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Inexpensive 11megabit Wireless LAN
x mani x writes "Due to recent Apple postings, I noticed something new on their site no one has mentioned yet: 11mbit radio-based NICs and hubs. Of course, something clever like this could only have been developed by Lucent. Oh, they don't cost an arm and a leg either. "
I don't see an x86 version, but we need Linux drivers. My
2mbit ZoomAir lan is addictive, but 11mbs will make my mp3s
stream in so much quicker :) (Unrelated: This page actually
has pics of the new iBook macs too)
From http://www.apple.com/airport/faq2.html
Q. What kind of security does AirPort provide?A. AirPort offers password access control and encryption to deliver security equivalent to that of a physical network cable. Users are required to enter a password to log on to the AirPort network--and, optionally, an additional password for access to any other computer on the network. When transmitting information, AirPort uses 40-bit encryption to scramble data, rendering it useless to eavesdroppers
If the frequency is known, you could easily build a simple beam antenna. This would perhaps be quite illegal as the beam would be concentrated, but very effective in long distances of a mile or more away. If its in the gigahertz range, one could make a small horn antenna.
Actually, widely separating the frequencies is good. It simplifies the filtering necessary to do full-duplex.
Approximately three-to-one frequency split lets you use the same antenna, too. A quarter-wave for the lower frequency is about three-quarters for the higher, and will load up reasonably well - especially with a the odd loading coil or capacitor here and there - which just might fall out as a side-effect of the band splitter.
You want the talk channel to be better than the listen channel, so you don't keep yattering away at somebody that YOU can hear just fine but who can't hear you.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
I believe there are a number of 1Mbps (yes, one) products currently being marketed for home use. These have been announced within the past year. The reason why anyone would use them when 10BaseT is so cheap is because they run over the existing phone lines in the house without interupting phone service (presumably they do all their signalling above 3kHz). This is very attractive to the non-techie who doesn't want to run Cat 5 around the house.
So yes, Apple can make a plausible claim that 11Mbps is 10 times faster than the networking that a casual home network user might have.
I work at an ISP and have used these wireless 11MB things before. They work generally well once you get them going. They may say 11MB but once you get three or more connected it goes down to about 3-5MB. Not that that is all that bad but it's not 11. It works like ethernet over token ring. The main unit polls each of the clients about 1500 times per second. If they don't have anything to send then it goes to the next client... If you start playing TF on these radios they go to shit. The UDP packets go way too fast for the polling system and things get laggy. But if you just want to transfer files it'll do the job. It really shouldn't need any drivers so all you should have to do is plug yer nic into it. Good Luck if you buy one.
If you go to the Airport faq it says specifically that this will be compatible with both PCs and existing IEEE 802.11 DSSS devices.
Also, I dont know anything about that standard, but I found this:
The 802.11 DSSS standard currently supports a data rate of 2 Mbps with collision avoidance. Future generations of standards-compatible DSSS
products from Zoom are expected to have data rates up to 11 Mbps with backward compatibility to 2
Mbps products.
on the Zoomtel website. I guess that means that were going to see other devices that can perform the same way as Apple's Airport
The FAQ makes several interesting points:
* The signal uses radio frequencies instead of IR. It will therefore pass through walls and other obstacles.
* No encryption scheme is mentioned. If multiple base stations are in close proximity - say in apartments, dorms, etc. - I wonder how performance will be affected and who might decide to listen in.
* Two iBooks with AirPort cards can communicate without any base station. Imagine playing Quake during lectures? I also wonder about the broadcast capabilities. Sending lecture notes, applets, and homeworks assignments to the audience could be quite convenient in academic settings.
In conclusion, this makes the IR on the Palm V look quite primitive.
Given one hour to live, the student replied: "I'd spend it with professor FP who can make an hour seem like a lifetime."