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Wireless Networking Network Networking

Wi-Fi 8 Trades Speed For a More Reliable Experience (pcworld.com) 47

Wi-Fi 8 (also known as IEEE 802.11bn Ultra High Reliability) is expected to arrive around 2028, prioritizing an enhanced user experience over speed by optimizing interactions between devices and access points. While it retains similar bandwidth specifications as the previous standard, Wi-Fi 8 aims to improve network efficiency, reducing interference and congestion for a more reliable and adaptive connection. PCWorld's Mark Hachman reports: As of Nov. 2024, MediaTek believes that Wi-Fi 8 will look virtually identical to Wi-Fi 7 in several key areas: The maximum physical layer (PHY) rate will be the same at 2,880Mbps x 8, or 23Gbits/s. It will also use the same four frequency bands (2, 4, 5, and 6GHz) and the same 4096 QAM modulation across a maximum channel bandwidth of 320MHz. (A Wi-Fi 8 router won't get 23Gbps of bandwidth, of course. According to MediaTek, the actual peak throughput in a "clean," or laboratory, environment is just 80 percent or so of the hypothetical peak throughput, and actual, real-world results can be far less.)

Still, put simply, Wi-Fi 8 should deliver the same wireless bandwidth as Wi-Fi 7, using the same channels and the same modulation. Every Wi-Fi standard has also been backwards-compatible with its predecessors, too. What Wi-Fi 8 will do, though, is change how your client device, such as a PC or a phone, interacts with multiple access points. Think of this as an evolution of how your laptop talks to your home's networking equipment. Over time, Wi-Fi has evolved from communications between one laptop and a router, across a single channel. Channel hopping routed different clients to different bands. When Wi-Fi 6 was developed, a dedicated 6GHz channel was added, sometimes as a dedicated "backhaul" between your home's access points. Now, mesh networks are more common, giving your laptop a variety of access points, channels, and frequencies to select between.
For a detailed breakdown of the upcoming advancements coming to Wi-Fi 8, including Coordinated Spatial Reuse, Coordinated Beamforming, and Dynamic Sub-Channel Operation, read the full article.

Wi-Fi 8 Trades Speed For a More Reliable Experience

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  • backwards compatible (Score:5, Interesting)

    by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Wednesday November 13, 2024 @08:50PM (#64944175) Journal
    I have to admit, the IEEE has been doing great work with the WiFi standards. For the most part, I don't even notice when a new version comes out, it just works even with some of my older devices. Compare that to USB where upgrades kind of work but also cause some problems.

    Compare it to a software framework like React that has breaking changes at will. or worse, Express.js which has catastrophically bad backwards-compatibility breaks (like silently allowing a user to authenticate with the wrong password, because JS allows you to assign to a non-existent variable). Programmers don't appreciate the value of backwards compatibility when they are paid to upgrade.
    • Wait, WiFi 8? Is Microsoft running the standards process now?
    • Compare it to a software framework like React that has breaking changes at will. or worse, Express.js which has catastrophically bad backwards-compatibility breaks

      Meh, React and Express.js are just for practice, that's breakage with training wheels. If you can master those, you get to play Home Assistant.

    • by dfghjk ( 711126 )

      If you think USB "kind of works but also causes some problems" and WiFi doesn't, then you don't use either.

      "Compare it to a software framework like React that has breaking changes at will. or worse, Express.js which has catastrophically bad backwards-compatibility breaks (like silently allowing a user to authenticate with the wrong password, because JS allows you to assign to a non-existent variable). Programmers don't appreciate the value of backwards compatibility when they are paid to upgrade."

      Software t

      • Software these days is built on a mile high pile of shit, hardware isn't.

        Well, "shit" is subjective, but the USB protocol could be better. It works, but it lacks elegance.

    • Compare that to USB where upgrades kind of work but also cause some problems.

      Do you have problems with USB, or do you have problems with devices not correctly implementing USB? I ask this because for shits and giggles I just plugged an old USB 1.1 device I coded myself back at university into my USB 3.2 USB-C port with a cheap Amazon adapter and it works just fine. As does my 15 year old printer, and every other device I own with the exception of a device which needed special drivers.

      Did something change in USB-4 to break compatibility or are you using devices which implemented some

      • Ooof, just realised how old I am. 2004 was not 15 years ago. My printer is old enough to vote.

      • With USB the main issues I've had are the weird cables, and not knowing whether a particular port will work with your device (usually because of speed or power issues). Mostly minor but not as easy as wifi, better than Angular.
        • True but that's not really a backwards compatibility issue as much as it is a ... sideways compatibility issue (there's a better word for this, the fact that a standard has many optional components a subset of which may or may not be implemented).

          WiFi is just wifi. There's very little additional things we try to do with it. On the flip side the fascination by trying to cram everything in one socket leads ultimately to issues we experience with USB, unless you want every USB device to cost $100 and every cab

          • WiFi is just wifi. There's very little additional things we try to do with it.

            Wow that's so unimaginative. Imagine if Google managed to control the WiFi working group, we'd have advertising over wifi, with proprietary plugins that only work in Chrome. They would include an encryption layer that protects your privacy, but only from other advertisers.

            Imagine if Apple managed to control the WiFi working group, we'd have to throw away our devices every 3-6 years and somehow it would incorporate a super-conducting levitator that does nothing but looks cool and replaces all buttons, but

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      The main issue with WiFi backwards compatibility is that older, slower devices slow the network down for everyone. Even just broadcasting beacons for older WiFi versions eats up precious bandwidth. One easy way to improve your WiFi is to simply disable older versions that you don't need.

      I've been trying to find info on who has the patents for WiFi 8. Best I could find was this document covering WiFi 6: https://ipwatchdog.com/wp-cont... [ipwatchdog.com]

      Note who is at the top of the table on page 10.

  • what about range?

  • by thesjaakspoiler ( 4782965 ) on Wednesday November 13, 2024 @09:28PM (#64944233)

    On my smartphone every image can now be in 8K @ 1600dpi or maybe even better.

    • My thought was that I could get to the bottom of my feed in 2 seconds flat. That's enough time to do devote an appropriate amount of attention to what's in that feed. Well, if I ever actually logged into facebook, it would be enough.

  • Three Ubiquity access points paired with their switch. I haven't had to mess with any of this in 6 years.
    • Same here. Access points show up cheap on ebay when official support ends. I like how they default to bridge mode so all my devices are on the same subnet.

    • Details, please. I see several AP models on eBay for around $25 each, and a switch for $50. Sounds like a deal if itâ(TM)s that reliable. I presume you wire the APs so thereâ(TM)s a little elbow grease in the home - or do they backhaul wirelessly? Thank you

      • The APs are U6 pro's and I don't recall the exact model of the switch. But yes, the AP's are hard-wired to the switch (POE).

        I bought the HW through them, but I don't think there's any issue with buying the stuff second-hand.
      • by Xenx ( 2211586 )
        Just to provide some additional detail. Their APs do support meshing, but not dedicated wireless backhaul.
        • by sageFool ( 36961 )

          they have a mesh model that does wireless backhaul IIRC "U6 Mesh"

          • by Xenx ( 2211586 )
            From what I'm seeing posted online, that doesn't appear to be the case. Looking at the specs, it looks to basically be a U6 pro with a different form factor and weatherproofing.
      • I think they can mesh, but I've got mine set up with wired cables and PoE, some drawn by me under the house and one sketchily installed by the previous owner through the a cupboard, then the ceiling/floor then another cupboard and ceiling and floor and finally into the attic room.

        Seemed like a bad idea to not use wires when the whole point is that my house has thick walls (brick or lath and lime/horsehair plaster) which block wifi signals quite well. I've still got a deadspot even with 3 APs.

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          British house construction isn't ideal for adding extra cabling after the fact, but one option is to go outside and then back in. Like cable TV providers usually do. Get some outdoor rated CAT6.

          • British house construction isn't ideal for adding extra cabling after the fact, but one option is to go outside and then back in. Like cable TV providers usually do. Get some outdoor rated CAT6.

            Fortunately, mine's not too bad. It's an older house (1914), so for anything on the ground floor, I can crawl under the house from the old coal cellar or poke a very long stick with a hook on the end. Up to the other floors is another matter of course. What's weird is there is a cavity where the pipes go, but I've no

            • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

              If it wasn't so incredibly disruptive I'd have mine re-wired and all the walls re-skimmed, with conduit and both copper ethernet and fibre put in everywhere... But it's the kind of thing where most electricians refuse point blank if the house isn't empty and about to be fully renovated.

    • by GrahamJ ( 241784 )

      Same, been quite happy with Ubiquiti gear (UDMP and 2 APs). I did have one AP die but otherwise they've been rock solid.

    • Google Wifi mesh network did it for me. I used to buy a new router about every year, because they just wouldn't provide the coverage I needed. Some of those were hundreds of dollars. But ever since I bought a three-node mesh, I've never had any trouble.

  • by rossdee ( 243626 )

    But with 20% tariff on everything, nobody can afford new hardware.

  • It will also use the same four frequency bands (2, 4, 5, and 6GHz) and the same 4096 QAM modulation across a maximum channel bandwidth of 320MHz.

    Thank you, AI. Let's see how long this new "truth" hangs around.

    Best I can figure, "2.4, 5, and 6GHz" somehow got translated to "2, 4, 5, and 6GHz." Please correct me if 4GHz is a band used internationally that I'm not familiar with, but everything I'm seeing says there are only three bands, the lowest of is known as 2.4GHz, not 2GHz, and there is no 4GHz spectrum allocated for WiFi.

    The 4-band models out there generally have two 5GHz radios, one of which is dedicated to the backhaul/mesh network.

  • Reason: at 1 gigabit per second transfer rate, it's already way overkill for Internet access, given that most web server farm providers can only push out so much data even on "fat pipes." I'd rather they improve Wi-Fi technology for more reliable data connections instead at home or in the office.

What we anticipate seldom occurs; what we least expect generally happens. -- Bengamin Disraeli

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