In the dog-eat-dog market that consumer networking has become, manufacturers are constantly challenged to come up with products that allow them to eke out anything above the razor-thin margins they normally get. So I have to give Buffalo credit for the buzz they have created around the WZR-RS-G54, especially since its main "innovations" are smart feature bundling and savvy marketing.

But what I haven't seen before the WZR-RS-G54, is the combination of near wire-speed routing and equally impressive PPTP endpoint throughput. And the bundling of the open source TightVNC remote control application with a mainstream consumer router is also a welcome first.

To offset these positive points, however, is the fact that Buffalo's routing features are getting a bit long in the tooth. Competitive products have incorporated Class of Service (CoS), Quality of Service (QoS), bandwidth control and user-based content filtering, and it's about time that Buffalo came up to par, and even raised the stakes a little. And finally, its user interface, though slowly improving, still lacks polish when compared to what's found on many other products.

But all things considered, the WZR-RS-G54 is definitely a step forward, and one worth taking if you frequently need to reach out and touch your home or office LAN while keeping the bad guys at bay.