To'N' or not to 'N'

[JaceX]

Starting a new thread so as not to hijack another one.
See my comments here for original problem.

The issue is that appears to be a lot of interference for my network.

But now I'm not sure if I should go to 802.11N or not.
If I were to go to N, it would be in addition to my current G setup.

Being in the same room as the wireless router, would it make sense to go to N on the 5Ghz band? Is it a good chance I would see better performance that staying in the crowded 2.4Ghz band?

Thanks for any input.

 

[JackMDS]

Interference that affect g would affect N.

There is No N 5 GHz.

The 5 GHz is 802.11a

 

[JaceX]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
There is No N 5 GHz.

What does it mean when an N router is dual band then? Am I confusing something else?

 

[JackMDS]

There are Dual Band Router that are 802.11/ab/g, the a part is 802.11a (5GHz).

There are Dual band Routers the are 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N, the a part is 802.11a (5GHz).

 

[JaceX]

So how can 11n be backward compatible with all these networks, when they are not compatible with each other?
802.11n can use either band - or both
5GHz networking support is currently an optional component to the 802.11n draft standard. As such, the MIMO scheme of 802.11n does not require simultaneous use of both the 5-GHz and the 2.4GHz bands, according to Mark Hung, director of strategic marketing at Wi-Fi chipmaker Atheros. That's how a standard that potentially makes use of both bands can be backward-compatible with networks that use a single band only: Only one band is in use at a time.

According to everything I've been reading (mostly on smallnetbuilder.com) N supports 5Ghz.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: JaceX

So how can 11n be backward compatible with all these networks, when they are not compatible with each other?
802.11n can use either band - or both
5GHz networking support is currently an optional component to the 802.11n draft standard. As such, the MIMO scheme of 802.11n does not require simultaneous use of both the 5-GHz and the 2.4GHz bands, according to Mark Hung, director of strategic marketing at Wi-Fi chipmaker Atheros. That's how a standard that potentially makes use of both bands can be backward-compatible with networks that use a single band only: Only one band is in use at a time.

According to everything I've been reading (mostly on smallnetbuilder.com) N supports 5Ghz.

The pre-draft, non standard version yes.

Consumer hardware, not so much. If you want an immediate solution and the 2.4 (b/g) is crowded like you've discovered, then get 802.11a access point and client.

The 2.4 spectrum is way over crowded, switch to 5 Ghz.

 

[kevnich2]

Here's a Netgear 5ghz Pre-N Access Point: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...etgear+Inc.-_-33122218

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I've been using N on the D-Link DIR-655 my SO's friend's family purchased and had me set up. Issue I saw immediately was that N only really works when everyone is N (i.e. only my laptop at the time, as it has an Intel 4965AGN radio in it). The friend's new laptop was b/g, and the two PSPs were b only. My findings were the following:

N latptop = N network speeds

G laptop + N laptop = G for one laptop, N for another laptop,

2 G laptops + N laptop = G for two laptops, N for about 15 ft. on other laptop, before going back to G (I suppose that the router goes back down to G when speeds are in that range, rather than keeping N protocols?)

2 G laptops + N laptop + 2 PSPs = G for two laptops, N laptop is forced to G, and PSPs connect at B.

Just remember, it is a draft, and as such there are no guarantees. Just some food for thought.

 

[kevnich2]

My suggestion for this, have a separate N access point and another B/G wireless router or access point.

 

[JaceX]

Originally posted by: JaceX
If I were to go to N, it would be in addition to my current G setup.

Yeah, that's what I was originally planning.

A couple more questions I guess.
I started looking for an 802.11a setup, but they seem hard to find/expensive.
Are A and N compatible (with the right hardware of course) on the 5Ghz band, similar to B/G on the 2.4Ghz band, or are they incompatible?

So then I started looking for N hardware specific to 5Ghz, but I'm having a hard time finding a 5Ghz adapter.

I guess my ultimate question is if I get an N router and an A adapter, would it work (again, with the assumption the N router is dual band)?

Thanks for the comments so far!

 

[QuixoticOne]

IMHO N deals with a crowded spectrum better than B/G, and it makes the best use of the spectrum available.

Going to 5GHz will get you freedom from interference, but it might be more cost effective to just get N gear with
higher rated transmit power, better and receiver sensitivity. It goes without saying that using bigger / better
external antennas will often dramatically improve your effective communications quality, and for the modest
cost of upgrading antennae, it is often the best / cheapest solution, even if you only did it at one side of the
connection (e.g. at the wireless router).

Using a good wireless router in client mode or bridge mode on the client side of the link to link together with your main wireless router is often an easy way to get dramatic improvement in link quality relative to using something like a
USB NIC or integrated laptop wireless device. Get a good router that you can install DD-WRT or similar firmware on
to get the benefits of better firmware and client mode et. al.

If you wanted to bother, it wouldn't be terribly difficult to screen out some wireless interference coming from outside
of your house as a minor construction project. Some wire screen / mesh works wonders even if it isn't anywhere near
full coverage.

You could also ask your neighbors to coordinate channels better if they're interfering strongly in a stupid way.

I'd go with some good quality but inexpensive (on sale or clearance) N wireless routers + DD-WRT + whatever
upgraded antennae you can install on your selected hardware.

If you can get 5GHZ gear inexpensively, great, but usually it's not easily found for a good price, especially for the
newer hardware that is likely to have modern firmware with less bugs / insecurity.

Someone else is saying great things about powerline carrier networking, which may be another option:
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2211675&enterthread=y