What has Draft 11n done for (to) you?

[thiggins]

Tell us about your experience with these products? Greatest thing since Google? Waste of time and money?

 

[Bart]

I have to be honest: nothing.

At first I thought I would wait for the final specification of N, but draft N is so wide-spread these days, I don't think this would be a problem (anymore).

But for me personally it has no additional value, since the only reason I use my wireless network is to surf the internet, and for that reason 54G is still MORE than adequate. And I would never use a WiFi setup for a LAN. Give me wired or powerline anyday!

I also have to be honest that recent news articles on the possible unhealthy effects of WiFi has got me worried. And since N uses a mimo method or achieving its results, automatically sending more microwaves into the air... mmm... I'm not a pessimist, but I remain sceptical. All these factors combined have led to me not caring for N at all. There's simply no added value in it for me.

 

[scotty]

To be honest, not much.

For me personally, I'm about to invest in an N Router (Dlink DIR-655), but don't have any nodes with N capable adaptors. And I don't really care about N, it's just that I want a router a little better than just a run of the mill G type. My new house is getting wired for Cat6, so no big cares there.

Both in the home space an professionally, anything I have requiring substantial speeds is most likely not going to be anything that needs wireless in the first place, and GigE will do fine (i.e. servers).

For me, and seemingly most, N seems to be a giant *shrug*. It's there, it probably wont be going away, it's maybe a bit faster depending on several factors. It's more evolutionary than revolutionary.

 

[somms]

Noticed a remarkeable diff running Pre-N connecting my WRT160N in client bridge mode(DD-WRT) wirelessly @270Mbps to WRT600N gateway router. Now I'm able to stream HD LiveTV/Video to the XBOX360 Media Center extender w/o any hiccups.

 

[thiggins]

Somms,
What sort of throughput are you getting over what distance?
Any neighboring networks?

 

[somms]

Haven't benchmarked my throughput. Previously using a pair of WRT54GS the XBOX360 would stutter frequently while playing Hi-Def content.

Now that I'm going wireless 5.2GHz Pre-N from notebook running Vista Media Center --> WRT600N gateway --> wireless 2.4GHz Pre-N WRT160 running client bridge mode --> wired to XBOX360 never experience these dropouts any longer...

The distance is from the bedroom (notebook) to top shelf of closet (WRT600N) to finished basement (WRT160N+XBOX360)

 

[thiggins]

So you're using 2.4GHz band and going through one floor down.

Netmeter is a quick and easy way to check throughput.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/content/view/30366/235/

 

[Brandon]

Wireless N has made me lazy. I use my laptop's (One from work, and my personal) for everything. Mine is a Dell XPS, which sadly, means I can't use a docking station. In the past, to move large (2-8GB) files, I would have to connect to the network via CAT-5. That alone made wireless lackluster for me.

My laptop however came with a "free" wireless N card built in, as such I decided to buy what at the time was one of the cheapest N routers. TrendNet "gaming" router, which also included a free 8GB flash drive (Woot NewEgg!) for dirt cheap already. I honestly have never used the router portion of it, however the wireless access point is all but amazing. It had my only gigabit switch (Just picked up a 16 port D-Link Gigabit, RIP Cisco 2924, you won't be missed) so all of my file servers resided there.

Cross wireless speeds from one or two rooms away made it more than worth what I paid for it, I would gladly pay double at this point (Though I'm keeping my flash drive!). A few weeks before, I paid around $250 for the Linksys duel-band flagship, but sadly after dealing with Dell and "Well.. it /should/ be ready on XX date.." I cancled and bought this one.

Mine won't be as fast in the long run, but the change to wireless in cost me a total of $50 (If I take off the 20-30 for the free thumb drive..), with speeds of around 130Mb/s (Up from 20-30 from my /very/ old WRT54G).

The only down side, about once a week, my laptop loses my wireless card (which just requires a reboot), but that's a Vista bug.

Short version: If you have a wireless N card from a new laptop/desktop, the cheap routers/access points are a very VERY good upgrade.

 

[somms]

FWIW: Test ran all wireless (no wired) uploading file from notebook 5GHz --> gateway router(WRT600N) --> 2.4GHz to WRT160N(client bridge) --> notebook 2.4GHz...

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

From my experience in setting up wireless networks for clients....in the smaller environments that don't need full business grade products (which haven't come out with *N products yet...multiple managed APs )...I've found *N to be a great benefit.

Primary reason? Coverage. Far less "It can't reach down to that room on the end", or "It doesn't reach upstairs". The area that *N can blanket with coverage has shown, based on my experience..to be much better. Even with the clients having old G and prehistoric B adapters in their PCs.

So what may have needed 3x APs or range extenders with G...can be covered with just 1x *N product.

 

[geo]

If you're "surfing the internet" dude, probably not much unless you have FIOS or Comcast's new 50mbps connections.

But if you need to stream video, or you share really big files on your home network (that would be me and my wife right there), it absolutely can make a noticeable difference.

But let's be honest --I'm a computer toy geek who'd been waiting a year longer than he thought he'd need to in order to get a decent .n setup and just got impatient and pulled the trigger.

 

[thiggins]

Thanks for posting the NetMeter summary, somms. From what I can tell (I really don't like the odd units...much prefer Kbps, Mbps), it looks like your peak throughput was around 32 Mbps up and 24 down. Not too bad.

 

[thiggins]

The coverage info is interesting. My tests show that max range for draft 11n isn't much different from current 11g product. But usable range (due to better throughput at a given point) can be better.

Range improvement also depends on how old the previous gear was. WiFi radios have improved a lot since the early days.

 

[vfreak]

After some excellent advice from mr. higgins, I went gigabit rather than wireless-n mainly because I was really looking for sheer speed and reliability than anything. And it's definitely paid off, I think I'll wait till the next 802.11.x until it's worth my time, but 10G will be common by then, and I'll want to make sure my 1Gbps fiber connection can be handled by my networking gear anyway!

Wireless has got a LONG way to go before it can replace wires for me. And not just in speed. Besides, gigabit right now is much more affordable than the best that draft-n can offer.

 

[Brandon]

After some excellent advice from mr. higgins, I went gigabit rather than wireless-n mainly because I was really looking for sheer speed and reliability than anything.

I finally replaced my older-than-dirt 10/100 switch last week. My home network ran mostly around an Old Cisco 2924 24 port IOS switch. Last week I finally broke down and bought a 16 port D-Link gigabit unmanged switch, and an 8 port Dell PowerConnect manged switch.

Such a worthwild upgrade.. No more crossover cables for me!.. Don't ask.

 

[geo]

Hey now, this is the wireless forum. Don't be bringing that wired gigabit snobbery in here.

Wireless is all about convenience and cost. If those aren't the top of your list of priorities, then of course there are better alternatives. . .