Next-Gen Wi-Fi Lands @ CES with 802.11ac Products

[exfileme]

Networking devices based on the new 802.11ac standard will make an appearance this week at CES 2012.

Next-Gen Wi-Fi Lands @ CES with 802.11ac Products : Read more

 

[mikeangs2004]

Are these better than infrastructure products?

 

[bestlink101]

wtf just got wireless n

 

[kcorp2003]

*drooling* over this news. I don't care if my nuts shriveled up like a prune

 

[toastninja17]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet

 

[shoda]

Can't wait! Was going to get a powerline adapter, but I'll just hold off AC!

 

[willard]

Anyone who just upgraded their network to 802.11n has no right to complain. 802.11n isn't exactly a new specification. Products have been on the shelf for going on three years now. Are you really that surprised that your "brand new" three year old technology isn't top of the line anymore?

Personally, I've been looking to move my home network to 5 GHz, and this seems like the perfect way to do it. Count me in as an early adopter.

 

[JOSHSKORN]

and I've been complaining that Verizon hasn't come out with a FiOS N router. Oh well. Screw "N", I now want "ac".

 

[Pyree]

If the wireless is as fast as it claims (1.3 Gbps) then there is no need for me to move multiple GB large files with USB 3.0 or eSATA HDD any more. Currently 802.11n is still slow for moving large file wireless.

 

[eddieroolz]

It'll be another 5 years before it gets out of draft-ac

 

[lpedraja2002]

So, does this mean that my wireless telephones, wireless mouse + keyboards won't interfere with my wifi signal anymore? If so then I'll buy it... also am curious if this can be used to stream a blu-ray movie.

 

[bunz_of_steel]

Sony PS3 ..... will still only have 802.11G... krapp!

 

[trandoanhung1991]

What about their range? Because last thing I heard about N wireless routers where that they have quite terrible range due to the high frequency band. Is this still true?

 

[willard]

[citation][nom]trandoanhung1991[/nom]What about their range? Because last thing I heard about N wireless routers where that they have quite terrible range due to the high frequency band. Is this still true?[/citation]
802.11n is still on 2.4 GHz. Some routers off 5 GHz, but it's not part of the specification. There also isn't any difference in effective range, as far as I know. You just get less interference on 5 GHz because there's basically nothing on it. EVERYTHING is on 2.4 GHz. Even microwaves emit radiation in that frequency (which is why some people lose wireless signal when they turn on the microwave).

 

[eklipz330]

ive had my N router since like 07... it's been kicking for a while, i dont think i need anything faster right now... but what i would love is faster LAN adapters for my computer, anything about 2 Gb/s costs an arm and a leg...

 

[skaz]

[citation][nom]willard[/nom]802.11n is still on 2.4 GHz. Some routers off 5 GHz, but it's not part of the specification. There also isn't any difference in effective range, as far as I know. You just get less interference on 5 GHz because there's basically nothing on it. EVERYTHING is on 2.4 GHz. Even microwaves emit radiation in that frequency (which is why some people lose wireless signal when they turn on the microwave).[/citation]

There actually is a big difference in effective range between the two frequencies. 5 GHz frequency has a shorter range then a 2.4 GHz frequency. Also 5 GHz networks do not penetrate objects as well as 2.4 GHz networks.

 

[back_by_demand]

I bought a house just over a year ago and as it was a wreck I got the builders in, so I took the opportunity to fit the whole house with CAT6.

If I had just waited I could have bought this instead, but then again the cost of the cable and a Gigabit switch was less than the cost of this router and I still would have to get compliant adapters for all the devices.

In the long run I saved a bundle but within about 5 years I may regret my decision.

 

[stingstang]

I've never seen a wifi signal of other than g in my lifetime.

 

[nottheking]

The shift over to 5 GHz should help in some ways... While it may have poorer range, I'm sure that the shift to MIMO, along with general improvements, will almost certainly bring better range than, say, 802.11a.

Speaking of that, the "AC" thing is confusing. Is it intended to be a successor to 802.11a? (for the uninitiated, it was a lesser-used standard that came out AFTER B, used 5 GHz, and had the lowest range, but G-level bandwidth; it wasn't until 802.11g that Wi-Fi could have the best of both the "A" and "B" worlds)

This letter-picking is really confusing: from "B" to "A" to "G," to "N," and now to "AC." I can overlook the B/A discrepancy, (technically, they came out in the reverse order they were first written up in) and I'd just assumed that "G" stood for "Gamma," the third letter of the Greek alphabet after "Alpha" and "Beta." 'course, "N" broke that sequence entirely.

[citation][nom]back_by_demand[/nom]I bought a house just over a year ago and as it was a wreck I got the builders in, so I took the opportunity to fit the whole house with CAT6.[/citation]
CAT 5e will handle gigabit Ethernet. If you installed CAT 6, then it technically supports 10-gigabit Ethernet... For whenever they ever actually release them for home PC use. (to date, I only ever see it used as an option for supercomputer interconnects, though I believe it's lost ground to the likes of InfiniBand and HyperTransport.

 

[nottheking]

[citation][nom]Pyree[/nom]If the wireless is as fast as it claims (1.3 Gbps) then there is no need for me to move multiple GB large files with USB 3.0 or eSATA HDD any more. Currently 802.11n is still slow for moving large file wireless.[/citation]
There will still always be justification for using a disk (particularly eSATA HDDs & SSDs) to transfer absolutely massive quantities of data; while the latency will always be high (minutes to hours for the first reception) the total throughput will never be beaten by wireless or wireline, as disk capacity & drive interface speed (and hence total bandwidth) will always keep increasing too. As a computer scientist once said, "Never underestimate the bandwidth of a van full of CD-ROMs going down the freeway."