what is this a standard?

according to ms its faster than G

all there xbox wireless stuff has the capability, but no uk stuff appears to support it

so why put it on/ in if it cant be used


mart

 

802.11a is usually only used in business networks . . . and not even there much now.

* Pros of 802.11a - fast maximum speed; regulated frequencies prevent signal interference from other devices
* Cons of 802.11a - highest cost; shorter range signal that is more easily obstructed

Wireless Standards - 802.11b 802.11a 802.11g 802.11n - Which Is Best?

 

AFAIK N still isnt ratified yet, so not really a route worth going down for the moment, especially corporate

 

N will be ratified this year, so expect a raft of products hitting the market soon.

 

Wireless-N is up in the air at the moment. But that doesn't mean to say it's not worth considering.

Currently there are several variants of the standard on the market. I won't go through them all but the 3 main ones are :-

First of we have the cheap wireless-n 2.4GHz based on a 2x2 (transmitters x receivers) array at speeds up to 270Mbps and 2 fold in range increase. These products sole purpose are to bring wireless-n at a price point that knocks on the door of wireless-g.
At the moment the price isn't there but that will change, say in 6-8 months.

Next we have wireless-n 2.4GHz 3x3 array. Currently this array is the best that the industry offers. The speed right now is 300Mbps and 2-3 fold in range increase. we will soon start seeing 450Mbps+ within the next 6 months.

Finally we have wireless-n dual band. Wireless-n dual band offers not just the crowded 2.4GHz frequency but the 5GHz frequency as already mentioned by DJ Dunk. The main benefit for the 5GHz is the number of channels it offers. 2.4GHz freq only has 3 main channels, where as 5GHz has up to 20+ (depending on country) additional channels. This number of channels becomes very handy when avoiding interference from neighbouring wireless networks.

As mentioned by bioforger. Wireless-N is still in draft state. Right now we have 2 draft's on the market. Draft 1.0 which is to be avoided and Draft 2.0. The two main noticeable benefits for Draft 2.0 is wireless-n starts to become a good wireless neighbour. The second benefit is that any draft 2.0 product should be interoperable. This means you can use a wireless-n draft 2.0 router from say NETGEAR with a draft 2.0 wireless-n USB adapter from SMC / built-in wireless-n intel laptop and expect full speed and coverage.

The latest news on wireless-n is that sadly it looks like wireless-n won't be ratified this year!

Things to be aware of wireless-n.
- It does work great in a wireless-n only environment. This means the computers need wireless-n adapters.
- wireless-n should be only WPA2. Anything else and expect up to a massive 60% performance hit!
- wireless-n can be shorter on range than some wireless-g kit when working in backwards compatiable wireless-g mode. This is mainly due to wireless-n devices have a lower dBm (power output). However when wireless-n operates on its own modulation thats when it blows wireless-g out of the water on range/performance.

I apologise if the above doesn't make sense, I've had a fiar bit of wine this afternoon

 

Good post RR

 

oh yeah, that was a post and a half. Good one rr