Buffalo Router Question

[King Nine]

I'm a Noob at networking and here is my question:

I just purchased a buffalo WHR-HP-G54 wireless g MIMO router. I liked the reviews I read about it on Newegg and I know someone who has a buffalo router. I couldn't figure out why there was not a buffalo desktop card for my other computer. So... I bought a US Robotics "USR5417 IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless MAXg Adapter up to 125Mbps Data Rates Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), TKIP AES Encryption 64/128-bit Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption 802.1x authentication 802.11i (WPA2) - Retail" Will this card work with the router or do I need to get a Buffalo adapter card that Newegg doesn't seem to carry?

FYI - I bought the card that supported to posted speeds that the router could possibly transmit. Also this will be going from a new Vista machine I'm building to my old XP machine my kids will be using.

 

[Tae]

It will work. It is the protocols that matter, not the make. But since it is not MIMO, you will not get the best performance. Plus you may not be able to take advantage of AOSS. It is a one touch security profile. I do MAC filtering, so I don't use the encryption at all, but I initially set up everything with AOSS, worked flawlessly.

I have a Buffalo Router (WHR-G54S) and Ethernet Converter. I like them and while their manual and documentation leave a little to be desired, their customer service is pretty kick ass. I had an issue so I called their help line on a Saturday. I did not wait on hold, a recording said to leave my contact information and someone would call me back. Sure enough, bout a half hour later I get a call back with a tech that was really helpful and sat with me troubleshooting my issue for about an hour.

 

[King Nine]

It will work. It is the protocols that matter, not the make. But since it is not MIMO, you will not get the best performance. Plus you may not be able to take advantage of AOSS. It is a one touch security profile. I do MAC filtering, so I don't use encryption at all.

I have a Buffalo Router and Ethernet Converter. I like them and while their manual and documentation leave a little to be desired, their customer service is pretty kick ass. I had an issue so I called their help line on a Saturday. I did not wait on hold, a recording said to leave my contact information and someone would call me back. Sure enough, bout a half hour later I get a call back with a tech that was really helpful and sat with me troubleshooting my issue for about an hour.

So, should I send the US Robitics adapter back and get another one. I didn't know the adapter had to state MIMO as well. Which adapter do you recommend? I noticed to only Buffalo brand one that newegg had was a reciever with a 4 port hub. I guess I could use that.

 

[Tae]

I think that reciever you are talking about is the Ethernet Converter. It is basically a fairly inexpensive four port bridge. Perfect for my needs with game consoles and a future HTPC.

I am no expert, but I am pretty darn sure any network piece you buy will state if it is MIMO, it is a selling point. So I am only assuming since the description you posted doesn't state MIMO, I assumed it wasn't.

It really depends on what you plan to do with you network on whether it will matter to you. I stream music and movies to my TV, so I need to make sure my wireless network is as fast as possible. I even have a Wireless B Bridge that I won't use anymore because it would degrade my network from what I understand.

But if you are just sharing an Internet connection, I doubt you will notice a difference since you will more than likely be limited by your provider more than you network.

 

[Madwand]

So, should I send the US Robitics adapter back and get another one. I didn't know the adapter had to state MIMO as well.

No, your router isn't actually a MIMO router -- it's advertised as a "MIMO Performance" router or something like that, because it has a built-in signal amplifier (and a fairly clean signal to go with it). It's a good router. You don't have to get a MIMO adapter.

You should also secure your wireless properly, which means using at least WPA, with a long randomized key (create it, save it in a file, and then use that to set up your router and adapter(s). It isn't hard.

Other alternatives to the "Ethernet Converter" would be a WHR-G54S or another WHR-HP-G54, running third-party firmware such as DD-WRT. This firmware give you the client mode bridging functionality of the "Ethernet Converter" and much more should you choose to use it. The WHR-G54S is inexpensive. These devices also natively support WDS-type bridging.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

But these are only needed if you have a need for additional ports or a problem with reception due to the PCI adapter's antennae positioning, etc..

 

[King Nine]

Yep, it is the ethernet converter.

I do want the best connection I can get as I might stream video to the same room. My HD Tv is in there as is my Wii. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do yet. I was just trying to make sure I kept my future option fairly open. I just don't want to put that adapter card in and then have someone tell me you should have bought an "XYZ" card (or converter) instead.

 

[King Nine]

No, your router isn't actually a MIMO router -- it's advertised as a "MIMO Performance" router or something like that, because it has a built-in signal amplifier (and a fairly clean signal to go with it). It's a good router. You don't have to get a MIMO adapter.

You should also secure your wireless properly, which means using at least WPA, with a long randomized key (create it, save it in a file, and then use that to set up your router and adapter(s). It isn't hard.

Other alternatives to the "Ethernet Converter" would be a WHR-G54S or another WHR-HP-G54, running third-party firmware such as DD-WRT. This firmware give you the client mode bridging functionality of the "Ethernet Converter" and much more should you choose to use it. The WHR-G54S is inexpensive. These devices also natively support WDS-type bridging.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

But these are only needed if you have a need for additional ports or a problem with reception due to the PCI adapter's antennae positioning, etc..

I'm seeing a lot of people taking about dd-wrt so I'm going to have to learn about it soon.

Are you suggesting getting another of the same router and (or its little cousin router) and using them as a reciever (converter)?

Networking just Fry's My Mind!!!

 

[Tae]

I always thought it was MIMO, but you are right...it just states "MIMO Performance".

I just read something about the DD_WRT firmware that sounded interesting. Apparently you can boost the Wireless signal using it. I knew about this open source firmware, I just don't know enough about networks to know what to do with the router after I flash it, so I just never did. I really appreciated the Buffalo technical support.

 

[Madwand]

I'm seeing a lot of people taking about dd-wrt so I'm going to have to learn about it soon.

Are you suggesting getting another of the same router and (or its little cousin router) and using them as a reciever (converter)?

I'm just mentioning it as an option FYI. If you want a safe recommendation -- I'd recommend going wired (gigabit of course). You should know that wireless "125 Mb/s" and even "54 Mb/s" are far from practically-achieved throughput figures.

Wireless is flaky and a trial & error business that depends a lot on the environment and positioning. We can't really predict your wireless environment and what you're going to see. However, the router you have is among the better ones, so should be able to handle typical solutions well.

I like wireless bridges, and if I was setting up a stationary device where throughput wasn't important and wireless was preferred, I'd probably go with an inexpensive bridge.

But I'm reluctant to suggest returning the PCI NIC, getting another device, hacking in a third-party firmware, taking the risk of bricking, etc., and losing your support and maybe even your warranty for no really good reason at the onset. AR, that NIC is cheap. If I had it, I'd try it out before I went to all that trouble for another solution.

 

[King Nine]

I'm just mentioning it as an option FYI. If you want a safe recommendation -- I'd recommend going wired (gigabit of course). You should know that wireless "125 Mb/s" and even "54 Mb/s" are far from practically-achieved throughput figures.

Wireless is flaky and a trial & error business that depends a lot on the environment and positioning. We can't really predict your wireless environment and what you're going to see. However, the router you have is among the better ones, so should be able to handle typical solutions well.

I like wireless bridges, and if I was setting up a stationary device where throughput wasn't important and wireless was preferred, I'd probably go with an inexpensive bridge.

But I'm reluctant to suggest returning the PCI NIC, getting another device, hacking in a third-party firmware, taking the risk of bricking, etc., and losing your support and maybe even your warranty for no really good reason at the onset. AR, that NIC is cheap. If I had it, I'd try it out before I went to all that trouble for another solution.

Well, going wired is not an option. I've used the power line wired option by belkin before but they broke after about 10 to 12 months. I really want to go wireless so I can have my other computer, my Wii and my wives work laptop connected. I also want the option of possibly watching video from my main computer on my 60" DLP set.

Would using the same router model as a reciever in the other room be better than using the converter box that buffalo makes. It would serve the same purpose be giving me 4 wired ports to connect to correct?

I'm a little disappointed that the router isn't true MIMO. There is a big difference in how MIMO and non MIMO supposedly works isn't there?

 

[King Nine]

Just bumping this up again hoping to get an answer to the above questions. Especially about using another router instead of a converter box.

 

[Madwand]

The Buffalo Ethernet Converter should work fine, and be simple to set up, and will give you tech and warranty support.

Hacking DD-WRT onto a WHR-HP-G54 would add some complexity and risk -- you can make a number of mistakes and at worst "brick" the router. However, it would give you a greater amount of flexibility -- you could still use it as a router / etc. down the road, and the firmware feature set is much richer.

The signal of the Ethernet Converter and the HP router should be similar -- both advertise a signal amplifier / "MIMO performance".

The WHR-G54S would be essentially the same, but wouldn't get you quite as good signalling. DD-WRT would give it a power boost feature, but in practice the version with the built-in amplifier does this somewhat better.

On balance, I'd suggest the Ethernet Converter -- it's simpler out of the box, intended for this role, and would give you an easier setup, less risk and support, etc. If that's all you intend to do with this router, and don't mind the slight premium over the regular router, there's no great reason to take additional risk with a third-party firmware.

 

[King Nine]

Thanks for the reply. I now have a DD-WRT question. Everyone here and on the review of the router talks about how great it is and how well it works on this router. What are the benefits of using it over the standard firmware of the router? Why does everyone use it?