Is 802.11a already a thing of the past?Q: The Wi-Fi Alliance (Wi-Fi Alliance, Austin, TX, www.wi-fi.org) A membership organization founded in 1999 devoted to certifying 802.11 wireless Ethernet devices for interoperability. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo on a wireless radio (PC card, access point, etc. just announced the certification of several 802.11a--only products. But, Apple isn't supporting the 802.11a specification as part of AirPort Extreme, and Linksys has discontinued dis·con·tin·ue v. dis·con·tin·ued, dis·con·tin·u·ing, dis·con·tin·ues v.tr. 1. To stop doing or providing (something); end or abandon: its 802.11a--only product line. I see 802.11g looming looming: see mirage. on the horizon--some companies have even released products supporting it. Should I skip "a" and just go to "g"? A: The best way to evaluate the myriad Myriad is a classical Greek name for the number 104 = 10 000. In modern English the word refers to an unspecified large quantity. The term myriad is a progression in the commonly used system of describing numbers using tens and hundreds. of wireless choices is to dig under the hood under the hood - [hot-rodder talk] 1. The underlying implementation of a product (hardware, software, or idea). Implies that the implementation is not intuitively obvious from the appearance, but the speaker is about to enable the listener to grok it. and learn more about how each one works. Here are the basics: 802.11b and 802.11g both operate in the 2.4GHz spectrum. 802.11a lives in 5GHz. The range for 802.11b and 802.11g is typically around 300 feet, while ranges for 802.11a are closer to 60 feet (of course, this varies dramatically based on your particular RF environment). 802.11b operates at 11Mbps, and both 802.11a and 802.11g operate at 54Mbps. Finally, consider that 802.11b deployments have significantly outpaced 802.11a (and 802.11g is backward-compatible with 802.11b). So, what does all of this mean? Well, b/g have better range then 802.11a. 802.11a speeds are faster than 802.11b, but 802.11a speeds are equal to 802.11g. 802.11a has more channels available than b/g. Because 802.11b has been the clear winner in the marketplace, your rule of thumb should be: Use 802.11b (or 802.11g), unless you have a compelling reason to use 802.11a. Depending on your environment, there might be some good reasons to use 802.11a. Having more channels means means less interference. So, 802.11a lets you support more access points and users, even if you're already in a very dense RF environment (i.e., lots of other access points). However, with 802.11a's significantly reduced range, you will spend more money to deploy all the extra access points. As for 802.11g, early reports have indicated some compatibility problems between various vendors. These should be sorted out over the next couple of months and will likely result in firmware A category of memory chips that hold their content without electrical power. Firmware includes flash, ROM, PROM, EPROM and EEPROM technologies. When holding program instructions, firmware can be thought of as "hard software." See flash memory, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM and FOTA. upgrades to ensure compatibility. So, if you need the extra speed and can afford the extra cost, 802.11g is your best bet. Otherwise, you can use the tried and true 802.11b standard. If you absolutely require more channels, and you can live with being incompatible incompatible adj. 1) inconsistent. 2) unmatching. 3) unable to live together as husband and wife due to irreconcilable differences. In no-fault divorce states, if one of the spouses desires to end the marriage, that fact proves incompatibility, and a divorce with the rest of the b/g world, go ahead with 802.11a or dual-band (a/b). |
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