• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

802.11ac questions

R

Rifter

Lifer
Short question:

Is 802.11ac finally the end of wired home networks?

Long question:

Im going to be upgrading my trusty WRT-54GL, it served me well for years and years but is finnally at the end of its life.

Im looking at the new Asus RT-AC66U, which seems like a great unit on paper. Figured i might as well go for the brand new 802.11ac standard if buying something i might use for 5+ years. So questions are as follows:

Is going to 802.11ac before its finalized a good idea?

Are there plently of good 802.11ac USB and PCIe adaptors out now?

Is 802.11ac in reality finally going to be fast enough to stream uncompressed DVD's from a server(i would love to go wireless for my HTPC)

What is the expected wait time for a DD-WRT or Tomato firmware release?(i know my WRT54 sucked the big one before i installed aftermarket firmware, i dont want to buy a brand new router and have it suck for years before a fixed firmware is released)
 
Short answer:

No.

Long answer:

802.11ac is supposedly much closer to completion now than 802.11n was when the first draft-n stuff came out, which should make things easier. Even draft-n was safe to buy for quite some time before the standard was approved.

No, you won't find many adapters out now. The RT-AC66U isn't even available yet, from what I can tell. When it is, the selection will probably have improved. I think I'll wait for Intel's 7xxx mini-PCIe adapters.

Uncompressed DVDs... That's 5Mb/s, which is easily doable by good 802.11n routers (Such as the Asus RT-N66U, which makes me believe that the RT-AC66U will be an excellent router as well), even at some distance. With some buffering, it should work fine. Though, expect real-life results to be about 1/3 of the spec, at best.

Expected wait? Don't hold your breath. A lot of 3rd-party firmwares stilll don't support the 5GHz band. It could take a while. However, the RT-N66U's firmware is based on either Tomato or DD-WRT and they release the source code. That means the community may be able to work faster and better, if the RT-AC66U also uses the same base code.
 
Good to know, and thanks for the info.

Im lucky if i get 1/3 of spec at my place, last i checked with a wifi scanner i had over 100 possible connections so my area is a little crowded with wifi signals(I live in a apartment across the street from a mall and a university campus, yay me). I borrowed a buddies N router and for the most part streaming DVD's worked but there was always a few slowdowns and skipping, which isnt really acceptable for a HTPC. Im hopeing 802.11ac is the answer.
 
ac runs exclusively on the 5GHz band. My area is not crowded by most definitions of the word, but it looks kinda like this:

2.4GHz

Ch 1 - About 6 or 7 different crappy APs from what used to be the only decent ISP in the area (everyone switched to cable a few years ago when it arrived, now everybody seems to be switching to fiber)

Ch 7 - Nothing

Ch 13 - A random AP

My APs are pretty much using up the entire spectrum, since the distance between houses provides enough attenuation for that.

5GHz is completely empty, apart from my APs

So basically, if you're in a hurry, you might want to try a decent dual-band N router and adapter and use the 5GHz band.
 
JackMDS said:
And if it will go you are better of getting for the time being a $20-$30 Router until the ac would show itself as solid technology rather than anexpensive "bragging rights" junk.

This router for less than $30, and DD-WRT compatible, will perform Wireless wise better than the trusty WRT54-G -

Example: http://homestore.cisco.com/en-us/Ro...-Router_stcVVproductId138177691VVviewprod.htm


😎
Click to expand...

I have thought about going this route as well, waiting for ac to be final.

I think my WRT-54GL is just overheating. im going to take it apart tommorow and see if the heatsink is loose and if i can find some way to reattach it or possibly add a small fan and then find a power source on the board for said fan.
 
802.11ac (and beyond) along with national LTE will put a big drop in requirements to 'plug in'.

Already many mobile devices are leaving out the ethernet ports that were common to them.

There is a lot coming down the pipe and much of it still NDA for partners. The biggest issues of implementing are getting the radio and TV carriers to release all the bandwidth they were given without knowing the future.
 
alkemyst said:
802.11ac (and beyond) along with national LTE will put a big drop in requirements to 'plug in'.

Already many mobile devices are leaving out the ethernet ports that were common to them.

There is a lot coming down the pipe and much of it still NDA for partners. The biggest issues of implementing are getting the radio and TV carriers to release all the bandwidth they were given without knowing the future.
Click to expand...

It may be a viable solution for some homes and very small businesses but any real operation will require more speed and reliability than wireless can attain. Not to mention the noise problems at these high data rates
 
RadiclDreamer said:
It may be a viable solution for some homes and very small businesses but any real operation will require more speed and reliability than wireless can attain. Not to mention the noise problems at these high data rates
Click to expand...

This is all being handled within the standard. 250MB/s typical rates have been realized already in normal environments.

Wireless is the future for just about everything but backhauls.

Wireless in the enterprise is only limited by current speeds...there isn't reliability issues in any properly deployed networks.

There are A LOT of improperly deployed wireless networks out there though.
 
Well i found my issue, heatsink on the main chip in my WRT-54GL was loose. As in i opened the case went well thats gotta be the main chipset i wonder if the heatsink is loose and went to touch it and i picked it up off the chip with zero resistance, the compound they used to attach it had completly dryed out. So i applied some AS 5 put a dab of superglue on all 4 corners of the heatsink and reattached it, so far no random reboots.

Guess i will wait out the final version of 802.11ac.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top