Like its cousin in our "g" roundup, the SMC EZ-Stream SMC2304WBR-AG is housed in an attractive new case. More important, it has a polished, easy-to-navigate interface, a rich feature set, and configurable intrusion detection options. Unfortunately, however, its performance on our tests was only mediocre.

Initial Configuration and Documentation

We had no problems during setup, but we did encounter a problem during the wireless configuration process. The client interface for the PC Card contains an advanced feature called adjustable burst control. Not only is this feature not documented or included in the help file, it also isn't mentioned on SMC's Web site (something that should be addressed by the time you read this).

Management and Features

The router comes with everything you need—except extensive parental-control options. Otherwise, DMZ and support for special applications, UPnP, and DDNS are all part of the package. The SMC2304WBR-AG also contains virtual server features and an extensive SPI firewall.

Security

The SMC2304WBR-AG has all the relevant security mechanisms: WEP, WPA with pre-shared key, and 802.1x authentication. In addition, the router offers configurable intrusion detection for DoS attacks or flooding, features that are not configurable in most other routers. To make this unit a better fit for home environments, we would like to see parental control integrated into the interface.

Performance