Wireless Network: 802.11 Standards, Router Comparison and Network Setup

Running head: WIRELESS NETWORK
Wireless Network
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1WIRELESS NETWORK
Answer to Question 1:
802.11a: It defines the protocol that permits the reception & transmission of information at
upto 54 Mbps at a shorter range. It follows the OFDM (Orthogonal frequency-division
multiplexing) architecture. The most prominent advantage of the deemed protocol is its high
carrier frequency which also reduces its overall range citing disadvantage.
802.11b: It data allows transmission & reception at upto 11 Mbps and follows the CKK
(complementary code keying), DSSS (Direct sequence spread spectrum) channel architecture.
It is a low frequency carrier which has witnessed a mass adoption due to its benefits and at a
low cost. However, it experiences high interference.
802.11g: Following the OFDM based channel architecture the protocol is capable of offering
transmission & reception of data at a rate of upto 54 Mbps and also offers double range in
comparison to its predecessors (802.11a, 802.11b). It is also one of the most adopted
protocols because of high data rate and long range.
802.11n: The deemed technology has adopted MIMO (multiple input multiple output
antennas). It is capable of offering at or over 600 Mbps data transmission & reception rate.
Since, 2007, the discussed technology has emerged as one of the most prominent choice for
the organisations because of the high data transmission rate.
802.11ac: The deemed protocol is the path pavers for the future protocols that offers wider
channel options (80 or 160 MHz). it also offers a high data transmission rate of upto 6Gbps
and it supports an advanced format of MU MIMO (Multi user multiple input multiple
output). Vendors are calling it “Wave 2” devices that supports four spatial streams & 160
MHz channels.

2WIRELESS NETWORK
802.11ad: The deemed protocol, defines the most disruptive physical layer of 802.11 network
and the operation takes place under the 60 GHz mm (millimetre) wave spectrum. The
architecture of the channel followed by the discussed protocol is OFDM and the most
prominent challenge offered by the discussed protocol is its range that is limited to upto 10 m
only. The transmit power off the technology is very low in comparison to other counterparts.
802.11af: The deemed protocol is known by multiple other names such as the “Super Wi-Fi”
& “White-Fi” and follows a frequency band that can extend from 54 MHz to 790 MHz. The
channel architecture for the discussed protocol is based over SC OFDM and capable of
offering data transmission range of upto 26.7 Mbps and transmission range of 1 Km.
802.11ah: One of the most widely adopted wifi protocol is the discussed protocol. It is
operational in a frequency band of upto 900 MHz and the transmission rate of upto 40 Mbps.
The channel architecture is SC OFDM and the range can extend upto 1 Km. It adopted due to
extended range and the power consumption of the technology is also very low.
802.11ax: It can be considered as the successor of the 802.11ac and has enhanced the
capabilities of the latter. Like its predecessor it works on the OFDM and offers a range of
upto 1000 ft. Of all the discussed technology it is the most disruptive of them and the full
potential of the protocol is still to be measured in the commercial market.
MIMO: Multiple input multiple output is the technology associated with the antennas in the
wireless technological frameworks that uses multiple antennas at the source end & the
receiver end as well. It minimises the errors and the data speed as well.
The following table has summarised the nature of the 802.11 technologies and
presented it in it:
802.11a 802.11b 802.11g 802.11n 802.11ac 802.11ad 802.11af 802.11ah 802.11ax
Frequency 5 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.4GHz 2.4 5 GHz 60 GHz 54-790 900 MHz 2.4 GHz,