Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 802.11n draft 2.0 products will sport a new logo, says the Wi-Fi Alliance, the association that tests for interoperability and compliance to WiFi standards. The Alliance announced products and reference designs that will comprise its test bed for interoperability certification this week.
Wi-Fi certification is supposed to insure that 802.11n draft 2.0 products from different manufacturers are interoperable. That hasn’t always been the case. Many ratchet down to slower 802.11a/b/g speeds if the MIMO-based “N” spec is problematic (see DW: David Pogue: N for Not).
“With the arrival of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 802.11n draft 2.0 products, we end the practice of uncertain claims of Wi-Fi draft compliance by independent vendors,” said Ken Dulaney, an analyst at Gartner Research. The Wi-Fi Alliance will provide future certification for the eventual 802.11n final specification, but most observers believe that will only require a firmware upgrade.
The following companies supply the products used in the interoperability test bed, and have the first devices to become Wi-Fi CERTIFIED:
- Atheros XSPAN with SST Draft 2.0 802.11n Dual-Concurrent 2.4/5GHz Router with Atheros AR7100 Series Wireless Network Processor
- Atheros XSPAN with SST Draft 2.0 802.11n Dual-Band 2.4/5GHz Card Bus
- Broadcom Intensi-Fi 802.11n Router: BCM94705GMP
- Broadcom Intensi-Fi 802.11n Card: BCM94321MC123
- Cisco Access Point
- Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
- Marvell TopDog WLAN solutions (Station Card)
- Marvell TopDog WLAN solutions (Access Point)
- Ralink MIMObility RT2800PD Chipset featuring the RT2860 802.11n 2T3R MAC/BBP and the RT2850 802.11n Dual Band RFIC
- Ralink MIMObility RT2800PD Access Point
These reference designs are expected to make their way into consumer WiFi products made by dozens of manufactures. Those end user products must also receive certification to make sure they comply. Products are expected to hit store shelves in July. D-Link was apparently the first vendor out of the gate to offer a firmware update to Draft 2.0.
Colubris Networks, Extreme Networks, and Meru Networks are the latest manufacturers to announce enterprise “n” infrastructure.
The objective of 802.11n is to achieve higher data rates and longer range in multipath fading channels. The use of MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) antennas is a key enabler along with channel bonding (especially in the 5 GHz band) and payload optimization so more data can be stuffed into each packet.
“Total Draft-N revenue is low compared to the first year of shipments for 802.11g products,” said Elmer Choy, Senior Analyst of Wireless LAN Research at Dell’Oro Group. “However, we expect this to change, because of two key factors: vendors have begun slowly cutting prices for Draft-N products and the Wi-Fi Alliance will begin certification of products based on Draft 2.0 of 802.11n in June of this year.”
Planning to wait for the final IEEE ratification of “N”? Bring a sandwich. The 802.11n standard isn’t expected to receive its final okay until June 2009.
DailyWireless has more on Draft “N” Hits the Street, David Pogue: N for Not, Why 802.11n is Good, Buffalo “N” Access Point: $100, Laptops Get 11n, 802.11n Gets IEEE Vote and 802.11n Achieves Milestone.
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