12. AOSS - Impressions

Upon first impression, AOSS works well and smoothly. I tried it with both Buffalo WLI-CB-G54A Cardbus and WLI-USB-G54 USB adapters and both connected on the first try.

But after working it over a little, I've found that Buffalo still has work to do to make it really ready for prime time:

User Interface - When AOSS is in operation, the WBR2's admin interface displays information on each Wireless admin page noting that AOSS is in use and "greys out" controls that are no longer available. But only the Wireless LAN Security page (cryptically) points you to the AOSS admin page. There should be a link to the AOSS management screen on each page where these is an AOSS note, or at least a mention of it. Disabled Functions - Though probably not essential due to WPA's improved wireless security, when AOSS has control, the MAC address association controls are disabled. You will find WDS bridging and repeating disabled, too. I can understand that AOSS might need some work before it can handle the added complexity of setting up bridged / repeated connections. But I hope Buffalo finds a way to remove the WDS disable and at least lets bridging be manually set up when AOSS is in use. Subtle Bugs - During my testing where I ran the AOSS process a number of times, I found that I'd intermittently get a duplicate IP address warning from my WinXP machine connected to one of the WBR2's LAN Ethernet ports. And even when I didn't get a warning, I noticed that the wired LAN client's IP address would be one value with AOSS on, and another with AOSS off.

Either of these symptoms might also have caused DNS to stop working on my wired computer after an AOSS disable, enable cycle. Even though the client had valid IP address information and I could release / renew (Repair) the connection, my browser would fail to pull up websites (the browser status bar showed it was trying to resolve the URL). Rebooting the WBR2 seemed to work, but I also found that if I waited a minute or so, DNS would be restored. Network disruption - While the AOSS process is running, all router functions - wireless and wired - are essentially disabled. Not a big deal for home users, but could be a pain in settings where clients need to be frequently added to a WLAN, since the 2 minute AOSS process must be run for each wireless client that needs to be added.

Though this isn't a review of the Client Manager 2 (CM2) application, since you must use it if you want to use AOSS, you should be aware of its limitations, too:

It disables WinXP's Wireless Zero Config (WZC) upon install (and each reboot) but doesn't re-enable WZC (or ask you if you want to) when exiting CM2. If you decide to turn WZC back on manually, CM2 doesn't automatically detect that you've done this and you get both applications battling for control of the wireless adapter. Its (site) Survey capabilities are disappointing, with the displayed data for each in-range AP limited to SSID, Mode (a/b/g) and an Encryption indication (without displaying the type of encryption in use). You also don't get signal strength or MAC address (which you'll need to set up WDS partners) either. I found the color scheme confusing with the bluish grey used for the major function tabs making them look like they are "greyed out", i.e. not functional. The Survey tab also comes up blank when you click on it, which can be disconcerting until you realize that it's scanning for APs. On a positive note, the client does include a WPA supplicant that can handle WPA TKIP and AES connections. The information stored for each connection profile is pretty extensive, too, and includes printer, browser home page, IP and DNS address info in addition to the usual SSID, encryption, etc.

In spite of the above, I still think AOSS is a value-add. But, unfortunately, like just about every other new technology foisted on too-eager networking product customers, it has its share of bugs and work that remains to be done.