Considerations for purchasing 802.11n wireless devices

If you spend some time in your local computer shopping district, you must have seen many of the pre-n and Draft-n wireless products that have been hastily launched. Before you rush out of your wallet to buy these new products, it is recommended that you take a few minutes and have a good look at what you are buying.

Mimo

One of the great advantages of 802.11n is MIMO. MIMO is the abbreviation for "Multiple input/multiple output (multiple input/multiple outputs)". The data that MIMO will transmit is divided into several parts for independent transmission, and then the client is again integrated. One of the devices needed to achieve this is a multichannel antenna for receiving and sending data. The advantage of the system is that it expands the coverage of the wireless network and improves the capability of the signal carrier. MIMO has been implemented in almost all draft n and Pre n specifications. MIMO, which is used in these devices, has expanded the coverage of these devices in most cases. Unfortunately, there is still controversy over the eventual determination of MIMO itself, as 802.11n specifications have not yet been approved.

Criteria not fully approved

The IEEE has not fully approved the 802.11N standard. This means that the technical details about 802.11n have not yet been finalized. The 802.11n, originally drafted, voted earlier this year and received a dissenting voice, and it received only a modest 46% per cent approval for the 75% votes required. The 2.0 version drafted for the specification is scheduled for debate and adoption in March of 2007. Any adherence to this standard can be labeled as Phase 1 Draft N. These parts are compatible with each other (unlike many of the current pre-n and draft n parts). The final criteria will likely be passed by early 2008. Of course, if no draft 2.0 is agreed in 2007 years, the overall process will be postponed.

Device cannot maintain N compatibility

Since the final 802.11n standard is not fully approved, it is impossible to make sure that any equipment sold as pre-n and Draft-n is compatible with the final standard. Many manufacturers want to be able to meet the final compatibility requirements by updating their device's firmware (firmware). At present, only Asus offers a complete replacement if the product is incompatible with the final standard.

A huge speed increase of over 802.11g

The final 802.11n standard undoubtedly has a huge speed boost compared with 802.11g. This upgrade will undoubtedly allow the wireless network speed beyond 100MB Ethernet. Most of the current pre-n and draft-n devices have shown tremendous speed improvements. Although this speed varies widely depending on the manufacturer and the specific equipment. Nominal speeds range from 100mb to 200MB. If you really need this much faster speed, pay special attention to the purchase to make sure you get as fast as possible.

Backward compatibility of previous wireless standards

This standard has not yet been finalized when IEEE announces that any of the 802.11n standards will provide backward compatibility for 802.11b and 802.11g. Because of this situation, there will be no guarantee of backward compatibility for the current pre-n and draft-n products. Although most products on the market offer backward compatibility, the specifics of how they are achieved vary greatly depending on the manufacturer. With this in mind, there is a good chance that many of the products that are rated backwards compatible will not be able to be backwards compatible with other manufacturer devices (and this has been discovered and reported).