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Interoperability Tests of Draft 802.11n Routers

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the play-nice-with-the-other-routers dept.

mikemuch writes "ExtremeTech has done interoperability testing of five wireless routers from Belkin, Buffalo, D-Link, and Netgear — along with their matched NICs. Results (summarized in a color-coded table) are very mixed, with several of the products not talking to one another at all. From the review: 'Netgear's RangeMax NEXT devices dominated in the throughput race, but interoperability was a mixed bag...Stick to a single brand and a single product line...Don't expect all of your existing clients to work with the new hardware. If some don't, you may have to pony up for some new wireless equipment. No one ever said early adoption was cheap.'"

3 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. Not Promising... by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 2, Interesting
    ExtremeTech has done interoperability testing of five wireless routers from Belkin, Buffalo, D-Link, and Netgear -- along with their matched NICs. Results (summarized in a color-coded table) are very mixed, with several of the products not talking to one another at all.


    I'll say. Doing a quick-and-dirty measurement of the fitness of 802.11n for prime time by taking all the numbers in that table and averaging them, one comes up with the unappetizing figure of 30.9. I'll stick with my 802.11G, thanks....at least I know it'll work pretty much the same wherever I go.
    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

  2. the great thing about this.. by loose+electron · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That's the great thing about "standards" there are so many to pick from!!!

    Funny thing, the data thruput bottleneck is generally not at the 802.11X point anymore.

    802.11"X" - hm, that has a nice ring to it.... Sorta sounds like upgrading my 80286 to a 386, to a 486, to a...

    Seriously the 802.11 interface will shake out.

    Stay tuned for 802.16A WiMax!

    --
    www.effectiveelectrons.com "chips that work" Analog, RF, Mixed Signal
  3. I have the D-Link RangeBooster N by engine+matrix · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Everyone seems to be criticizing people for buying draft wireless equipment. I bought the D-Link RangeBooster N for my home laptop (which never leaves the table) because I was tired of my neighbors G routers constantly dropping my connection.

    I've never been happier. The speed is extremely fast, the signal is strong, and best of all my connection never drops. When I get home my SSH sessions are still logged in... that's a first. It's also a great router too with decent QoS.

    I'm totally happy to be a beta tester if it means I'm flying solo in the frequency spectrum for a year or so.