Sharing broadband connectivity over a wireless link continues to grow in popularity, and Buffalo's latest offering, the G54 AirStation, provides a good option for the home market.

Buffalo has concentrated on security, making it easy to implement and manage secure wireless home environments.

It offers a four-port switch and supports the 802.11g standard. Although it has a built-in router you'll require an Ethernet-based ADSL modem to get connected to the Internet.

If you've used older Buffalo products you'll notice some cosmetic changes to the management interface, which is easily accessed over a web browser. It's straightforward to navigate, with the more detailed settings for the unit located in its advanced section.

The basic wireless settings can be tweaked and it's possible to adjust the power settings or whether to broadcast the SSID, for example. It also it supports the Wireless Distribution System, so that it can act as a wireless bridge.

The stateful packet inspection firewall can filter at the packet level, allowing you to set up sophisticated rules to prevent unwanted users or applications from gaining access. However you need to have more than a basic understanding of networking to implement these successfully.

It's possible to set up intrusion alerts to be sent as an email or network broadcast to a particular PC on the network.

Buffalo's AOSS (AirStation One-touch Secure System) should help users to set up secure wireless connections to other AOSS-enabled devices.

At the rear of the unit a red button, which is a little fiddly to reach, activates the detection process when pressed for three seconds. Activating AOSS on a client seeks out the router and assesses its supported security protocols.

If both devices support TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol), the router generates a key based on random variables such as the time and date. The TKIP key is generated and passed through the router to the client.

When the key is activated, it re-associates with the router's randomly generated SSID. As you add additional devices, security is negotiated at the highest level possible for all devices on the network. However, it will automatically lower the security settings for itself and for other clients from TKIP to 128-bit WEP if devices that only support 128-bit WEP are added to the network. You can add non-AOSS devices by manually obtaining the SSID and WEP keys from the G54's management interface.

The AOSS technology can be downloaded on to existing Buffalo PC clients and some older equipment.

The system isn't foolproof, though, and as with all security devices you have to be cautious.

Packaged with a WLI-CB-G54 CardBus PC Card, the AirStation offers good value and security for the money.

Currently AOSS is proprietary to Buffalo, although this may change as Buffalo is trying to license the technology to other vendors.

Contact: Buffalo (01753) 555015
www.buffalotech.co.uk

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