What is 802.11n

802.11n the ins and outs

In today's various wireless LAN technology interwoven Warring States era, WLAN, Bluetooth, HomeRF, UWB and other competing bloom, but the IEEE802.11 series of WLAN is the most widely used. Since the implementation of the 1997 IEEE802.11 standards, there have been 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11e, 802.11f, 802.11h, 802.11i, 802.11j and other standards formulated or brewing, But WLAN is still facing the "four not" problem, that is, lack of bandwidth, roaming inconvenient, network management is not strong, the system is unsafe and no killer-level applications. Like today's VoIP applications in a new field Vowlan, although the industry as a WLAN most promising killer applications, but because these four "no", it is difficult to further develop.

In order to achieve high bandwidth, high quality WLAN services, so that wireless LAN to achieve the performance level of Ethernet, 802.11n emerged.

The wonderful prospect of 500Mbps

In terms of transmission rate, 802.11n can increase the transmission rate of WLAN from the current 802.11a and 802.11g provided 54Mbps to 108Mbps, even up to 500Mbps. Thanks to Mimo OFDM, which combines MIMO with OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division multiplexing) technology, this technology not only improves the quality of wireless transmission, but also greatly improves the transmission rate.

Application prospects: 802.11N will allow WLAN transmission rate of 10 times times the current rate of transmission, and can support high-quality voice, video transmission, which means that people can use Wi-Fi mobile phones in office space to dial IP phones and videophone.

In the area of coverage, 802.11n smart antenna technology, through the array of independent antenna arrays, can dynamically adjust the beam to ensure that the WLAN users receive a stable signal, and can reduce the interference of other signals. Therefore, its coverage can be extended to several square kilometers, so that the mobility of WLAN greatly improved. (Computer science)

Application prospects: This enables the use of laptops and PDAs to move in a larger range, allowing WLAN signals to be covered in offices, hotels and any corner of the family, so that we can truly experience the convenience and joy of mobile office and mobile life.

In terms of compatibility, 802.11N uses a software radio technology, which is a fully programmable hardware platform, so that the base stations and terminals of different systems can be interoperable and compatible with the different software of this platform, which makes the compatibility of WLAN greatly improved. This means that WLANs will not only achieve 802.11n compatibility, but can also achieve a combination of WLAN and wireless wide area network, such as 3G.

Two camps in contention criteria

Unfortunately, 802.11n is now in an awkward position of "standard lag, premature delivery of products". The 802.11n standard has not yet been formally approved by IEEE, but there are many vendors using MIMO OFDM technology, including Airgo, Bermai, Broadcom and Jerry Systems, Atheros, Cisco, Intel, etc., products including wireless network card, wireless router, etc. and has been widely used in PC, notebook computer.

The technology camp that dominates the 802.11n standard has two, namely Wwise (World Wide Spectrum Efficiency) Alliance and TGN Sync Alliance. The two camps are expected to give priority to the next generation of wireless LAN standards, but the technical architecture of the two camps has become more and more similar, for example, using MIMO OFDM technology, and on August 2 it was reported that they had decided to make up their mind to the American Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11n wireless technology version was submitted.

In this fierce competition, we can not see the figure of China, let us have to feel some regret. This is also the consequence of our lack of core technology. The competition of standards is ultimately a contest of interests, it is very difficult for Chinese enterprises to achieve great benefits in WLAN core technology, which is worth pondering.

Editorial point of view

802.11N is sure to bring a real killer application to the WLAN, think in the office we can no longer use the phone, no longer use the desktop phone, but the use of Wi-Fi mobile phones, but also allows the notebook computer does not have to interrupt network connectivity in various offices, conference rooms to move office. In the family, we can enjoy a variety of broadband wireless applications, from IPTV to Videophone can be achieved through WLAN, more importantly, all kinds of smart home appliances can be connected through the WLAN, and communication systems connected to achieve more intelligent control.

802.11n, like a lighthouse in the mist, is getting closer and nearer to us.