802.11a is here, and it promises wireless speeds that you've only dreamed of up until now. But does it deliver?
802.11a is the latest wireless technology to hit the streets. 802.11a uses the 5 GHz waveband, unlike today's 802.11b gear, which use the 2.4 GHz portion of the spectrum. The newer products race along at 54 Mbps, compared with a slow-poke 11 Mbps for current devices.
At 54 Mbps, a new threshold opens. Voice-over-IP (VOIP) and multimedia streaming become viable. Real-world speeds, however, will depend on network traffic, indoor obstructions such as walls and the latency of the wired infrastructure.
Accton lent us engineering samples of their new 802.11a products, the CheetahWireless WA5001 802.11a access point, and the CheetahWireless WN5301 802.11a PC Card, and we were eager to test the speed boost.
Fuss-Free Hardware
The WA5001 access point is a book-sized, lightweight box with stubby antennae on either side. It is simplicity itself: It has one RJ-45 Ethernet port for the LAN connection, a reset button, a power plug and three LEDs indicating power, wireless activity and LAN activity. It feels sturdy and well made and can be mounted on walls or desktops. Accton recommends that users mount it as high as possible for best coverage.
Accton suggests that users be no more than 18m from the access point to enjoy the maximum 54 Mbps speed in an indoors setting. This is considerably less than the theoretical distance that 802.11b can manage, although again that's dependant on a lot of environmental factors.
Speed decreases in discrete steps for users at the 50 m periphery of indoors coverage. Outdoors coverage is theoretically much wider -- up to a claimed 500m -- although users would have to put up with a maximum theoretical 1Mbps connection at those kinds of distances. A maximum of 64 simultaneous connections are possible with one access point.
The CheetahWireless offers a proprietary 72Mbps mode of operation called "Turbo". You can't get something for nothing, though, and there are tradeoffs to consider. The number of open channels drops from eight to three, decreasing the number of clients that can connect to the WA5001 from 64 to 24. The rated coverage drops too--from 18m indoors in normal mode to 12m in Turbo mode. If you're in an office with a lot of obstructions, expect that to drop even further. It's also worth considering whether you're likely to mix and match 802.11a gear; other vendors devices are likely to have headaches with any proprietary connections, if they'll connect at all.
Overall, we don't recommend Turbo mode as a reason for buying the CheetahWireless. Turbo mode restricts access to only users with CheetahWireless network adapters, reduces the number of clients and reduces coverage. However, this should not change the fact that the the WN5301 PC card and WA5001 access point are still fine products when used in normal mode.
Easy Setup
Once the access point was plugged into the wired LAN and powered up, the configuration software was installed on a notebook with an Accton 802.11a PC Card installed. The configuration software sniffed out the access point easily over the airwaves.
If you like, you can live the Lou Reed lifestyle and take a walk on the wild side by setting up the access point wirelessly. If you aren't using an Accton 802.11a wireless network client working in factory default mode, it would be wiser to run the software from the wired LAN lest the network client and the access point fail to see each other.
We found the configuration utility neatly designed and simple to use. The one-window, small-footprint app displays useful network stats and transmission strength in several intelligently organized tabbed panes. To configure the access point, you need to open a web browser into the device's URL. From there, you can opt to use a no-brainer wizard or a more advanced interface. Overall, the setup experience was one of the more pleasant we have had.
One feature of the access point that deserves mention is its DHCP modes. It can either use its own default IP address or take an address from a DHCP server. It can also act as a mini-DHCP server, dishing out addresses to all connected clients. You can choose to enable or disable either mode in any combination. Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) control of the access point is also possible.
Another feature of the CheetahWireless is 152-bit WEP (wireless encryption protocol). WEP has had its detractors, and has proven to be less than 100% reliable. Still, it's currently the standard, and 152-bit should still be a harder nut to crack than the standard 64-128 bit encryption that many 802.11b products utilise.
Speedy Performance
The main reason to upgrade to 802.11a is for bandwidth purposes, and we definitely saw a significant improvement in speed. We tested against a standard wired network as well as a wireless 802.11b network for comparative purposes. NetIQ's QCHECK software found that Accton's hardware averaged 20 Mbps in throughput tests, compared with just 3 Mbps for the 802.11b network. In other words, we came close to two-thirds the speed of the wired LAN, which topped out at 30 Mbps.
Our response time tests showed an even more telling advantage: Accton's hardware achieved the same 1 ms response time score as our wired LAN. Our 802.11b hardware was three times slower at 3 ms.
We did note, however, that throughput dropped significantly even when thin glass or metal panel obstructions were present, indicating a need to disperse the access points throughout the office for best coverage, even if it is open-plan. Significantly, the Accton product has many of the traits of Intel's 802.11a access point, the Intel Pro/Wireless 5000, pointing to inherent weaknesses involved in using the 5 GHz spectrum.
The other speed feature we were anxious to test was Turbo mode. Unfortunately, we were left more than a little disappointed. Despite Accton's claim to up the normal 54 Mbps to a blistering 72 Mbps, we found only a marginal speed boost in our tests.
In our tests using NetIQ's QCHECK software, we found no change in response time and throughput, with scores of 1 ms and 20 Mbps respectively. When we copied a 114 MB file over the network, we got a score of 1 min 15 seconds in normal 54 Mbps mode and a very slight improvement in Turbo Mode: 1 min 10 seconds.
A Bright and Speedy Future
Accton is on to a winner here. As expected, there is a clear boost in speed compared with existing 802.11b hardware. The access point costs AU$999, which is highly competitive with existing 802.11b gear. You'd expect the flashier 802.11a equipment to carry a price premium, but, depending on the brand of wireless equipment you prefer, there's little to no difference at all. The CheetahWireless PCMCIA card is a little more costly than some of its counterparts at AU$399.
It's always a little risky dipping your toes into a new technology, but for small businesses considering moving into wireless networking, the performance advantage should make the WA5001 access point a compelling option.
CheetahWireless WA5001 802.11a Access Point and CheetahWireless WN5301 802.11a PC Card
Company: Accton Technologies
Price: WA5001 AU$999, WN5301 AU$399
Distributor: Best Byte
Phone: (02) 9436 0788
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