How we tested wireless LAN products

All products were obtained from company Web sites, downloaded, and installed on our test PCs – either a Dell 710m notebook running XP SP2, or a 2.8GHz. 24-inch iMAC equipped with a Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 Wi-Fi adapter and running OS X 10.4. Each product was then put through its paces, checking every option, and compared for accuracy against our reference, the Intel ProSet/Wireless console, with no significant differences noted. We produced an enumerated set of features and noted the advantages and disadvantages of each product, along with its relevance to enterprise use.

It is legally important to note that in this testing we only explored connections throughout our own internal network. Use of Wi-Fi discovery tools in some parts of the world (for example, Germany, under law StGB §202c) to intercept, examine or otherwise exploit network traffic that is not yours is illegal.

We are therefore, given Network World's primary audience of enterprise networking professionals, making the information in this article available for educational and internal corporate networking operations purposes only. Neither Farpoint Group nor Network World condones the use of any networking technology for illegal purposes.

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