How many more users will 802.11n wireless access points support?

Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us

RELATED CONTENT Wireless LAN Implementation 802.11n wireless LAN access point market: Who's really in second place? Wireless LAN security: SonicWall joins crowded WLAN market Stolen laptop recovery using remote access and wireless network SSIDs Distributed antenna systems and WLAN: A network management burden Wireless AP SSID and channel configuration for a distribution network Solid 802.11n deployment prepares medical center for future demands How 802.11n wireless APs in Greenfield mode affect nearby networks How to create a Wi-Fi hotspot Beamforming, RF management key to 802.11n wireless LAN success Set up secure wireless networks with 802.11x, access points and bridges Wireless networking How radio frequency (RF) of microwaves alter wireless signal strength Stolen laptop recovery using remote access and wireless network SSIDs How is wireless access point (AP) coverage affected by frequency? Wireless AP SSID and channel configuration for a distribution network How 802.11n wireless APs in Greenfield mode affect nearby networks Monitoring your network to detect rogue access points (APs) Will 802.11x wireless products be compatible with 802.11n? How to find an SSID and identify neighboring WLANs How to create a Wi-Fi hotspot How to stop channel interference on 802.11x wireless access points

RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary 802.11a  (SearchNetworking.com) Asynchronous Pulsed Radiated Incident Light  (SearchNetworking.com) cognitive radio  (SearchNetworking.com) direct sequence spread spectrum  (SearchNetworking.com) frequency-hopping spread spectrum  (SearchNetworking.com) phase-locked loop  (SearchNetworking.com) radio frequency  (SearchNetworking.com) wireless mesh network  (SearchNetworking.com)

RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary

By using MIMO antennas, advanced signal processing techniques, and wider channels, 802.11n increases an AP's total bandwidth. For example, an 802.11g AP operating at 54 Mbps can carry about 22 Mbps of data, while an 802.11n AP using 2x2 MIMO and a 40 MHz channel can operate at 300 Mbps, yielding data throughput of about 125 Mbps. An AP taking maximum advantage of all 802.11n features could potentially operate at 600 Mbps, further increasing effective throughput.

In a WLAN, available bandwidth is shared among all of the clients that use each channel. The more contention there is for a channel, the lower the throughput experienced by each client. However, 802.11n's higher data rates mean that each message takes less "air time" to transmit, making the channel more readily available to other clients.

As a result, an 802.11n AP can either support many more clients using the same old applications, or give the same old number of clients the ability to use higher-throughput applications like streaming video.

The bottom line: the number of users an AP can support depends on application mix. You can expect today's 802.11n APs to give you 5 times more bandwidth than 802.11g. How you spend that capacity is up to you.