5 Ways To Fix Slow 802.11n Speed

[sfx2000]

Originally Posted by thiggins

It applies to the 2.4 GHz radio in either kind of router. I clarified Fix 3.

Same would apply for dual-band gear at times - A/B/G STA's - might want to consider pushing them down to 2.4Ghz - many of those will prefer 5GHz if present...

[tipstir]

Guys I connect to both 802.11n and 802.11g on the same WiFi AP don't have issue doing so. Using 802.11n only on 802.11n and then getting one for 802.11g only runs into issues. I've tired it and never works out in the end. Today's Smart WiFi Gear seems to do a much better job with the two WiFi standards.

[thiggins]

Originally Posted by tipstir

Guys I connect to both 802.11n and 802.11g on the same WiFi AP don't have issue doing so. Using 802.11n only on 802.11n and then getting one for 802.11g only runs into issues. I've tired it and never works out in the end. Today's Smart WiFi Gear seems to do a much better job with the two WiFi standards.

the throughout hit is more noticeable with heavy traffic and most people will not notice the effect.

There isn't any intelligence that can be added to APs to prevent the effect because it is caused by the longer airtime required by slower 11g.

What "issues" does having a separate 11g AP cause?

[thiggins]

Originally Posted by sfx2000

WPA2/AES is strongly suggested for 802.11n networks.

Actually, it is required to enable link rates above 54 Mbps.

[sfx2000]

Originally Posted by thiggins

Actually, it is required to enable link rates above 54 Mbps.

There's a lot of gear out there that does not enforce that requirement - on both the STA and AP side...

Just saying, and supporting the statement - WPA2/WMM - makes the most of 802.11n/ac

[sfx2000]

Originally Posted by thiggins

the throughout hit is more noticeable with heavy traffic and most people will not notice the effect.

There isn't any intelligence that can be added to APs to prevent the effect because it is caused by the longer airtime required by slower 11g.

What "issues" does having a separate 11g AP cause?

It's less of an issue now than it was before - better drivers/silcon as 802.11n matures.

Having a dedicated 802.11g AP when also supporting 802.11n in the same band is not efficient from a channel perspective - be a good neighbor and give them some spectrum - esp in 2.4Ghz (b/g/n space)

[thiggins]

There's a lot of gear out there that does not enforce that requirement - on both the STA and AP side

Could you cite a few examples please? This is an 802.11n spec requirement. High link rates are also allowed with NO encryption.

[thiggins]

Originally Posted by sfx2000

It's less of an issue now than it was before - better drivers/silcon as 802.11n matures.

I will have to run a few tests to see if mixed network bandwidth sharing has improved

Originally Posted by sfx2000

Having a dedicated 802.11g AP when also supporting 802.11n in the same band is not efficient from a channel perspective - be a good neighbor and give them some spectrum - esp in 2.4Ghz (b/g/n space)

By that reasoning, multiple APs should not be used to improve network coverage?

[sfx2000]

Originally Posted by thiggins

Could you cite a few examples please? This is an 802.11n spec requirement. High link rates are also allowed with NO encryption.

WPA2 or none

What I was really getting at is that I've seen gear out there that all WPA/TKIP in HT mode, along with turning off WMM - both of which are contrary to WiFi alliance recommendations... along with 40MHz only channels in 2.4Ghz

[sfx2000]

Originally Posted by thiggins

I will have to run a few tests to see if mixed network bandwidth sharing has improved


By that reasoning, multiple APs should not be used to improve network coverage?

Every site is different - sometimes single channel plan works, sometimes it's better to offset - office environment is as different as a apartment complex is as a suburban home.

As for me - I've got two AP's - tied together with GIGe as a backhaul - narrow 3stream channels in 2.4GHz on the same channel (mixed B/G/N) and 5Ghz wide channels offset (A/N). All on a common SSID - the dual band gear general finds the right band class for a given location.

One thing I've found, and again it's probably vendor dependent - some AP's do run faster in N-only mode, and some don't - still looking into why this is - gut tells me that in a dense WiFi neighborhood where one might have G and N gear nearby, N-only was 20 percent slower than B/G/N mode with N STA's - counterintuitive I know...