802.11ac: Better Coverage, But Won't Hit Advertised Speeds 107
New submitter jcenters writes "Apple's new AirPort routers feature the new 802.11ac protocol, promising Wi-Fi speeds in excess of 1 Gbps, but Glenn Fleishman of TidBITS explains why we are unlikely to see such speeds any time soon. Quoting: 'When Apple says that its implementation of 802.11ac can achieve up to 1.3 Gbps — and other manufacturers with beefier radio systems already say up to 1.7 Gbps — the reality is that a lot of conditions have to be met to achieve that raw data rate. And, as you well know from decades of network-technology advertising, dear reader, a “raw” data rate (often incorrectly called “theoretical”) is the maximum number of bits that can pass over a network. That includes all the network overhead as well as actual data carried in packets and frames. The net throughput is often 30 to 60 percent lower.'"
wasteful on spectrum (Score:5, Insightful)
Another issue is these routers are probably going to barf all over the spectrum, so as soon as you get a few of them operating in one area, performance will go to hell for everybody.
This has already happened on 2.4GHz in some areas, and is starting to happen on 5GHz too. Greater speeds require more spectrum.
Kind of like EPA gas mileage ratings. (Score:2, Insightful)
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is."
Re:wasteful on spectrum (Score:3, Insightful)
1. That is the best thing about moving to 5Ghz
2. Throw those things out, while you are at it get rid of the fax machine. Cordless phones have all the disadvantages of cell phone and landlines together for maximum failure.
Irrelevant knit picking (Score:4, Insightful)
The advertised speeds are used by normal people to estimate performance compared to other products. If this was the only product that advertised "raw" data then a distinction would be necessary. Using the same speed measurement conventions as the rest of the industry allows for an accurate performance comparison against other available hardware.
No one is going to exclude the new AirPort from their short list because it can't transmit 1 GB within a certain amount of time. The choice will be based on if it transmits the data faster than other routers.
Re:Simple solution (Score:5, Insightful)
Gigabit ethernet doesn't have a practical throughput of 1 Gb either.
Yes it does, I've never seen any problems with pushing 1gig either at home or at work.
Perhaps you're having problems with the backplane capacity of your router, or issues with your NIC or computer. But it's not the connection between the ports at fault, unless you've got the cable wound around a source of powerful RF emissions.
I don't even.. (Score:4, Insightful)