Buffalo Wireless-N Nfiniti Dual Band Gigabit Router WZR-AG300NH

In Brief

The Buffalo Nfiniti Dual Band Router is the first of a pioneering new class that offers simultaneous 2.4 and 5GHz draft-802.11n Wi-Fi networks in one box. While a few routers have offered dual 802.11a and g networks in the past, the Buffalo is the first draft-n model. It also has a gigabit Ethernet switch, putting it clearly at the top of the current router heap. Why would you want two networks? For two key reasons. First, running legacy 802.11b and g devices on your draft-n network will slow things down dramatically for draft-n clients, especially if you have to use WEP encryption. Secondly, the 2.4GHz band is usually so overcrowded with Wi-Fi nets, that it's almost impossible to find a clear channel.

By running two networks, you neatly bypass both problems. You can isolate 802.11b/g devices on the 2.4GHz network, and put all your 802.11n gear on the 5GHz band, where it can run at maximum speed with little or no interference. Each network has its own SSID, encryption mode and password, yet they are both part of the same basic subnet, so they can share network resources like storage drives, media servers, and printers.

The Buffalo also has all the lastest bells and whistles, such as QoS prioritization for smoother streaming media, Wi-Fi Protected Setup for easier encryption setup, and the ability to prevent communication between wireless clients (a great security feature). Before you pull out the credit card, however, note the seriously high price tag (about $250 street), and the extremely poor documentation. Experienced router users will have no problem setting up the Buffalo, but if you are at all insecure about your router creds, we'd steer clear for now. More dual-band routers will appear soon, including 802.11n Draft 2.0-compliant models, and prices should also drop rapidly.

That said, if you've got the money, and have a real need for the speed and flexibility that dual networks offer, the Buffalo is a solid choice.

In Depth

The first thing you'll notice about the Buffalo Dual Band Router is the separate antenna array. We really like the ability to position this away from the router for best reception, since the router itself is usually on a desk with a lot of other electronic devices. You can also clip the array to the top of the router when the router is positioned vertically. The back of the router has the four gigabit Ethernet ports and WAN port, as well as a special switch that changes modes from router to access point. Most routers require a lot of fiddling with parameters in the Web utility to operate in access point mode, so the switch can come in handy.

Unfortunately, the Buffalo's documentation and Web setup utility are not as friendly. The "User Manual" is really nothing more than a quick start guide, and the contextual online help in the router utility is not much better. Nowhere is 802.11n even mentioned! The entire utility is organized around "11a" and "11g" networks, which the user is somehow supposed to know really means 5GHz 802.11a/n and 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n. There is no advice on which settings will provide the best results in typical situations, and users will need to figure out for themselves whether to use 20MHz or 40MHz channels for each network. Options are cryptic, and you have to reboot after making changes on any one page. We had to reboot at least a dozen times to set up the router -- each network has its own settings pages so you have to do most things twice, as well. It would be easy to forget to set up encryption on the second network, after enabling it on the first, thus leaving your whole system vulnerable. But assuming you know what you're doing, you can get the job done.

The Buffalo has a full complement of routing tools (including IPv6 support), with the notable exception of parental access controls -- but this is not really surprising in a SOHO-oriented model. As mentioned earlier, it has a privacy separator feature, which lets you prevent communication between wireless clients. This is a great added security feature for public hotspots. Both Wi-Fi Protected Setup and Buffalo's proprietary AOSS technology are supported for automated encryption setup with compatible adapters.

While you won't get anywhere near the nominal speed of 300Mbps with the Buffalo or any other draft-n router, performance and range are very good, similar to the D-Link and Netgear gigabit draft-n routers we've tested, more than 100Mbps in close proximity, and around 50-80Mbps at midrange. Long-range testing is more problematic. As we found in our review of the Apple AirPort Extreme draft-n router, which can run in either 2.4GHz or 5GHz modes, 5GHz network range is not as good as 2.4GHz, even though the 5GHz band has little or no interference. So you'll trade off some coverage area for near-to-mid-range speed. Exactly how much depends on your house construction and where you place the router. Assuming you can place it centrally and don't have a lot of concrete, brick or tile construction, you should still get whole-house coverage. We got coverage in all but one upper corner of our two-story house, with the router placed in the far lower corner. We had no problem getting smooth HD streaming video with our Slingbox, even when performing several other network operations at the same time, including email, chat and Web surfing.

So should you invest in the Buffalo? If you have lots of neighboring Wi-Fi nets that interfere with yours, and you need reliably high throughput for applications like VoIP, streaming video, and Internet gaming, the Buffalo has what it takes. It's also a good choice for offices with lots of legacy 802.11b and g clients -- they can shift 802.11n traffic into its own fast lane. On the other hand, if your current network is working well enough for now, wait for Wi-Fi-certified dual-band routers to appear. Prices will come down, and ease of use can only improve.