Generation N: Five 802.11n routers tested

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Tricks

The current 802.11g wireless standard has a theoretical maximum data throughput of 54Mbit/s. Take away the overhead and your left with a maximum net throughput of somewhere between 20 to 25 Mbit/s. Manufacturers implemented clever tricks - such as utilising multiple bands - to boost this speed. There remains to be some uncertainty as to what the maximum theoretical data throughput for the 802.11n standard will be: the original goal was set at 500Mbit/s, but the suppliers of the routers which we tested mentioned - if they were even willing to mention anything at all about concrete speeds - speeds of around 270 to 300 Mbit/s, about five times faster than 802.11g. Besides the increase in speed the new standard should also increase the range of the wireless network. To realise these figures, manufacturers have had to implement several "tricks" with 802.11n. First of all the standard uses multiple channels and the total bandwidth has been doubled from 20 MHz to 40 MHz. The 802.11n standard also utilises MIMO-technology (Multiple Input Multiple Output): by using multiple transmitter and receiver antennas and implementing some smart algorithms, MIMO allows for increased data throughput and increased range.More information about MIMO can be found here .

MIMO can improve the bandwidth and range of wireless networks by making use of the reflections of radio signals..

Compatible

To make use of the higher speeds available with 802.11n you will need a suitable router and the correct adapter for your pc. When connecting to the network through your integrated WLAN-adapter in your notebook, the sets will automatically revert back to 802.11g and hence you will not be able to go above the aforementioned speeds of 20 to 25 Mbit/s. We will therefore be testing with different PC Card models on offer from the various manufacturers. Most suppliers also offer a range of USB and PCI models.

We didn't test compatibility between the different brands too rigorously, but the few tests we did do showed us that you're better of buying a router and adapters from the same brand and preferably from the same series. Mixing and matching components from different manufacturers will either work or not at all.

More importantly we have to question whether these concept products will be compatible with the final 802.11n standard. The five manufacturers who supplied us with these routers cannot give any guarantees whatsoever whether this will be the case or not, seeing as the standard could undergo some major changes before being finalised. Once the 802.11n standard has been finalised and ratified, all the above manufacturers will attempt to ensure compatibility through a firmware upgrade. The only manufacturer that offers a hard guarantee is ASUS. They stated on their site that they will guarantee 802.11n compatibility, be it through firmware or hardware upgrades, at no additional cost to the consumer. This could turn out to be quite a costly venture for ASUS, but from the consumers point of view this policy can only be lauded. It should be noted however that ASUS has only stated this on its website, we could not find anything referring to this statement in any of the documentation that accompanied the router itself. Therefore any prospective buyers of the WL-500W would be wise to make a print screen of the aforementioned web page.

Testing procedure

As stated above, we tested the five 802.11n routers in combination with their own PC Card adapters. We tested the wireless data throughput of each set-up at ranges of 10 and 20 meters with the professional testing software NETIQ Chariot. Due to problems with the Belkin PC Card we were not able to include the test results for that specific set-up. In the bar graphs below you will find the results of the new 802.11n sets marked in red. The older 802.11g sets, shown as a reference point, are marked in blue.