Phil Belanger and Ken Biba have eight reasons why 802.11n is a good thing in WiFiPlanet. Here’s the capsule summary:
- First, it is really a good standard – you will want it. IEEE 802.11n is much more than a speed upgrade. It changes everything in the standard - radios, antennas, and medium access protocol.
- Irresistible speed. 802.11n will deliver data rates up to eight times faster than 802.11g products - though likely only available in stages: three times better now, and three times better later with more advanced products. If you take the plunge and move to 5 GHz, 11n can deliver as much as 160 Mbps of useful throughput.
- Delicious range. 802.11n doubles the range over the previous generation, and actually likes obstructions. Clever use of simultaneous transmission from multiple antennas, much like multi-core CPUs, leverages radio parallelism to improve range and throughput. 11n’s improved range will make the 5 GHz band the go-to place for high performance wireless.
- Seductive capacity. The untold story. While less important in our homes than in our businesses, the multiplier effect of increased speed, increased range and practical use of the 5 GHz band yields potentially 7 gigabits of raw capacity for 11n networks.
Wireless LAN Throughput by IEEE Standard
IEEE WLAN Standard Over-the-Air (OTA) Estimates Media Access Control Layer, Service Access Point (MAC SAP) Estimates 802.11b 11 Mbps 5 Mbps 802.11g 54 Mbps 25 Mbps (when .11b is not present) 802.11a 54 Mbps 25 Mbps 802.11n 200+ Mbps 100 Mbps Source: Intel Labs - Improved security. WLAN security – if deployed correctly – is a solved problem. All 11n implementations also support 802.11i/WPA2 with AES encryption. The transition to 11n will help eliminate the weaker, legacy security modes of 802.11a/b/g and focus on high security simplicity.
- New deployment challenges. Like its soon-to-be-obsolete ancestor 802.11g, 11n provides for interoperation with legacy 11g and even (horrors!) the slower 802.11b nodes. This will further motivate the migration to 5 GHz, leaving the 2.4 GHz band to legacy 802.11 equipment.
Gigabit Ethernet will be required to connect all those multi-radio 11n APs.- Rapid consumer adoption. It is already happening, and will drive 11n integration into mobile clients. Apple’s laptops, their HDTV server and their APs are all 11n compatible – and not just compatible, but dual-band to get the highest performance.
- Inevitably in the enterprise. 11n has the potential to transform enterprise networks. It will take some time to roll out 11n infrastructure in the enterprise (though some, like Meru Networks, already have their plans in place).
Draft 2.0 of the 802.11n spec was approved by the 802.11 Working Group, in March. Interoperability between devices would seem to be largely a done deal.
Tomorrow Intel rolls out their Santa Rosa laptops — with 802.11n built in. Notebooks with 802.11n chips will be able to connect to wireless networks at faster speeds and with greater range. Lots of 802.11n gear is currently available.
It looks like 802.11n has arrived for real.
