Wireless is a fickle beast and unfortunately, what works in one home may not in one several doors up on the same street. Environmental factors such as steel reinforced walls, doors and ceilings, as well as cordless telephones, microwaves and baby monitors can wreak havoc on your network. There’s no real way of knowing whether your home or office will suit wireless until you put it in. It’s best to ensure the place you purchase your hardware offers a return policy, should it not work out for you.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
The main things that differentiate most wireless products are their bundled software, ease of setup and support for features such as VoIP (Voice over IP or broadband phone), wired networking capabilities and whether they feature a built-in modem. Increasingly, manufacturers are selling new 802.11n products, which boast better range and more bandwidth. And while this may be true, the 802.11n standard has not yet been ratified, meaning vendors are selling products that work only with their own gear, and these products may not include all the features offered by the final standard. Routers are good if you have an existing modem, but if you don’t, modem/router combo units can save you money and space by eliminating the need for multiple devices. If you perform a lot of large file transfers or like to play online games and stream music, wired networking still offers the best performance. Most routers feature four wired Ethernet ports, which should be more than enough for home users.

D-LINK DIR-655 XTREME N GIGABIT ROUTER
NZ approx. price: $399
Site: www.dlink.co.nz

Pros: D-Link’s

Cons: Although it was the second best performer in our tests, the DIR-655 has a few hurdles to jump before we’re willing to give it the nod. It doesn’t really seem to know where it belongs, with a basic installation to help the inexperienced, but an advanced Web-based configuration tool that would easily confuse those who hadn’t fiddled with settings before. While the setup helps you assign a name for your network, you’ll need to dig 60 pages into the PDF manual supplied on the CD for information on securing your wireless network.

Verdict: A solid performer with plenty of features, but one best left to advanced tinkerers.

NETGEAR RANGEMAX NEXT WNR834B
NZ approx. price: $270
Site: www.netgear.co.nz

Pros: One of the simplest products to get up and running, the WNR834B boasts a well-designed software installer that tests your Internet connection before you begin and during the installation, to make sure nothing has broken along the way. The usual keyword and Web site blocking is here, but you can schedule when the profile is enforced – meaning once the kids are in bed, you can browse the Web unhindered without needing to switch profiles or change settings. Every option in the browser configuration is explained in layman’s terms, making it perfect for inexperienced users.

Cons: Like its bigger sibling, the DG834N modem/router combo unit (opposite), this product does not feature an external antenna and this shows in its ranged performance. This model returned below-average scores in each test and fell further behind the pace at our 10m range test.

Verdict: Easy to set up, but lacks speed at long range.

BILLION BIPAC 7401VGPM
RRP: $A190
Site: www.billion.com.au

Pros: Billion has an excellent reputation for providing enthusiast hardware at easonable prices. The 7401VGPM is no exception and if you can wrap your head around the setup, ou’re in good hands. This product had the highest consistent wireless throughput across the roundup, and at a measly $190 represents the best value for an ADSL2+ modem/router combo with built-in wireless networking and VoIP support. It also sports a firewall to protect you from Internet attacks and block your kids from nasties with a keyword and domain filtering system.

Cons: Despite being a solid, reliable product, this is not for first-timers. The printed manual is bare-bones at best, with only a brief explanation of each area, and there’s no software installer present, which you will find on the other more user-friendly products. There’s lots of control to be found in the Web interface, but that also means plenty you can muck up if you’re not careful.

Verdict: An exceptional product for the price, but you may have to spend the savings on a PC handyman to get it going.

NETGEAR RANGEMAX NEXT DG834N
NZ approx. price: $400
Site: www.netgear.co.nz

Pros: Almost identical to the WNR834B (facing page), this model also includes an ADSL2+ modem and router. We liked that the setup prompted us to change the hardware’s administrator password to secure it. Netgear has again made a huge effort to make the product easy to get up and running. Draft 802.11n is supported and if you use one of Netgear’s PC Card adaptors, it offers speeds of up to 270Mbps. QoS ensures your VoIP calls are the best possible quality by prioritising traffic for voice.

Cons: A lack of external antenna on this model means that the signal becomes omewhat muffled at longer ranges, particularly if you’re dealing with a home that has multiple levels. Granted that you’ll max out your wi-fi signal before you do your Internet connection, those looking to do audio and video streaming may find it simply doesn’t provide the speeds they need. That said, it will more than meet the needs of users looking to browse the Web or share a printer - just don’t expect too much more.

Verdict: Easy to set up, but lacks speed at long range.

BELKIN N1 MIMO
NZ approx. price: $380
Site: www.belkin.com.au

Pros: Belkin is rewriting the book on user-friendliness with the N1 MIMO router. From the second you open the box, you’re greeted with large letter-labelled stickers on everything and corresponding sockets to plug things into. The software that ships with the product is in plain English and walks you through every step. The front edge of the router has six images, each linked to a product feature. If the light is blue, everything is good; if it’s amber, you know where to start troubleshooting. The N1 returned strong wireless results, with the highest 1m and 5m scores we saw.

Cons: Unfortunately, while the Belkin blitzed the field at short-range wireless networking, its score dropped quickly as range increased. At the 10m mark, the N1 dropped back into second-last place, with only the Netgear WNR834B turning in poorer results. We had hoped with all the user-friendliness that Belkin would suggest wireless security during the install, but security is enabled afterwards in the browser configuration.

Verdict: Perfect for novices, the N1 is as easy as it gets to install - shame about the ranged performance hit.

D-LINK WIRELESS 108G STORAGE ROUTER
NZ approx. price: $230
Site: www.dlink.co.nz

Pros: This model has all the features of the other products, but the customisation for each option seems to be a little more limited. Parental controls in keyword, URL and domain blocking are here, as well as QoS, which can be specified by port, IP and MAC address. The big drawcard here is the two USB ports on the back of the product, enabling you to add USB hard drives to instantly turn it into a mini file server, sharable across your home network or Internet connection.

Cons: It may be laden with features, but this model was no stand-out in the performance stakes, figuring in the middle to bottom of the pack across the two short- distance tests. However, it did put on a bit of a show at 10m, to finish only just behind the leaders.

Verdict: Plenty of features for the price. It won’t win any speed awards, but it won’t break the bank either.


HOW WE TESTED
Wireless can be difficult to test, and as stated elsewhere, just because it worked for us doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for your home’s layout. That said, we puteach wireless product through its paces using a range of tests including Iperf to gauge the maximum real-world throughput. We tested at three distances - 1m, 5m and 10m from the device - and used each in a two-storey double brick home. Each increase in distance added more obstructions, with the 10m test being done with the router on the second floor and the client machine at ground level. While we received many 802.11n-capable units, for consistency we tested each using the 802.11g mode and a Sony VAIO notebook with built-in wireless module.

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
Don’t embarrass yourself! “Router” rhymes with “about her”.

TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

• Where provided, use the manufacturer’s software tools to set up and secure your wireless network.
• Use the DHCP function of the router for simple networks, rather than assign IPs to each of your machines.
• Periodically, check for firmware updates to your hardware to reduce the risk of unpatched security exploits.
• Where possible, locate your wireless device on top of a bookshelf, or wall-mount it to provide better signal coverage.

  
  TIPS FOR EXPERTS

  • Before rolling out your wi-fi network, do a site survey with a notebook to search for existing networks in the area. Take note of their operating channels and pick one that is less used.
  • Enable security features such as WEP/WPA/WPA2 before configuring your clients.
  • Change your network security keys often to avoid people ‘sniffing’ and breaking them.
  • Avoid mixing 802.11b and 802.11g hardware, as your network can only operate as quickly as the slowest client’s speed.
    

  
  JARGON BUSTERS

  ADSL2+ – the next generation of SDSL broadband (Internet access via your telephone line). It is faster (up to 24Mbps, depending on how far you are from your telephone exchange and whether your local exchange can deliver the service) than standard ADSL and can travel longer distances from your telephone exchange, allowing ADSL access to many people who have been unable to get it in the past.

  DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) – a set of rules used by communications devices such as a computer, router or network adapter to allow the device to request and obtain an IP address from a server which has a list of addresses available for assignment.

  IP (Internet Protocol) – your computer’s Internet address. The IP address is made up of four sets of numbers separated by dots, for example: 123.45.67.890.

  Iperf – a tool to measure bandwidth.

  QoS (Quality of Service) – a method of traffic prioritising to give the most signal power to selected applications such as Internet telephony, streaming music or gaming.

  MIMO (Multiple-Input, Multiple Output) – refers to wireless devices with multiple antennas to boost signal strength. Throughput – the amount of work that a computer can do in a given time period.