COMP247 - Wireless Network Standards and Home Router Recommendations

This report provides a detailed analysis of various wireless network standards, including 802.11a, b, g, n, ac, ad, af, ah, and ax, comparing their wavelengths, ranges, speeds, antenna configurations, and bandwidth. It explains MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) technology and its impact on wireless performance. Furthermore, the report offers home router recommendations for different budgets ($100, $250, and $500), justifying each choice by comparing features and performance within the respective price range, considering factors like dual-band support, tri-band capabilities, MU-MIMO, and suitability for home or office environments. The report also touches upon warehouse network design considerations, including router placement and tools for optimizing Wi-Fi speed and stability.

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Wireless network standards
Being a standard developed by what is termed to be the Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers, IEEE 802.11 is, therefore, the original specification of wireless. What
many people know as the extensions of 802.11 were given issued the same number in addition
with a letter suffix. The numbers 802.11 were therefore set by the IEEE for the sake of
describing the connections that exist in the wireless networking [1]. For instance, 802.11 is used
to provide a transmission of up to 2Mbs in a band of 2.4GHz. 802.11b is said to have the
capability of providing up to 11Mbs data transmission and in the band of 2.4GHz. Another one is
the 802.11a that on the other hand with the band of 5GHz, it is able to transmit 54Mbs of data
[2]. Just like 802.11a, 802.11g also with the band of 2.4GHz, it also has the capability of
transmitting 54Mbs of data. 802.11n is seen to be most powerful than the last four that I have
mentioned. With the band of 2.4/5GHz, it is able to transmit up to 450Mbs of data. In general,
IEEE 802.11 is a set of guidelines that were set technologically to help in the process of
implementing WI-FI.
802.11b came by as an expansion of the 802.11 which was on that case the original
standard in the year 1999. To what is said to be traditional Ethernet, IEEE.11b as earlier stated
has the capability to support up to 11Mbs of bandwidth [3]. Most of the venders prefer the
services of this standard with a target of lowering their cost of production. The best reason for all
this is that it is unregulated and has the advantage of incurring more interfaces like of cordless
phones, microwave ovens among others with just the same 2.4GHz. It has the advantage of low
cost and a good signal that cannot be easily obstructed but the negative side is that it possesses
the lowest maximum speed and there is an interference on the side of home appliances as a result
of regulated frequency.

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802.11a was also created as an extension on the original 802.11 just the same time
802.11b was still in the development stage. It is not true that 802.11a came after 802.11b but the
fact is that they were both created at the same time only that 802.11b was cheaper hence it
gained more popularity than 802.11a. This is the reason as to why 802.11b is more in use in
homes while 802.11a is still in the market due to its high cost. The range of 802.11a is shorted by
its high frequency when you compare to 802.11b which is 5GHz and a bandwidth of 54Mbs.
There is also a negative result of having high frequency when it comes to penetrating obstacles
like walls. But as a result of the 802.11a and 802.11b having frequencies that are different, they
are incompatible and can come as a package of 802.11a/b only that the two standards can’t be
implemented side by side [4]. The connection has to be on only one standard.
802.11g was brought into the market in the year 2002 2003. This came by as an attempt
to combine 802.11b and 802.11a and it is set to use a frequency of 2.4GHz at the same time
supporting a bandwidth of up to 54Mbs. It has an access point that is capable of working with
802.11b network adaptors. It has an advantage of a faster maximum speed with a good signal at
the same time which cannot be obstructed easily [5]. It on the other hand is more costly
compared to 802.11b. You may also find appliances that at one point may interfere on its signal
that is unregulated.
802.11n came as an improvement on 802.11g due to the amount of bandwidth that can be
utilized by multiple users with multiple antennas and wireless signals (MIMO technology). Due
to this capabilities, it is also being called by many people as Wireless N. as a result of its
increased intensity in terms of signal, it is seen to offer better range unlike the earlier standards
of WI-FI. Its compatibility with 802.11b/gear is backward [6]. It has the advantage of a fastest
maximum speed and a signal range that is one of the best. Its cost is a little higher than 802.11g.

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802.11ac is seen to be newest Wi-Fi generation and it makes use of a technology that is
dual-band wireless. It can support connections that are simultaneous offering support on both
5GHz and also 2.4GHz bands. While on 2.4GHz, its bandwidth can be rated to be 450Mbs and
when you are at 5GHz, you will have a bandwidth of up to 300Mbs. It also has a character of
offering a backward compatibility while fused to 802.11b/g/n [7].
802.11ad was made to be an amendment targeting to define new physical layer that has
the capability to operate in a wave of 60GHz. Unlike 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, it has a
propagation character that is totally different [8]. Those products that are targeted to implement
this standard bare a WiGig name as its brand but the program in charge of the certification is still
in the hands of Wi-Fi Alliance. It also has a peak rate of transmission of 7Gbits/s.
802.11af also by many referred to as “White-Fi” and it came by as an amendment in the
year 2014. It gave an allowance for WLAN operation in UHF and VHF ranging between 54MHz
and 790MHZ. unused TV channels can be transmitted by cognitive radio with this standard.
Primary users are today making use of this standard in areas like wireless microphones, analog
TV among others. The position is determined by the access point stations where the use of a
satellite and internet is involved in the frequency channel determination [9]. OFDM is used by
the physical layer at the same time basing on 802.11ac.
802.11ah on the other hand is set to define the systems of WLAN that operate at sub-
1GHz band. As a result of its lower frequency is offers a transmission range that is more
improved when you compare to other WANs that are set to operate in 2.4 and 5GHz of band.
Large scale sensors also prefer using 802.11ah due to its extended range of outdoor Wi-Fi and
hotspot. This protocol has its target set to outface what is known to be low power Bluetooth.
802.11ax was created as a successor of the famous 802.11ac. It came with an advantage of

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increased efficiency in terms of WLAN networks. However, 802.11xa is currently still in
development and the good thing about its developers is that they have their goal set on proving
four times the throughput that is witnessed by the users of 802.11ac.
MIMO which in full stands for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output is said to be one of the
wireless technologies that have the capability to use multiple receivers and transmitters in the
process of transferring more data at the same time [10]. MIMO is supported by all wireless
products that have 802.11n. This technology is a boost to 802.11n since it allows it to reach very
high speeds compared to products that do not have 802.11n. The access point has to be able to
support MIMO for it to be implemented. But when you are in need of optional performance and
the range, you have to make sure that booth the access point and the station both support MIMO.
Comparison Table:
802.11
Protocol
Frequency MIMO
allowable
Stream
Bandwidth Modularity
a 5,3.7 N/A 20 OFDM
b 2.4 N/A 22 DSSS
g 2.4 N/A 20 OFDM
n 2.4/5 4 20/40 MIMO-
OFDM
ac 5 8 20/40/80/160 MIMO-
OFDM
ad 60 N/A 2,160 OFDM
ah 0.9 4 1-16 MIMO-

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OFDM
ax 2.4/5MIMO-
OFDM
MIMO-
OFDM
Home Router Recommendations
At the budget of $100, I would recommend for the NETGEAR R6700 Nightawk AC1750
Dual WI-FI Router. This comes with more advantages like dual band, it is best for home users
and for those with small offices, a user can be able to connect more than 12 devices at the same
time, it is also able to attain the 802.11ac speed, and also for those who love the services of VPN,
the device is built to support it [11]. You can easily get it at the amazon.com at the cheapest price
of $89.
For the budget of $200, my recommendations will be to go for the Linksys Max-Stream
AC2200 MU-MIMO Tri-band Wireless Router. This is basically because it has the specifications
of a trio-band WI-FI enabled router. Is has six power amplifiers that can cover both 2.4GHz and
also cover 5GHz hence the operation level range is also high. The use of 802.11ac 2200Mbs
makes it twice faster than the normal 802.11ac router. It is also made to support the 802.11k
making it suitable for office use. To add on that, it has the capability to support multiple Wi-Fi
connections at the same time [12]. It is cheaper at the amazon.com at the price of $177.96 only.
A user with a budget of $500, the best router will be Zyxel Uag4100 Ieee 802.11n
Wireless Router. This one basing on the usage, it is suitable for large offices. It also has the
advantage of being characterized by trio band [12]. It also has the capability to support 802.11n
standards. When it comes to establishing single spot Wi-Fi, it is the best. It also has the

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capability of supporting a good data speed of around 190Mbs in the form of WI-FI. At the price
of $499.99, you can get yourself one at the amazon.com.
Summary Table:
NETGEAR R6700
Nightawk AC1750 Dual
WI-FI Router
the Linksys Max-Stream
AC2200 MU-MIMO Tri-
band Wireless Router
Zyxel Uag4100 Ieee 802.11n
Wireless Router
 Offers dual band
support
 It also offers the
support of 802.11ac
 It can attain the speed
like the one of
802.11ac
 It has a trio band
support
 2.4GHz and 5GHz
can be both supported
 It has the capability to
support 802.11k
 It also has the
capability to support
802.11ac with the
high speed of
2200Mbs
 Has an advantage of
trio band services
 Can be best used in a
large office
environment
 Has the power to
support IEEE 802.11n
Warehouse Network Design
Moving your router will be the most perfect and significant way to start going about with
the whole arrangements. I would recommend that you go for a more central position in the

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building. Since it is a two account store which also has a private store, the router will be placed if
it was laid right in the core of that room. Using a wireless signal like the likes of a microwave or
even a phone that is freestyle, all of the floor will be into the system well. You will need some
tools that will help you in determining the nearby networks and the channels they are operating n
to. Some of the tools will be like NirSoft WifiInfoView which is for windows, a Linux based
iwlist, a Wifi Analyzer for the android version, and maybe a Xerrus Wi-Fi Inspector.
There are a number of ways that can be used to enlarge the WI-FI speed and its
steadfastness like transforming the thickness of the channel, altering the channel of the wireless,
only improvising WPA2 refuge in your network, and getting rid of the old protocols of wireless
that are in use.

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Reference list
[1] Hiertz, G.R., Denteneer, D., Max, S., Taori, R., Cardona, J., Berlemann, L. and Walke,
B., 2010. IEEE 802.11 s: the WLAN mesh standard. IEEE Wireless Communications, 17(1).
[2] Chakraborty, U., Kundu, A., Chowdhury, S.K. and Bhattacharjee, A.K., 2014. Compact
dual-band microstrip antenna for IEEE 802.11 a WLAN application. IEEE Antennas and
Wireless Propagation Letters, 13, pp.407-410.
[3] Desai, P. and Ibrahim, B., Broadcom Corp, 2015. Method and system for antenna and
radio front-end topologies for a system-on-a-chip (SOC) device that combines bluetooth and
IEEE 802.11 b/g WLAN technologies. U.S. Patent 9,059,782.
[4] Ghosh, A., Mangalvedhe, N., Ratasuk, R., Mondal, B., Cudak, M., Visotsky, E., Thomas,
T.A., Andrews, J.G., Xia, P., Jo, H.S. and Dhillon, H.S., 2012. Heterogeneous cellular networks:
From theory to practice. IEEE communications magazine, 50(6).
[5] Hiertz, G.R., Denteneer, D., Stibor, L., Zang, Y., Costa, X.P. and Walke, B., 2010. The
IEEE 802.11 universe. IEEE Communications Magazine, 48(1).
[6] Selvam, T. and Srikanth, S., 2010, January. A frame aggregation scheduler for IEEE
802.11 n. In Communications (NCC), 2010 National Conference on (pp. 1-5). IEEE.
[7] Ong, E.H., Kneckt, J., Alanen, O., Chang, Z., Huovinen, T. and Nihtilä, T., 2011,
September. IEEE 802.11 ac: Enhancements for very high throughput WLANs. In Personal
indoor and mobile radio communications (PIMRC), 2011 IEEE 22nd international symposium
on (pp. 849-853). IEEE.
[8] Perahia, E., Cordeiro, C., Park, M. and Yang, L.L., 2010, January. IEEE 802.11 ad:
Defining the next generation multi-Gbps Wi-Fi. In Consumer Communications and Networking
Conference (CCNC), 2010 7th IEEE (pp. 1-5). IEEE.

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[9] Flores, A.B., Guerra, R.E., Knightly, E.W., Ecclesine, P. and Pandey, S., 2013. IEEE
802.11 af: A standard for TV white space spectrum sharing. IEEE Communications
Magazine, 51(10), pp.92-100.
[10] Vook, F.W., Ghosh, A. and Thomas, T.A., 2014, June. MIMO and beamforming
solutions for 5G technology. In Microwave Symposium (IMS), 2014 IEEE MTT-S
International (pp. 1-4). IEEE.
[11] Truedsson, M. and Hjelm, V., 2018. Situation-aware Adaptive Cryptography.
[12] Takuno, T., Koyama, M. and Hikihara, T., 2010, October. In-home power distribution
systems by circuit switching and power packet dispatching. In Smart Grid Communications
(SmartGridComm), 2010 First IEEE International Conference on (pp. 427-430). IEEE.