrum24 4131. The lack of QoS features, equally robust interference features, and a Plenum rating Spectrum 24 High Rate PC Card make for the difference in price and class. But Kerberos V5, 40-bit and 128-bit WEP, transparent bridging between Ethernet segments, and the Symbol Technologies Inc., straightforward management interface make this a quality midrange product, albeit a comparatively expensive one. 800-877-3897, www.symbol.com.

3Com 11Mbps Wireless lllmm AP, $599 list; wireless PC Card, $149 list LAN Access Point 6000 A higher price with inconsistent performance eliminated the 3Com Access Point 6000 from Editors' Choice consideration. Installation and basic configuration are quick and easy, but attempting a more in-depth configuration is difficult because of poor documentation and the need to install 3COM Wireless LAN Adapter help files manually. Many features we consider essential, such as encryption greater than 40 bits, are available only when the product is used 3Com Corp., 800-638-3266, exclusively with 3Com wireless NICs. In addition, businesses that need more than a few access points won’t find this product an acceptable solution, www.3com.com. because management can be handled only via a Web browser, and there are no statistics or reporting features. This means that each access point must be managed individually—a nightmare for overworked IT staff. You can perform basic chores through SNMP.

PC MAGAZINE MAY 21, 2002 www.pcmag.com Reviews by Stephanie Chang, Francisco Cheng, Daniel S. Evans, Davis D. Janowski, Oliver Kaven, and Matthew D. Sarrel

Configuration Performance Security/management & comments

AP: llllm Client: llllm Native: llllm Nonnative: lllmm Management: llllm Security lllll Such an attractive, easy-to-use management interface is Performance was consistent but not spectacular. The AP- Agere’s client software is easy to install and provides some unusual for enterprise equipment. When judged against this 2000 lacked the reach of the Cisco and Intermec products of the best diagnostic and configuration tools among the model, all the other enterprise products could use a major but had performance comparable with that of the Intel products we tested. Agere offers a wide variety of security facelift. Easily recognizable tabs for configuring every and Nokia products. We assume the antenna design plays options, ranging from WEP over RADIUS to 802.1x support. aspect of the AP and clients are available. a big role in overall reach, limiting the Agere and Nokia Although tested performance lagged a little behind that of most products because of their PC Card–based design. The AP- of the enterprise contenders, the system is likely to serve the 2000's optional external antennas might help a little. needs of most implementations.

AP: lllmm Client: llllm Native: lllll Nonnative: lllmm Management: llllm Security: lllll Even administrators appreciate ease of use; we wish Cisco Native performance is stunning. The Aironet 350 delivered One of the outstanding differences between the Aironet 350 and had kept this in mind. The Aironet 350 has a comprehensive virtually unchanged throughput from 1 foot up to 140 feet any of the other products is the implementation of Cisco's LEAP Web-based interface compatible with most browsers, in our test environment; no other product achieved that. security protocol, making it arguably the most secure wireless though its design is basic and not very intuitive. But on compatibility tests with other PC Cards, it did not LAN product currently on the market. LEAP is a type of EAP fare so well—especially when paired with the Agere card. (Extensible Authentication Protocol) RADIUS protocol.

AP: llllm Client: llllm Native: lllmm Nonnative: lllll Management: lllll Security: llllm The initial configuration can be performed using a direct The PRO/Wireless 2011B had good but not outstanding Although the Intel product is well rounded, two things bother us. In serial connection, telnet, or a built-in Web server. performance, delivering very stable signal strength and addition to the lack of RADIUS support, which makes the product Configuration via a Web browser requires you to adjust your relatively steady throughput up to our maximum inadequate for its target market, a second, more mundane PC's IP address to the AP's preconfigured default. From distance of 140 feet. Client compatibility with non-Intel nuisance is the AP's top cover, which is bent down at the back; this there, the interface features are accessible if not very wireless PC Cards was excellent, and the performance makes changing RJ-45 connectors difficult. The AP is configurable intuitive and offer a wide variety of configuration options. distribution was equivalent. through SNMP and has a site survey tool indicating signal strength. The wireless PC Card is painless to install.

AP: lllll Client: llllm Native: llllm Nonnative: lllmm Management: llllm Security: llllm Initial configuration can be done via a serial or LAN The MobileLAN 2101 includes hardware-based packet Management is via serial, Ethernet, WLAN, or phone line using a connection, using telnet or a browser-based interface. The filtering for improved performance. Though not the modem, and the unit is SNMP-compliant. Firmware upgrades latter has built-in help that is actually useful and provides fastest performer on our tests, the product was one of are applied using a browser or TFTP or serial port. The product explanations of important topics. APs can be configured to the most stable. Signal strength dropped off only supports 64- and 128-bit WEP. Unfortunately, the number of load-balance all attached users; this can increase WLAN beyond 120 feet—better than most contenders. digits you enter in your encryption key is the only factor availability when used in conjunction with IP tunneling. Compatibility with nonnative PC Cards was average. determining the number of bits used; this may be confusing.

AP: lmmmm Client: llllm Native: lllmm Nonnative: lllmm Management: llmmm Security: lllll The installation was more than troublesome and far from an Performance test scores were comparable with those of Configuring the AP was extremely frustrating. After we entered intuitive process. In fact, many of the advanced the Agere AP-2000, although the signal strength was a an incorrectly formatted WEP key, the system was rendered configuration tasks required you to access the AP via a little less stable. Compatability with non-Nokia clients was inaccessible. In turn, we found that the on-board wireless PC command line interface (CLI). We found this unacceptable, average. On another front, we really like the client-side Card was marked inactive in the management interface. This especially if you have to configure many access points in setup utility, which is well integrated and comprehensive could be remedied only by accessing the AP through the CLI and your infrastructure. yet easy to understand. manually removing the WEP key. Nokia plans to fix this.

AP: llllm Client: llllm Native: lllll Nonnative: llllm Management: llllm Security: llllm As with all the enterprise devices, initial configuration is Superb compatibility and excellent throughput sum up The Spectrum24 4131 performed similarly to the Intel device not for beginners. As long as you follow the manual and the performance of the Spectrum24 4131. It was the during our tests (not surprising, since Symbol and Intel have a are comfortable with IP addressing, you may proceed with only access point to attain a throughput above 6 Mbps. development agreement), although the Spectrum24 4131 has few surprises. Overall, we preferred the management Though its throughput was only marginally higher than the more comprehensive management interface: Packet interface to that of the Cisco product and found it on a par the Cisco offering's, the Spectrum24 4131 displayed prioritization, mobile client statistics, and the ability to upload with that of the Intermec AP—though not as earlier signal degradation at range. The Cisco product access control list files for ease of use are only a few examples straightforward as that of the Agere products. delivered virtually unchanged throughput up to 140 of the extensive configuration options. The Spectrum24 4131 feet, but the Spectrum24 4131 dropped off at 120 feet. was a strong contender for the Editors' Choice, edged out mostly because of the Cisco model's price.

AP: llllm Client: llllm Native: llllm Nonnative: lllmm Management: lllll Security: llllm The installation procedure and management features are Performance was almost comparable with that of the The uniform management interface structure used across the identical to those of the AP-2000. AP-2000, delivering slightly more consistent throughput Agere product line is a big positive. We also like that firmware but lacking a little bit of its range. The signal reception and management utilities for all the Agere products can be limit was reached at 100 feet during our tests. found on a single CD-ROM. All this makes management of a mixed environment of different-class Agere products a breeze.

AP: llllm Client: llllm Native: llllm Nonnative: llllm Management: lllll Security: llllm Like the Agere products, the Symbol products are for the Throughput and signal strength were slightly lower than If you need PoE, you can obtain Symbol's multiport Power-over- most part very similar; the differences in installation and those of the Spectrum24 4131 but still reflected the Ethernet hub. Available in one- and six-port versions, this management are minute. latter's quality and performance. The two models had addition lets you feed power to your access points over standard the same ratings for interoperability with non-Symbol CAT 5 Ethernet cable. Also, Symbol's WLAN PlusPack tools are wireless PC Cards. welcome additions for site survey and WLAN optimization tasks.

AP: llllm Client: lllll Native: llmmm Nonnative: lllmm Management: llmmm Security: llmmm Although setup was fast and problem-free, we found the We noted signal-strength variations seen in few but the Support for Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a useful feature. 3Com's device underequipped for a demanding enterprise or 802.11a products and a maximum range of 100 feet. Dynamic Link Security, though offering 128-bit encryption and business environment. Management via an embedded HTTP Though you cannot compare our distance results user authentication, requires the use of 3Com wireless LAN PC Web management server is not the option of choice when it directly against the manufacturers' claims (there are Cards. The lack of RADIUS support is a drawback as well, but the comes to managing multiple access points. We would have too many potential variables), the discrepancy between AP does offer the ability to check Microsoft Windows user preferred a greater number of configurable SNMP options. our findings and the manufacturer's was extreme. authentication before granting wireless access.

www.pcmag.com MAY 21, 2002 PC MAGAZINE PERFORMANCE TESTS Wireless LANs

We divided our testing of 20 wireless access points and their tested its signal strength at various distances from a laptop accompanying wireless PC Cards into two parts: throughput with a wireless PC Card, which we wheeled on a cart to desig- based on distance, using access points and cards from the same nated points. We tested first at 1 foot, then at 20 feet, and company, and compatibility of the access points with cards continued at 20-foot intervals to a distance of 140 feet. We ran made by other manufacturers. an additional performance test that measured the amount of overhead with 128-bit encryption turned on at distances of 20, THROUGHPUT BASED ON DISTANCE: LOCATION IS EVERYTHING 40, and 80 feet. With any wireless device, throughput varies greatly depend- ing on physical surroundings, such as room layout, the thick- THE TESTS ness of the walls, and sources of radio-frequency interference, For our throughput tests, we used NetIQ’s Chariot (www such as microwave ovens. For our test setting, we chose an .netiq.com), a software tool that evaluates the performance of area free of such interference but tried to keep the physical networked applications and devices. At any given distance, we environment as realistic as possible by including a few hurdles tested each product at least twice; access points that showed almost everyone would encounter when building a wireless highly unstable performance were tested up to four times LAN. Instead of an unobstructed setup, our setting included before we averaged the results. an L-shaped hallway, so we could test signal degradation when For the mobile Chariot endpoint, we attached each wireless an access point is located around a corner and not in the card to a Sony laptop running Microsoft Windows XP and using direct line of sight. a driver supplied by the card’s manufacturer. Our stationary Our L-shaped hallway was 160 feet long, with a small office endpoint was a Dell Dimension 4100 running Windows 2000. at one end. We placed each access point in the office and All access points were configured for maximum native performance—meaning that we tested the APs with cards WIRELESS LAN INTEROPERABILITY from the same manufacturers and with all performance enhancements turned on, even if these rendered the access Ratings are on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is best.They reflect each access point’s perfor- Cisco points inaccessible for Wi-Fi–compliant third-party cards. mance, link quality, and overall throughput when Aironet Linksys Toshiba OVERALL used with three popular connectivity options. 350 Series WPC 11 laptop STABILITY Except for the performance test that used 128-bit encryption, Lucent Chip set Intersil Intersil we configured an open network with auto-fallback for the (internal) wireless connection rate. We generally left all fine-tunable 802.11B ENTERPRISE-CLASS ACCESS POINTS Agere Orinoco AP-2000 3 3 N/A1 3 settings at the manufacturers’ defaults. Cisco Aironet 350 Series N/A1 4 3 2 OBSERVATIONS Intel PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN 5 5 5 4 Access Point At certain distances, contradictory performance results Intermec MobileLAN access 2101 3 2 5 4 demonstrated that radio waves are not as stable as signals Nokia A032 Wireless LAN Access Point 1 3 4 4 carried over a wired connection. The most interesting exam- Symbol Spectrum24 High Rate 4131 ple was at the 80-foot marker, located just before the bend in Access Point 5 4 5 5 802.11B MIDRANGE ACCESS POINTS the hallway. Various PC Cards at this point indicated a Agere Orinoco AP-500 3 2 N/A1 4 stronger signal and, in some cases, higher throughput than at Symbol Spectrum24 4121 Access the 60-foot marker. The reflection of radio waves off the wall 5 4 5 4 Point and door at the end of the hallway apparently boosted the 3Com 11Mbps Wireless LAN Access Point 6000 3 3 4 4 signal. When we opened the door at the end of the hallway, 802.11B SMALL-OFFICE/HOME-OFFICE ACCESS POINTS throughput decreased immediately at the 80-foot mark. But Actiontec 11Mbps Wireless Access the reflected radio waves’ effect on the wireless card in the Point 3 3 4 4 Buffalo AirStation WLA-L11G 3 2 4 3 laptop varied inexplicably from product to product. We as- D-LinkAir DWL-900AP 3 3 4 3 sume that the antenna design within the card greatly affects D-LinkAir DWL-1000AP 4 4 4 4 reception, especially when there is directional interference. Linksys WAP11 4 N/A1 4 4 Overall we were impressed with the two Symbol products, SMC EZ Connect 802.11b 2655W 4 4 4 4 the Cisco Aironet 350 Series, and both Agere access points, 802.11B SMALL-OFFICE/HOME-OFFICE ROUTERS which all delivered linear, stable, and repeatable throughput. Compex NetPassage 16 N/A2 N/A2 N/A2 N/A2 The Buffalo AirStation and the 3Com access point performed SMC Barricade 7004AWBR 3 1 4 3 RED denotes Editors’ Choice. N/A1—Not applicable: We did not test a given access point with a native card. poorly, with occasional disconnects and other transmission N/A2—Not applicable: The Compex NetPassage 16 was not interoperable with any of the tested PC Cards. problems as well as fluctuating signals. Good Average Poor All three 802.11a products also suffered from instability and

PC MAGAZINE MAY 21, 2002 www.pcmag.com WLAN Wireless Access Point Performance Testing Area High scores are best. Bold type denotes Distance to access point (feet) Encryption Low scores are best. first place. 1 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Throughput overhead stability (128-bit) 802.11b enterprise-class access points Throughput (Mbps) Agere Orinoco AP-2000 5.0 5.0 5.0 3.2 5.0 2.9 2.2 –––– 3 >15%

Conference Cisco Aironet 350 Series 4.9 5.0 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.5 2 <5% room Intel PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN Access Point 5.6 5.3 4.4 5.4 5.2 2.6 1.9 1.7 3 <5% Intermec MobileLAN access 2101 4.9 4.9 4.4 4.5 4.9 4.5 4.8 1.8 2 >15% All APs tested Nokia A032 Wireless LAN Access Point 5.0 4.8 5.1 4.4 5.1 2.6 1.9 1.4 2 <5% here Symbol Spectrum24 High Rate 4131 Access Point 6.0 5.9 5.8 5.9 5.9 5.3 2.8 2.4 3 <5%

Laptops 802.11b midrange access points used for Agere Orinoco AP-500 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.0 –––– –––– 3 >15% 1 ft. interoper- ability Symbol Spectrum24 4121 Access Point 5.3 5.3 4.9 5.2 5.4 2.4 0.6 –––– 3 <10% testing of client 3Com 11Mbps Wireless LAN Access Point 6000 5.0 4.6 2.8 1.9 2.5 1.4 –––– –––– 1 >15% Door adapters 802.11b small-office/home-office access points

20 ft. Actiontec 11Mbps Access Point 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.8 4.3 2.8 –––– 3 <5% Buffalo AirStation WLA-L11G 5.1 5.1 3.4 3.1 5.1 4.7 –––– –––– 2 >15%

Taped-off D-LinkAir DWL-900AP 4.4 4.2 4.3 3.3 2.5 1.4 0.9 –––– 2 <5% distance D-LinkAir DWL-1000AP 3.9 4.5 3.0 3.8 3.6 2.2 –––– –––– 1 <5% markers Office Linksys WAP11 4.3 4.5 4.3 4.1 3.6 1.3 –––– –––– 2 <5% 40 ft. SMC EZ Connect 802.11b 2655W 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3 3.2 1.5 1.0 2 <5% 802.11a access points Intel PRO/Wireless 5000 802.11a LAN Access Point 21.7 20.8 11.6 5.7 2.2 –––– –––– –––– 1 <5% Cart Proxim Harmony 802.11a Access Point* 17.6 14.4 19.3 14.3 2.5 0.8 –––– –––– 1 <5% SMC EZ Connect 802.11a 2755W 27.6 28.1 27.4 28.6 17.7 5.5 –––– –––– 2 <5% 60 ft. 802.11b small-office/home-office routers Compex NetPassage 16 4.1 4.1 4.0 3.6 4.1 1.7 0.6 –––– 2 N/A SMC Barricade 7004AWBR 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.8 1.1 –––– –––– 2 >15%

RED denotes Editors’ Choice. * Tested with Windows 2000. 80 ft.

In this table, throughput scores are average values for the duration of the various test runs; dashes indicate a loss of signal. Throughput stability reflects how steady the throughput was. Encryption overhead shows how much performance degraded as 128-bit WEP was enabled. 100 ft. 120 ft. 140 ft. fluctuating signal reception. Absolute throughput was at best 350 client card based on the Intersil chip set (in a Dell laptop), about half of the 802.11a standard’s declared throughput (54 a Linksys client card based on the Intersil chip set (in a Toshi- Mbps)—which was similar to the ratio in our 802.11b results. ba laptop), and a built-in card based on the Lucent chip set Distance and obstacles, however, affected the 802.11a products (also in a Toshiba laptop). far more than their 802.11b counterparts. Each product revert- We ran the same Chariot throughput-testing routine as in ed to 802.11b throughput levels at some point—60, 80, or 100 the previous test. Each of the four mobile Chariot endpoints feet (remember that the signal had to round a corner to go had a stationary counterpart: The access point was connected beyond the 80-foot mark). to four servers on the wired side. The table on the previous page reports the APs’ compatibility with the various cards. We COMPATIBILITY WITH WI-FI–COMPLIANT PC CARDS rated each combination as good, average, or poor, based on For this test we placed four notebooks in a conference room, throughput and connection stability. about 40 feet from the access point. For each test run, the These compatibility results should be useful to people who access point’s native card was installed in the Sony laptop expect frequent guests on their networks or to companies from the earlier throughput test. The other three notebooks whose staff members are equipped with a diverse range of contained three popular wireless PC Cards: a Cisco Aironet wireless cards.—Analysis written by Oliver Kaven

MORE ON THE WEB Visit www.pcmag.com/wlan for links to in-depth WLAN coverage in ExtremeTech.

www.pcmag.com MAY 21, 2002 PC MAGAZINE SUMMARY OF FEATURES Wireless LANs

802.11B ENTERPRISE-CLASS ACCESS POINTS 802.11B MIDRANGE ACCESS POINTS

3Com Intel PRO/ Symbol Symbol 11Mbps Agere Cisco Wireless 2011B Intermec Nokia A032 Spectrum24 Agere Spectrum24 Wireless Orinoco Aironet LAN Access MobileLAN Wireless LAN High Rate 4131 Orinoco 4121 Access LAN Access y YES o NO AP-2000 350 Series Point access 2101 Access Point Access Point AP-500 Point Point 6000 Price per access point $900 street $760 list $699 list $795 list $800 street $1,099 list $350 street $699 list $599 list Price per PC Card $119 list $199 list $149 list $199 list $100 street $200 list $119 list $200 list $149 list Chip set Agere Intersil Intersil Prism 2.5 Agere Intersil Intersil Agere Intersil Intersil Maximum radio wattage 30 mW 100 mW 100 mW 100 mW 35 mW 100 mW 30 mW 100 mW 52 mW Adjustable o y y y y o o o o Antennas: External/internal/PC Card ooy yoo yoo yoy ooy yoo oyo yoo yoo Wall-mountable y y y y y y y y y Range-extending Optional Optional Optional y y Optional Optional Optional o In-line Ethernet power/Metal case yy yy yy yy oy yy yo yo yo UL 2043–compliant y y y o o y o o y RJ-45/RS-232/USB ports yyo yyo yyo yyo yyo yyo yyo yyo yoo LED indicators for WLAN/ yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy LAN activity INSTALLATION/MANAGEMENT Console/Web/proprietary yyo yyy yyo yyy yyo yyo yoy yyo oyo setup Console/Web/proprietary oyo yyy yyo yyy yyo yyo ooy yyo oyo management Firmware updates oy yy oy yy yy yy oo yy yy through Web/TFTP SNMP/SNMP MIB-II yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yy yo Traps for power-up/authentication/ yyy yyy yyy yyo yyy yyy yyy yyy oyo link-up and link-down Logs MAC addresses/errors/packets yoo yyy yyy yyy yyy yyy yoo yyy yoo OPERATIONAL FUNCTIONS Ethernet 802.3 data rate: 10/100/ yyy yyy yyy yoo yoo yyy yoo yoo yoo Auto Roaming support y y y y y y y y y Load balancing between APs y y y y y y y y y BOOTP/DHCP server/ yyy yyy yoy yyy yyy yyy yoy yyy oyy DHCP client WLAN-to-WLAN bridging y y y y y y o y o 802.11d transparent bridging y y y o y y y y o Filtering RIP/IP broadcast/ yyy yyy ooy yyy ooo oyy yyy oyy oyy IP multicast Configurable multicast y y o y y y y y o rate limiting AP-to-AP proximity setting y y o y y y y y o Selectable beacon interval/ oy yy yy oy yy yy oy yy oo DTIM interval Selectable RTS or CTS/ yy yy yy yy yy yo yy yo oo fragmentation threshold Selectable preamble type o y y o y y o y y (short or long) SECURITY 802.1x/Radius/Kerberos yyo yyo ooo yyo oyo yyy yyo ooy ooo authentication Access control lists based y y y o y y y y o on MAC addresses WEP 40-bit/64-bit/128-bit yyy yyy yyy yyy yyy yyy yyy yyy yoy encryption Proprietary encryption/ oy yy oo yy yy oo oy oo yy authentication Option for closed network y y y y y y y y y (nonpublic SSID) CLIENTS Windows 98/2000/NT yyy yyy yyo yyy yyy yyy yyy yyy yyy Windows XP/Mac yy yy yo yy yo yy yy yy yo Windows CE/Pocket PC yy yy yy yy oo yy yy yy oo Palm OS o o y y o y o y o Client management software y y y o o y y y y RED denotes Editors’ Choice.

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