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Benefits of 802.11ac

M

mattspeer01

Member
Is there any benefit to setting up a 802.11ac network? I currently run 802.11n on a 25 Mbps cable connection and I'm guessing that 802.11ac won't really do anything to improve the speed of my network...right? Are there any benefits?
 
Not if the only concern you have is your internet connection, .11ac will not help your 25 meg connection. PC-PC transfer it should (or multiple streaming of hi-def video).

I should find out today if 802.11ac is any quicker, since my AP and media bridge should arrive today 🙂
 
Thanks for the info. So by multiple HD streaming, you mean if my wife is watching HDTV over Netflix and I am streaming HD video on my PC, I should see an improvement?

Did you get your .11ac setup yet? If so, how is it working out?
 
mattspeer01 said:
Thanks for the info. So by multiple HD streaming, you mean if my wife is watching HDTV over Netflix and I am streaming HD video on my PC, I should see an improvement?

Did you get your .11ac setup yet? If so, how is it working out?
Click to expand...

If your having problems maybe, but I doubt just those 2 would flood 802.11n

I do have the .11ac, using my netbook (not the fastest thing in the world), I get 2MB/Sec transferring a 600 meg file to my SBS server over 802.11n(150). Using .11ac I get 12MB/sec, I also get the same speed plugged directly into my gigabit switch (12MB/Sec).
 
arch113 said:
If your having problems maybe, but I doubt just those 2 would flood 802.11n

I do have the .11ac, using my netbook (not the fastest thing in the world), I get 2MB/Sec transferring a 600 meg file to my SBS server over 802.11n(150). Using .11ac I get 12MB/sec, I also get the same speed plugged directly into my gigabit switch (12MB/Sec).
Click to expand...

Which netbook do you have?
 
Well there could be some other benefits. Not all n routers support the 5ghz band and depending on where you live, 2.4 ghz could be rather crowded. That said, I think you might be best suited to just hold off for a while unless your current setup isn't filling your needs.
 
ac is better for many devices sharing the band. 50 BYOD on 5ghz will win with 802.11ac vesus 802.11n - for single devices - maybe - maybe not.

I've yet to see 802.11n 5ghz outperform 2.4ghz in real world. One AP at 840mw with directionals can handle the entire office at decent speed - the 5ghz omni router makes it about half way and kaput.

Wifi is used for guest/personal only - i don't want file shares over wifi ever. Too unstable with winblowz. Not when cat6a is within 5 feet of everyone.
 
Emulex said:
Wifi is used for guest/personal only - i don't want file shares over wifi ever. Too unstable with winblowz. Not when cat6a is within 5 feet of everyone.
Click to expand...

And yet here when I had random Joe/Jill user move the other side of his/her cube and plug in to the dead jacks, they would run on Windows shares over wireless sometimes for months before I would notice. I would only notice because a copy was taking longer than it should compared to 1 gig @ the desk. IE perfectly stable, using Windows shares / email / production apps. Stability issues may indicate something is wrong else where. Often times if they didn't complain about performance I just left them that way since it was less work for me.
 
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At the moment the only advantage of 802.11ac is "Bragging Rights".

Better off to wait a while until there is a selection of hardware and more clarity about performance beyond the marketing claims of few manufacturers.

Unfortunately most People in the USA equate "Marketing ploys" with real technological facts.


😎
 
what's the bandwidth limit of ac? 1 Gbps?

Since most home network connections are 100 Mbps tops, what use is ac? Even n can more than cover that?

I think the biggest users, I guess with most networking protocols/hardware, will be enterprises. It means at least better Qos/more Internet services over wifi.
 
mammador said:
what's the bandwidth limit of ac? 1 Gbps?

Since most home network connections are 100 Mbps tops, what use is ac? Even n can more than cover that?

I think the biggest users, I guess with most networking protocols/hardware, will be enterprises. It means at least better Qos/more Internet services over wifi.
Click to expand...

Well, Verizon is upping their FIOS tier speeds. 802.11ac will help with that. For example, 25/25 is becoming 50/25. I don't know if I can push 50Mbit/sec over my single-channel N.

Still, I'm certain that 802.11ac will be cost-prohibitive to me initially. I'm not paying $150 for a nice new router, when my $20 802.11N 300 routers are working just fine.
 
I wonder what the difference in latency and jitter are between .11n and .11ac under load at typical ranges. Bandwidth may be well beyond what most people have a need for, but responsiveness is always nice.
 
I did not upgraded my system to N during the years of the N craze.

From a functional point of view I always judged 2.4GHz N as playing with Antenna (mimo) gimmick for "suckers".

I upgraded my system to Dual Radios once the price got to the right level.

Comparing the result that I see in the linked to review to what I get from current Dual I do not see at the moment that the 802.11ac price is right.

I.e., One can get decent similar results from a sub $100 Duals.


😎
 
2.4 GHz N works great. In fact, although I have a dual-band router, I use 2.4 GHz almost exclusively in my house, because the range for 5 GHz in some of the spots I use my machines is worse than 2.4 GHz.
 
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