First 802.11n Products Breaking Out 105
capt turnpike writes "If you're hooked up to a fat pipe, but want mobility, it looks like the new 802.11n standard might have some promise. eWEEK.com got their hands on some of the upcoming products and put the new devices through their paces." From the article: "The 802.11n task group is aware of the current draft's issues with legacy wireless LAN devices (specifically with how 802.11n shares bandwidth with attached legacy clients), and representatives from Cisco and Motorola broke off to look into the issues before the next meeting of the draft subcommittee, which is scheduled for May. Expectations vary widely, depending on whom you talk to. In previous conversations with Dave Borison, Airgo's director of product marketing, we leaned that Airgo is not making chip sets based on the draft standard because the company thinks the issue of legacy interoperability is significant enough to necessitate small modifications to the silicon."
Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n router? (Score:5, Informative)
From the article:
We also found that Linksys' draft 802.11n router caused performance issues with legacy 802.11g networks.
AND:
The current draft of the 802.11n standard was approved for letter ballot in March; the full standard is expected to be ratified by the second quarter of 2007.
AND:
With this uncertainty in mind, it is not advisable to invest in these products lock, stock and barrel. Enterprise-grade WLAN manufacturers continue to wait for the standard to fully bake, and enterprise customers should do the same.
For the record, I think regardless if it's called pre-N or "draft 802.11n", it is still isn't the final product... so beware what you buy.
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:2)
Say, how does a computer with six ethernet lines, a keyboard and a mouse cable snaking out of it look compared to a case with power in, monitor cable out, and bluetooth and wireless for, respectively, peripherals and as many directed wireless signals going off in different directions as it takes to achieve the same bandwid
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:2)
I don't know any gamer in their right mind who would choose wireless over wired.
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
You realise that part made you sound like an idiot, right? Just checking.
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:2)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:3, Funny)
You serious? You know there are other reasons for routers besides linking one computer to the net through a DSL connection. Internet speed is but one of many concerns when purchasing a router. Some of us use multiple computers and move multi gigabyte files between the computers. Try doing that with an "11mb" 802.11b connection... Then try it with 54mb 802.11g, then try it with a 100mb wire or even 1gb wire... Instead of hours to move so methi
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:2)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:2)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:2)
Fast forward a
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
Nope (Score:2)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:2)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:2)
As an example, at my house I can't reliably watch an xvid movie across 802.11g. I get excellent signal, a 54Mbps link, and low latency. That is, I get those until I try to watch a movie,
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
Others can't.
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
How is this different from the "Pre N" devices of a year or so ago?
OH! It's CLOSER to what the N standard will be.
Are Linksys and the like SO desperate for a new shiny to dangle that they'll make products that may or may not be compatible with the standard?
I'll stick with my 802.11g thank you. Let me know when I have a need to bother with upgrading.
Two questions (Score:1)
Says [wikipedia.org]:
Is it true? Article seems to not have the word "distance" (yes, I am too busy to read
Re:Two questions. oops it says about distance (Score:1)
Re:Two questions. oops it says about distance (Score:2)
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
As much of a fan as I am of the new hotness, I don't think I'll be giving up old and busted anytime soon in this respect. At least not in my place of business.
It's already too easy for the IT guy to catch hell for stuff in the office without manufacturers delivering unpolished products. Problem is with this kind of t
Re:Can you host a LAN party with ONE 802.11n route (Score:1)
Of course you can. The router supports n devices--have you taken ANY math?
mobility (Score:3, Funny)
Re:mobility (Score:3, Funny)
I don't want to throw cold water on this..... (Score:5, Informative)
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/wireless/0
http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtm
http://wifinetnews.com/archives/006507.html [wifinetnews.com]
Re:I don't want to throw cold water on this..... (Score:1)
Re:I don't want to throw cold water on this..... (Score:2)
Aren't wirelss products fun?
Is there *any* reason for me to upgrade from B? (Score:2)
Why exactly are people so excited by faster wireless networking when very few of them actually HAVE the "fat pipes" to connect to. Is there ANY residential cable/DSL service that actually exceeds the capacity of 802.11g?
Re:Is there *any* reason for me to upgrade from B? (Score:2)
Re:Is there *any* reason for me to upgrade from B? (Score:2)
The speed of my Internet connection has absolutely NOTHING to do with how much bandwidth I need between the computers and other devices on my network.
For example, transferring a show from the living room Tivo to the bedroom Tivo happens at roughly 1x FF speed over 100 Mbps ethernet, but take
Re:Is there *any* reason for me to upgrade from B? (Score:2)
I don't do VoIP, nor do I watch TV, and I've rarely needed to transfer more than a few gigs to another computer. Perhaps I just use my network differently from other
Lowest common denominator? (Score:2)
As for buying in advance, one also hopes that firmware upgrades will allow early adopters to conform to the final spec. when it's released. Does anyone know which manufacturers are better or worse at providing effective firmmware patches in this regard?
-Kurt
Re:Lowest common denominator? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Lowest common denominator? (Score:2)
Re:Lowest common denominator? (Score:1, Interesting)
Not so. 802.11a works at a completely different frequency and couldn't give a rat's backside about the presence of b or g. It's only g that's had performance issues when b got involved precisely because it is backward compatible.
Let the new 802.11n operate up at 5GHz with 802.11a so that b and g don't slow it down and can continue to operate as they are and I'd be a happy camper
Re:Lowest common denominator? (Score:2)
Re:Grammar (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Grammer, not grammar. (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:Grammer, not grammar. (Score:1)
Give that man a cheroot! (n/t) (Score:2)
Re:Grammer, not grammar. (Score:1)
Ummmm, nobody? [wsu.edu].
Re:Grammer, not grammar. (Score:1)
You did.
Is it my turn now?
Re:Grammer, not grammar. (Score:1)
Re:Grammar (Score:1, Offtopic)
Next we'll get into how spelling is a key component of communication and whether Times-Roman is far more readable than Courier...
This is Slashdot, not "where to bitch about other people's use of the English language".
Sheesh!
Feloneous
Re:Grammar (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:Grammar (Score:2)
No, that subject would be off-topic. But because you brought it up,
Re:Grammar (Score:1)
Re:Grammar (Score:2)
Re:Grammar (Score:1)
Why invest in an unfinished standard? (Score:4, Insightful)
The title is also decieving;
"The current draft of the 802.11n standard was approved for letter ballot in March; the full standard is expected to be ratified by the second quarter of 2007."
So anything you buy will not work with what you buy when it's fully ratified. Pre-g, anyone?
"During eWEEK Labs' tests, Linksys products based on Version 1.0 of the 802.11n draft standard were indeed fast--faster than anything we've tested to date--but issues with range and interference with legacy wireless networks show room for improvement."
Speed may be important, but reliability is more important. Most internet connections aren't even close to that fast, and if it doesn't have range or reliability, why would you use it on a LAN?
Gamers, who would benifit from this, use wired mice for similar reasons; batteries don't die in wired mice, no lag, no problems. Same reasons that they wouldn't use 802.11n: If 802.11n can't deliver reliability, why use it?
And backwards compatibility? That's one of the most important points of all! Sheesh.
Re:Why invest in an unfinished standard? (Score:1)
Re:Why invest in an unfinished standard? (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Why invest in an unfinished standard? (Score:2)
The thoroughput is very nice in situations where you have a home network with all the same brand network gear. Say you download a 1+gig movie on your desktop but decide you want to watch it on your laptop downstairs. At
Ah poo (Score:3, Funny)
Great, I just bought X type product and now they come out with something newer to screw us into spending more money. Someone wake me when they stop this nonsense so I can buy one last product and die in peace!
Re:Ah poo (Score:1)
Re:Ah poo (Score:1)
Fat pipe (Score:1)
First 802.11n products? (Score:2)
The Belkin Wireless Pre-N (F5D8230-4) Router (F5D82304) [epinions.com] has been out since October 2004, and gets good reviews at epinions.com
The numbers are NOT impressive... (Score:5, Informative)
One word description... (Score:1)
Damn the speed (Score:3, Interesting)
A.K.A I want 'G' speeds 5-15 miles out.
Re:Damn the speed (Score:1)
When do we get 802.16? (Score:1)
When does 802.16 / wimax actually hit market for real? I want a wireless protocol robust enough it can be realistically used for ISPs. I'm sick of being alternately gouged by cable and dsl companies for service which isn't as good as what I got 10 years ago as a dialup customer.
Wimax is here now.. (Score:2)
You can buy wimax distribution systems now, alvarion has one, navini has one, but the problem is that they're based on a protocol that isn't finished. In the meantime, have a look at hiperLan gear, it's not half bad, for the meantime.
It's all Airgo FUD... (Score:2, Interesting)
The "Pre-N" stuff floating around is all Airgo manufactured. The Airgo design differs from the 802.11n draft, and I suspect that's what this is really all about.
Airgo has a *LOT* to lose by not getting the standard changed in their favor. They put all their eggs in one basket on this one... and the IEEE didn't go with their solution.
I'd take anything that comes out of an interview with somebody who works for Airgo with a healthy dose of salt...
It sounds like they're spreading FUD about the IEEE dra
This just in: Dell claims credit for 802.11n (Score:1)