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802.11n Spec Still In The Air

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the title-not-intended-as-a-joke dept.

Vitaly Friedman writes "Standards for the hotly anticipated Wi-Fi successor haven't yet been agreed upon. Where's that leave all those early-bird products? 802.11n is a highly anticipated successor to today's Wi-Fi, promising a huge performance boost. The draft spec promises to deliver data rates up to 180 Mbps, which could make wired home networks unnecessary and should allow high-definition wireless video streaming. At issue is whether the draft spec is far enough along that companies can make products that will provide that performance but still be compatible with each other and with older Wi-Fi equipment."

6 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. No Wires! by celardore · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't care what they settle on. If I can get 180mbps from one part of my house to the other, without pesky wires - I want it sooner rather than later.

    1. Re:No Wires! by Aqua_boy17 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I know, I can't wait until my neighbor upgrades so I can check this out. :P

      --
      What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?
  2. In the Air by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 4, Funny
    802.11n Spec Still In The Air

    Cute!
    [/sarcasm]

    --
    "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
  3. 802.11 cannot replace home networks by MobyDisk · · Score: 5, Informative

    0xA reasons 802.11N is not likely replace home networks any time soon.

    1) 180Mbps is the theoretical throughput if the devices are right next to each other.
    2) Even then, you STILL won't get that speed. A typical cat 5 cable and switch will give you 99.9% of the theoretical max.
    3) The latency is higher (gaming)
    4) It's harder to configure.
    5) It's less secure.
    6) It's constantly changing.
    7) It is expensive.
    8) Linux drivers are hard to find.
    9) ISPs won't support it.

    Please reply to continue the list. There has to be at least one more.

    1. Re:802.11 cannot replace home networks by NineNine · · Score: 4, Insightful

      #1 in my book, which you seem to have forgotten: RELIABILITY! I won't be getting rid of my cat 5 cables any time soon for this reason alone.

  4. not so fast by thebdj · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The draft spec promises to deliver data rates up to 180 Mbps, which could make wired home networks unnecessary

    So untrue. I have the fortune of running my wired lan at gigabit speeds which is very nice and skip free while streaming and still being able to use the network for other high bandwidth operations at the same time. Not to mention the problems that will continue to haunt wireless for some time.

    "What problems?" you might ask. Well, let us start with security. While the methods and keys used to lock wireless networks continue to grow stronger, it is still easier to get onto a wireless network then it is to sneak into someone's apartment and plug into their network like you would have to do with a physical connection. There is also the interference concern. In areas of high population density, especially apartment communities, you have to start worrying about interference from nearby networks. The larger these communities are, the fewer separation between channels available to avoid the interference problems. You can also get interference from other devices on the same frequency. I have heard of varying degrees of problems with 2.8 GHz phones and wireless B/G networks.

    I do not think we are going to see an end to wired networks just yet.

    --
    "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb."