Beating WLANs into submission, Part 2: Beamforming

Maximizing throughput, reducing interference Wireless Alert NetworkWorld.com | Wireless & Mobile Research Center | Update Your Profile Sponsored by Dell Computer Corporation Top 10 Reasons to Migrate to WS08 New virtualization tools, Web technologies, and security enhancements help save time and reduce costs, and provide you with high availability and increased flexibility for your changing business needs. Central to IT simplification is streamlining maintenance and maximizing availability - and by running Windows Server 2008 on Dell servers, you can do both. Spotlight Story Beating WLANs into submission, Part 2: Beamforming By Joanie Wexler You've probably heard mentions of a nascent RF capability called transmit beamforming. A couple things to keep in mind: 1) There are various types and implementations of beamforming, so not all beamforming is created equal (or standard); and 2) in large, all-wireless environments, some flavor of beamforming will eventually be needed to allow all types of client devices to run at an optimal, predictable rate and to alleviate unnecessary and troublesome interference. Read full story Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in Silicon Valley. Related News: Beating WLANs into submission, Part 1: Airtime management The IEEE ratified the bare bones Wi-Fi standard in 1997. Since then, equipment vendors and various 802.11 working groups have been beating it into submission with formal extensions and proprietary capabilities to render it a business-grade network. Much of the ongoing work relates to controlling the shared airwaves in ways that prevent big transmissions from any one client from squeezing out other clients' traffic. Cisco overcomes 11n AP power, form-factor issues Cisco has tackled the power-consumption and form-factor criticisms of its hefty Aironet 1250 Series Access Point in a new pre-standard 802.11n AP platform, officially announced this week. The new Draft N Aironet 1140 ... Cisco's new 11n gear boosts legacy Wi-Fi performance with beamforming Cisco is positioning its Aironet 1140 access point, with its beamforming technology to improve Wi-Fi performance, as the best way to shift to 802.11n without sacrificing legacy 11g and 11a clients. The role of beam-forming in 11n In a couple of newsletters this month, I've discussed the effects of multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) and antenna technology in 802.11n primarily from the perspective of a "traditional" vendor, if there is such a ... 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February giveaways from Cisco Subnet and Microsoft Subnet Up for grabs: One American Express gift card worth $250 from Global Knowledge; One Microsoft training course worth $2,995 from Global Knowledge; 15 copies each of the hot book titles Voice over IP Security, and CCNA Wireless Official Exam Certification Guide and 15 copies of Exchange Server 2007 How-To: Real Solutions for Exchange Server 2007 SP1 Administrators. Get all the entry details here. IT & social networks Survey takes a look at where IT pros do their social networking. Hot spot safety tips How to protect laptop data at your local Wi-Fi hot spot. Sponsored by Dell Computer Corporation Top 10 Reasons to Migrate to WS08 New virtualization tools, Web technologies, and security enhancements help save time and reduce costs, and provide you with high availability and increased flexibility for your changing business needs. 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