BIOS: Technology Means Business

U.S. Robotics is focusing on the business sector with its 802.11g Wireless Turbo Multi-Function Access Point. This latest addition to the company's 125Mbit/s Turbo Wireless Networking suite has a good range of features and flexibility and could easily be the foundation of a wireless business network with shared Internet connectivity. Relatively extensive features like bridging, repeating, 802.1x and WPA support compare favourably with most of its peers, but the slight performance benefits of the 'Turbo' mode will only be appreciated with other Texas Instruments-based hardware. Nevertheless, the access point is good value and worth considering if you're starting an 802.11g network from scratch.

Pros: Good value; WEP and WPA encryption; good range of features
Cons: 'Turbo' mode fails to live up to its bold claims

Most offices today have an array of multimedia equipment including several PCs, laptops and printers. Having these device connected and talking to each other without wires means that users can share one Internet connection, printer and data files securely and at high speed without having to drill holes or lay cables.

To achieve this you'll need an access point, a hardware and solution which acts as a communication hub for users of a wireless device to connect to a wired LAN. US Robotics' 802.11g Wireless Turbo Multi-Function Access Point is one such device, and also provides heightened wireless security and help to extend the physical range of service a wireless user has access to, as well as acting a bridge, client and repeater.

U.S Robotics's Wireless 'turbo' access point is capable of delivering 100Mbit/s wireless networking - in theory at least. The access point increases standard 802.11g performance up to 25 per cent, according to the company, and comes with built-in 256-bit Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption and WPA (Wi-Fi protected Access) to help protect against hackers.

Powered by an ARM9 processor, the device also comes with a built-in MAC (media access control) address authentication and 802.1x network authentication support, SNMP (simple network management protocol) for network administration, and configurable transmit/receive power control for the best possible coverage when multiple access points are used in a single network.

The access point includes five key wireless capabilities in one product: Access Point (wireless base station), Bridge (links two networks), Multi-Bridge (links multiple networks), Client (provides wireless access to any Ethernet device - great for Linux-based PCs, printers and the like) and Repeater (extends the range of wireless networks).

Setting up the device on our test network was relatively straightforward. First, you have to screw the two 5dBi antennae to the rear of the device, and then you have to connect the access point to a power outlet (adapter supplied). The 802.11g Wireless Turbo Multi-Function Access Point can then be fitted to one of the following devices: a cable or DSL modem with routing capabilities, a hub, bridge, existing Ethernet LAN, or a router. Once you've done this, you then have to install the supplied drivers.

After the 802.11g Wireless Turbo Multi-Function Access Point is installed on your network, you can use the supplied Configuration Utility to identify the access point and alter any settings, such as MAC and IP addresses. Once you've set its IP address, you can then access the device's Web Configuration Utility from any Web browser.

In our tests, we had to re-configure some of our network devices in order to communicate with the access point. There's also device log, but since it exists only in volatile memory (it can't be output to a file or to a Syslog server) its usefulness is limited. Thankfully, the device does provide SNMP support for remote monitoring.

For instance, the supplied configuration utility didn't initially recognise the 802.11g Wireless Turbo Multi-Function Access Point. To rectify this issue we had to alter the authentication and WEP encryption keys. We also had to change the settings on the 802.11g wireless access card in our test system to match the new settings of the access point, and make sure that both the access point and our test system were set to connect via Infrastructure mode.

In addition, the device is set as a DHCP client by default, and so we had to identify the address it had obtained by checking the assigned address pool on our DHCP server. On the odd occasion, we also had to perform a hardware reset on the access point.

The wholly-black device is a relatively compact product, but its rounded design means that other manufacturer's products can't be stacked on top of the access point. However, there are two ready-made screw holes at the rear of the device for attaching it to a wall (screws and raw plugs supplied).

The antennae are also relatively tall, extending some 160mm from the top of the access point. The access point has three LED status indicators which illuminate when the device is powered (PWR), when a network connection is established (TX/RX), or if an unauthorised user attempts to use the device (WARN). The rear of the device accommodates a single LAN port, 9-pin COM port, and reset button.

U.S. Robotics Turbo line of products are compatibility with all 54Mbit/s 802.11g, 22Mbit/s 802.11b and 11Mbit/s 802.11b wireless devices. However, its 'turbo' mode (up to 100Mbit/s), is not supported when using networking devices from other manufacturers.

The 'turbo' actually refers to the product's Texas Instruments-powered packet aggregation mode, which aims to improve performance by streamlining the transmission of packets. The frame bursting feature of previous chipsets improve performance by sending more than one packet before requiring an acknowledgement by the recipient.

The Texas Instruments approach optimises throughout by combining multiple packets in to a larger packet with a single header, thereby reclaiming some of the bandwidth consumed by network overhead and putting it to use moving actual data. It's actually a different means to the same end. Unfortunately, in our tests, the technology improved our 802.11g network performance slightly more than 10 per cent - not quite meeting U.S. Robotics' claim of 25 per cent.

The actual performance of the 802.11g Wireless Turbo Multi-Function Access Point will also depend on its location in your office, such as its proximity to walls or other structures that can lower its link quality. In this unlikely event, you'll have to place the access point higher in your room or relocate it to another room in your home or office.