Adventages over Windows WZC?

[Sqwertz]

Are there any performance advantages to using the vendor-supplied
utilities to configure/maintain your wireless adaptor when
compared to using the Windows-XP built-in Wireless Zero utility?

Netgear and Linksys, specifically. Would the vendor config be
required to enable Super-G or SpeedBooster, for example?

-sw

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:22:37 -0600, Sqwertz <swertz@cluemail.compost>
wrote:

>Are there any performance advantages to using the vendor-supplied
>utilities to configure/maintain your wireless adaptor when
>compared to using the Windows-XP built-in Wireless Zero utility?

No difference. The client connection manager only provide a user
hostile, I mean user friendly, method of configuring the wireless
device. The actual performance is mostly in the hardware. (Exception:
A few wireless devices do AES encryption/decryption in software).

>Netgear and Linksys, specifically. Would the vendor config be
>required to enable Super-G or SpeedBooster, for example?

Neither. The enable or disable of advanced wireless features are all
buried in the wireless access point or wireless router configuration.
If you want Super, Turbot, Hyper, or Magic features enabled, they're
all in the access point. The client radios just follow along with
whatever the access point offers. Some client configs allow you to
disable these features for that client. Those are usually available
somewhere in the client manager, advanced proporties for the network
device, or buried in the registry settings.

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558 jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# http://802.11junk.com jeffl@cruzio.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

[Sqwertz]

On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:43:59 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

> On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:22:37 -0600, Sqwertz <swertz@cluemail.compost>
> wrote:
>
>>Are there any performance advantages to using the vendor-supplied
>>utilities to configure/maintain your wireless adaptor when
>>compared to using the Windows-XP built-in Wireless Zero utility?
>
> No difference. The client connection manager only provide a user
> hostile, I mean user friendly, method of configuring the wireless
> device. The actual performance is mostly in the hardware.

That's kinda what I figured, I just wasn't sure. I've just used
WZC on the handful of clients I've set up. Most of my setups are
simple bare-bones 802.11g adapters/router sand I just wanted to
be sure I wasn't missing out on any of the extensions.

Thanks. Again.

-sw

[Jeff Liebermann]

Sqwertz <swertz@cluemail.compost> hath wroth:

>On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:43:59 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:22:37 -0600, Sqwertz <swertz@cluemail.compost>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Are there any performance advantages to using the vendor-supplied
>>>utilities to configure/maintain your wireless adaptor when
>>>compared to using the Windows-XP built-in Wireless Zero utility?
>>
>> No difference. The client connection manager only provide a user
>> hostile, I mean user friendly, method of configuring the wireless
>> device. The actual performance is mostly in the hardware.

>That's kinda what I figured, I just wasn't sure. I've just used
>WZC on the handful of clients I've set up. Most of my setups are
>simple bare-bones 802.11g adapters/router sand I just wanted to
>be sure I wasn't missing out on any of the extensions.

Well, there are some "extensions" in the user client managers that are
lacking in the stock XP WZC. The most complex of the bunch is Intel
Proset:
<http://www.intel.com/network/connectivity/products/wireless/proset/proset_software.htm>
which offers diagnostics, roaming persistance control, site survey,
Cisco Extensions, logging, QoS, and a mess of other stuff that I
actually use. It's what WZC should have been. Of course, it only
works with Intel wireless cards. Some of the manufacturers client
managers also do a credible job of adding useful features. However,
none of these features will offer anything in the way of a performance
(range or speed) improvement.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558