Introduction to the fifth generation wireless WIFI:802.11AC

If your business has been following the changes in wireless networks, you should have deployed dual-band routers and client adapters. These devices can transmit encrypted data over the radio wave over a relatively close range at a speed of more than 100MB per second.

However, new hardware based on near-completion 802.11AC standards is about to be launched. The device will make the company's current wireless infrastructure feel like it's stuck in honey.

Although the standard organization responsible for determining 802.11AC has not yet approved the standard, semiconductor manufacturers Broadcom and Qualcommatheros have begun to introduce 802.11AC chipset samples (Broadcom the chip as "fifth generation Wi-Fi"). All two companies are involved in the development of this standard. These two companies are committed to providing firmware updates to correct any changes that occur between now and the final approval period. The standard is likely to be approved later this year or early 2013.

Want to know how IEEE (International Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) transition from 802.11n to 802.11AC? This standard organization uses a new letter suffix to identify new technical documents related to 802.11 projects. Therefore, the logical suffix of the 802.11z should be 802.11AA, 802.11AB, and now 802.11AC. There is a risk of messing things up, and this is the 802.11AD standard that is currently being developed. However, this standard is not the next step in the mainstream wireless network. The name of this standard is wigig, a short distance linear pair-transfer technology that uses 60Ghz frequency bandwidth to transfer media.

802.11n can use 2.4GHz or 5GHz frequency bands. Unlike 802.11n, 802.11AC devices can only run on 5GHz bands. The 2.4GHz band can provide better coverage, but using this standard Wi-Fi data stream must compete with many other devices running on the same frequency, such as microwave ovens and Bluetooth devices. There are more channels available in the 5GHz band. In the 802.11AC standard, the bandwidth of each channel is 80MHz. The bandwidth of the specific channel under the 802.11N standard is 40MHz.

Furthermore, 802.11AC will use a modulation scheme to increase the amount of data appropriate to a coded carrier signal by four times times. The maximum bandwidth of each space stream in the 802.11n standard is 150MB per second. This means that the maximum theoretical throughput of 802.11n routers with three transmission antennas and three receiving antennas is 450MB per second. By contrast, the maximum bandwidth for 802.11AC is 433MB per second, and the maximum number of space flows is increased from 3 to 8. Thus, the maximum theoretical throughput of the 802.11AC network will be several times that of Gigabit Ethernet. However, the first generation of devices is limited to 2 or 3 transmit and receive antennas, with a theoretical maximum throughput of 866MB or 1.3GB per second.

As we can see in the 802.11n network, real-world throughput may be one-third to half the maximum throughput in theory. However, even mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets) configured with a 802.11AC chipset and only one transmitting and receiving antenna should be able to increase the bandwidth by one time than the mobile devices currently configured with the 802.11N chipset. With bandwidth-intensive applications such as video conferencing and customer Relationship Management desktop migration to smartphones and tablets, 802.11AC networks will become an important infrastructure element for large and small businesses.

To overcome the shorter coverage of the 5GHz band, the 802.11AC chipset will use the transmit and receive beam-shaping techniques. Beam shape is an optional element in 802.11n technical specifications. However, this technique is enforced in the 802.11AC standard. Most of the current 802.11n devices use full directional signal transmission and reception. The signal travels in a series of concentric loops, like ripples in the next stone in a reservoir.

Using beam-shaping technology, routers and their clients can familiarize themselves with each other's position. In this way, they will be able to align with each other's transport flow. Without beam-shaped techniques, the signal is received in different phases and the signals repel each other, reducing the total bandwidth. The beam-shaped chipset can adjust the phase of the signal to overcome these problems, thereby increasing the available bandwidth.

TRENDNETTEW-811DR, such as the first generation of 802.11AC routers will be dual-band equipment, in the 2.4GHz band Support 802.11n client, in the 5GHz band support 802.11AC client. These devices may be available in the third quarter of this year. Laptops that configure the 802.11AC chipset will be available before Christmas, and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets will be available in early 2013. The Wi-Fi forum is a marketing alliance that is responsible for ensuring that wireless networking products are well compatible with each other. The organization plans to start implementing the 802.11AC certification program in early 2013.