CERTIFIED ac Begins. 802.11n Fading Fast?

[panhead20]

Missed one,
Broadcom BCM4706 5G WiFi Communications Processor [RT-AC66U ]

http://www.fiercebroadbandwireless....tified-ac-takes-wi-fi-performance-new-heights

 

[sfx2000]

WiFi Alliance is just starting 801.11ac testing...

1) Interop is showing to be a challenge - no more different than it was with 802.11n when it first came out - second generation and following 802.11n chipsets were much better than the first silicon...

2) Just as it was with 802.11n in the early days - add, don't replace, with 802.11ac gear...

if you're not in a big need for 5Ghz super bandwidth, I would wait a bit, and watch the reviews here at SNB...

sfx

 

[sm00thpapa]

I'm skipping AC and upgrading when AD becomes the standard. My RT-N66U will have to suffice until then.

 

[thiggins]

I'm skipping AC and upgrading when AD becomes the standard. My RT-N66U will have to suffice until then.

What do you think AD will do for you?

 

[sfx2000]

11ad will compliment existing 11n/11ac AP's - not replace...

WiGig is very short range in the 60Ghz (millimeter wave) band - very fast, but stops at the wall.

sfx

 

[thiggins]

11ad will compliment existing 11n/11ac AP's - not replace...

WiGig is very short range in the 60Ghz (millimeter wave) band - very fast, but stops at the wall.

Thanks, sfx. But was asking Sm00thpapa

 

[sm00thpapa]

What do you think AD will do for you?

After doing research and reading after I posted this comment I will be sticking with N or maybe AC if I get AC devices to connect to it. I have a huge 2 story home and the AD will not be good for me since I have many walls and floors for the signal to pass through.

 

[sfx2000]

Thanks, sfx. But was asking Sm00thpapa

NP - I've been following what has become WiGig/.11ad since the Atlanta 802P plenary meeting back in '08 when the proposals were first floated out.

It's a specific use case, but a very powerful one - wireless HDMI like functionality is only one application, there are some very specific things that it can do with short range and very high bandwidth... things that UWB for example, could have done...

 

[Grievous Angel]

NP - I've been following what has become WiGig/.11ad since the Atlanta 802P plenary meeting back in '08 when the proposals were first floated out.

It's a specific use case, but a very powerful one - wireless HDMI like functionality is only one application, there are some very specific things that it can do with short range and very high bandwidth... things that UWB for example, could have done...

So we're getting these faster wifi connections, but the range suffers (and can attest that 5G is much worse throughout my house than 2.4). To what end to we take this? At some point, a network cable (or, as you say, an HDMI cable) makes more sense, doesn't it?

 

[sfx2000]

So we're getting these faster wifi connections, but the range suffers (and can attest that 5G is much worse throughout my house than 2.4). To what end to we take this? At some point, a network cable (or, as you say, an HDMI cable) makes more sense, doesn't it?

5Ghz is simple physics...

60Ghz - that's what you see in the nekkid body scanners at the airport these days... but the opportunity to flip ones and zero's at 60 billion times a second - and across 60 MHz of spectrum - shannon and physics say it will be fast...

just limited to very short range - 60 Ghz can't punch thru a paper bag, quite literally...

 

[sm00thpapa]

So for this 60 Ghz AD to be effective in an office environment you would have to have a huge open bay of cubicles.

 

[thiggins]

Ad is not a LAN technology. Think of it as a high bandwidth point to point cable replacement. Main applications are screen casting and media transfer like camera offloading.

 

[sm00thpapa]

So is AC actually certified now and out of the draft mode? I also saw a class online today that had what they called the 2nd phase of AC chip sets soon to be released to offer 1700 Mbps AC and 450 Mbps N. So I guess it will be called an AC2150 Router.

 

[thiggins]

So is AC actually certified now and out of the draft mode? I also saw a class online today that had what they called the 2nd phase of AC chip sets soon to be released to offer 1700 Mbps AC and 450 Mbps N. So I guess it will be called an AC2150 Router.

ac is scheduled for final approval in November. The Certification is using Draft 3.

The so-called "wave2" chipsets will mainly be focusing on MU-MIMO. Qua tennis already has released its chipset supporting 1730 Mbps link rates.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-news/32107-quantenna-unveils-ac1700-chipset

 

[Fraoch]

I'm surprised they're sunsetting 802.11n so quickly. I only bought my first 802.11n router back in April when I realized I actually had a fair amount of 802.11n clients that could take advantage of it.

On the ac front, only the ASUS RT-AC66U was available here back then, and it was more expensive than the RT-N66U I ended up getting. Since I didn't have any ac clients and I was not likely to be getting any in the next few years, plus the firmware on the AC66U was looking a little unstable at the time and this was still only draft ac I skipped it.

Despite all the interest in ac right now I still think it was the right move. I'm thinking of it this way - high-end 802.11n routers right now are the best n routers ever made. Since development on them has stopped, they will never get better. Now's the time to buy them especially as prices are dropping (the N66U was $200, by the time I bought it, it was $175, now it's $150).

On the other hand, ac will be rapidly changing and improving. Now may not be the time to buy it as anything you buy will be obsolete in 6 months to a year. Plus you'll be paying a premium for it. Might as well wait a few years until clients are widely available, prices have lowered and stabilized, bugs have been largely eliminated and performance has improved even further. Let others be the beta testers.

Just my personal opinion, but I'm always on the trailing edge.

 

[thiggins]

I'm surprised they're sunsetting 802.11n so quickly. I only bought my first 802.11n router back in April when I realized I actually had a fair amount of 802.11n clients that could take advantage of it.

To be clear, no one is "sunsetting" N. The graph is an analyst projection. Reality will be different.

 

[Fraoch]

To be clear, no one is "sunsetting" N. The graph is an analyst projection. Reality will be different.

True, but it would be safe to say development has ceased, right?

Sure there may be new products, especially new products at lower prices, but any performance improvements will be focused on ac.

Manufacturers will just be focused on making 802.11n cheaper I'd think.

 

[sm00thpapa]

True, but it would be safe to say development has ceased, right?

Sure there may be new products, especially new products at lower prices, but any performance improvements will be focused on ac.

Manufacturers will just be focused on making 802.11n cheaper I'd think.

I agree with you Fraoch as far as N products go they are at max level at 450 Mbps on both bands. I won't be going with an AC router until maybe mid next year or end of year. The standard will be finalized and AC products should be maxed out by then. All this draft stuff has minor hiccups. Until then I'm sticking with my trusty Asus RT-N66U.

 

[thiggins]

True, but it would be safe to say development has ceased, right?

Once a standard is released, most chipmaker focus is on cost reduction, not performance.

 

[sfx2000]

Ad is not a LAN technology. Think of it as a high bandwidth point to point cable replacement. Main applications are screen casting and media transfer like camera offloading.

very well put...

A couple of people that I spoke with also alluded to things like wireless docking stations for laptop like applications.