Screaming MIMO

Product Test and Buyer's Guide This newsletter is sponsored by Fluke Networks Network Analyzer FREE Trial Use OptiView Analyzer on your network free for five days. Generate network discovery reports, perform security audits and see protocol distribution. Click here to request a free trial now! Product Test and Buyer's Guide, 10/02/07 Screaming MIMO By C.J. Mathias New 802.11n Draft 2 products targeted at the small-office/home-office market show a dramatic improvement in interoperability and a slight improvement in throughput over the Draft 1 products we tested last summer. Network World VoIP and Convergence Buyer's Guide Find the right products for your enterprise - fast. Our extensive database of detailed product information will quickly help you pinpoint the hardware or software you need to build out a converged voice and data network. With the side-by-side comparison tool you can evaluate product features and make the best decision for your enterprise. Click here to go to the Buyer's Guide now. Throughput results were well below the theoretical maximum of 300Mbps, but many products did exceed 100Mbps, which means they deliver significantly better performance than 802.11g products at prices that aren't much higher. With major vendors, such as Cisco and Meru Networks, beginning to ship enterprise-grade MIMO gear (which we plan to test later this year), Farpoint Group (the wireless networking consultancy that conducted this round of testing) predicts that a massive shift to 802.11n is going to materialize over the next year, with complete dominance of the market by this technology by early 2009. When we tested 802.11n gear last year, we found a disappointingly broad range of variability in throughput and generally poor interoperability among so-called "Draft 1-compliant" products -- not an entirely unexpected result given the lack of any form of third-party interoperability certification. This year, we tested wireless throughput and interoperability for residential/SOHO/small-business products based on Draft 2 of the IEEE 802.11n wireless LAN (WLAN) standard and certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance under its new Draft-n program. For more on this test, please click here.

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Contact the author: Mathias is a principal with Farpoint Group, an advisory firm specializing in wireless networking and mobile communications. He is an internationally known consultant, author and analyst and serves on the advisory boards of two industry events. He is a columnist for two publications, including Computerworld, and his blog, Nearpoints, recently moved to Network World. He can be reached at craig@farpointgroup.com. This newsletter is sponsored by Fluke Networks Network Analyzer FREE Trial Use OptiView Analyzer on your network free for five days. Generate network discovery reports, perform security audits and see protocol distribution. Click here to request a free trial now! BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: security.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007