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Concerns Over Increased 802.11n Power Usage

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the omg-my-battery-broke dept.

alphadogg writes "Next-generation 802.11n systems promise to considerably improve WLAN performance. But the processing required for the boost sucks up more power than the older 802.11a/b/g networks. Still, many enterprise-class Wi-Fi vendors claim to deliver full 802.11n capabilities without enterprise customers having to touch their power infrastructures. So what gives?"

1 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What about the remote clients? by maird · · Score: 5, Informative

    Maybe skimming TFA wasn't the best basis for comment. The article mentions no power issue at the client. It's basically saying that:

    • The problem applies to 802.11n wireless access points powered via Ethernet (PoE)
    • The 802.3af PoE standard only permits about 12.95W of power at the cable end where power is required
    • 802.11n devices in current production typically require up to 18W
    • 18 > 12.95
    • Therefore, such 802.11n access points cannot operate at full power (probably limiting their transmit power)
    • Therefore, such 802.11n access points cannot transmit with the same range as a fully powered version
    • Clients are unaffected and can transmit at full power and full range (maybe the AP can't reach them to reply though)
    • The 802.3at PoE standard (when available) will provide up to 30W for devices