"A big point where 802.11ax wins is in congested networks: when multiple devices require substantial bandwidth, such as 4K/8K video, the new SoC supports 8 spatial streams concurrently, allowing it to perform better in these congested network situations."
Is it a congested SINGLE network, or apartment building kind of situation when there are 30+ different networks most of which are ac, n or even g? Wouldn't it be better to able to aggregate up to, say, 8-32 non-consecutive 20MHz channels than having 160MHz channels you will never be able to reserve in real life, even in SFH on 1acre lot?
You can not. It is why the 160 MHz channel numbers are just nonsense unless you are operating your access point in Siberia. Hell finding a reasonably clear 80 MHz channel isn't guaranteed in high density areas so take those headline number and cut them by 1/2 to 1/4 depending on how conservative you want to be.
Well that and there's the extra wrinkle that the published values are the PHY rate, which is usually no less than double the actual throughput of a wireless connection even under the best conditions.
802.11n and 802.11ac tend to be a little over half vs the previous standards that were half or less.
I get 450Mbps peak on an 866Mbps AC connection, which often connects at 780 or 650 under load. It's not unusual at all to get 400Mbps. It is hard as hell to keep max modulations.
The guard interval was cut shorter on N and AC which cut down on the wasted air time pretty decently and general efficiency improvements helped as well. A lot of those gains disappear the instant a legacy client is connected, though it doesn't impact it as badly as connecting an A or G client to an 802.11n AP. AC is better about keeping the wide channel and higher modulation while an A/G client is using air time.
The frustrating thing is that 802.11n already had the capability of multiple data streams.
802.11n 2.4GHz is capable of 600Mbps with 4 chain @ 40MHz channel width but hardly anyone makes 4 chain 802.11n hardware.
Even just using 20MHz channels and getting 300Mbps out of 2.4 would be extremely useful.
802.11ac was already capable of 8 streams, but I've only seen one router that can do that and I can't find consumer level cards with more than 2 chains. I've been looking for a 3x3 or 4x4 AC m.2 card for my laptop ever since I got it. The only 3x3 I've found was an Apple card.
I can find a few for commercial use but they generally won't work in a PC, only in Mikrotik, StarOS, etc, and those are only mini PCIe.
802.11n can still handle 99% of the Internet connections out there.
Honestly the difference between N, AC and AX is channel width for the most part. The higher modulations aren't used unless you have really clear spectrum.
Supported, but unknown if it's all 4 features of WPA3. Why did the WiFi Alliance pick the same silly route of USB type-C?
I would hope, on their flagship, they thought to include WiFi Easy Connect & Opportunistic Wireless Connection.
>Snapdragon 855 also offers powerful next generation Wi-Fi performance via the Qualcomm® Wi-Fi 6-ready mobile platform, including advanced features like 8x8 sounding to serve more devices more efficiently (up to 2x improvement over 4x4 sounding devices), Target Wakeup Time for up to 67% better power efficiency, and the latest security with WPA3. Snapdragon 855 also supports mmWave Wi-Fi, utilizing the Qualcomm® 60 GHz Wi-Fi mobile platform. This industry first 802.11ay-based platform takes Wi-Fi speeds up to an unprecedented 10 Gbps and brings wire-equivalent low latency.
In a few years time, there will be long-gone memories of the old days, when only Wi-Fi 5 existed. Every business intersection (roads, conferences, waiting rooms, etc) will be wondering how the earlier simpletons could ever do any kind of business.
Eventually, "Wi-Fi 7" and later should be embedded directly under the human skull. So we will tele-communicate & tele-cooperate at speeds & styles that simpletons of the earlier centuries could not even imagine.
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peevee - Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - link
"A big point where 802.11ax wins is in congested networks: when multiple devices require substantial bandwidth, such as 4K/8K video, the new SoC supports 8 spatial streams concurrently, allowing it to perform better in these congested network situations."Is it a congested SINGLE network, or apartment building kind of situation when there are 30+ different networks most of which are ac, n or even g? Wouldn't it be better to able to aggregate up to, say, 8-32 non-consecutive 20MHz channels than having 160MHz channels you will never be able to reserve in real life, even in SFH on 1acre lot?
namechamps - Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - link
You can not. It is why the 160 MHz channel numbers are just nonsense unless you are operating your access point in Siberia. Hell finding a reasonably clear 80 MHz channel isn't guaranteed in high density areas so take those headline number and cut them by 1/2 to 1/4 depending on how conservative you want to be.nismotigerwvu - Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - link
Well that and there's the extra wrinkle that the published values are the PHY rate, which is usually no less than double the actual throughput of a wireless connection even under the best conditions.0ldman79 - Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - link
802.11n and 802.11ac tend to be a little over half vs the previous standards that were half or less.I get 450Mbps peak on an 866Mbps AC connection, which often connects at 780 or 650 under load. It's not unusual at all to get 400Mbps. It is hard as hell to keep max modulations.
The guard interval was cut shorter on N and AC which cut down on the wasted air time pretty decently and general efficiency improvements helped as well. A lot of those gains disappear the instant a legacy client is connected, though it doesn't impact it as badly as connecting an A or G client to an 802.11n AP. AC is better about keeping the wide channel and higher modulation while an A/G client is using air time.
0ldman79 - Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - link
802.11ax can split into sub carriers per 802.11ax client and has contention mechanisms in order to coordinate with other 802.11ax access points.It does correct a *lot* of issues with 802.11, however, until everyone is on 802.11ax as a baseline the issues will persist.
In order for MUMIMO to really work you need at least an 802.11ac wave 2 client.
0ldman79 - Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - link
The frustrating thing is that 802.11n already had the capability of multiple data streams.802.11n 2.4GHz is capable of 600Mbps with 4 chain @ 40MHz channel width but hardly anyone makes 4 chain 802.11n hardware.
Even just using 20MHz channels and getting 300Mbps out of 2.4 would be extremely useful.
802.11ac was already capable of 8 streams, but I've only seen one router that can do that and I can't find consumer level cards with more than 2 chains. I've been looking for a 3x3 or 4x4 AC m.2 card for my laptop ever since I got it. The only 3x3 I've found was an Apple card.
I can find a few for commercial use but they generally won't work in a PC, only in Mikrotik, StarOS, etc, and those are only mini PCIe.
Makaveli - Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - link
This is fantastic.Except you aren't going to get a 4x4 antenna setup on a cell phone like just most AC devices are 2x2 I expect the same even on the Snapdragon 855.
So 1.69Gbps will be max then add abit away from protocol overhead, interference, walls.
Real life transfer rates will be lower after everything is said and done.
GreenReaper - Wednesday, December 12, 2018 - link
Perhaps so - but if you start being limited by your Internet connection, that'd be plenty for most users.0ldman79 - Thursday, December 13, 2018 - link
802.11n can still handle 99% of the Internet connections out there.Honestly the difference between N, AC and AX is channel width for the most part. The higher modulations aren't used unless you have really clear spectrum.
iwod - Wednesday, December 12, 2018 - link
Supporting subset of AX, Still in Draft 4/5 I can't even remember, 1000s of issues remaining,Which is why I said AX might be a mess..... and it is looking like one.
I do wish ALL AX router uses NBase-T, it is time we move to 5Gbps Port instead of 1Gbps.
SydneyBlue120d - Wednesday, December 12, 2018 - link
What about WPA3 ?ikjadoon - Wednesday, December 12, 2018 - link
Supported, but unknown if it's all 4 features of WPA3. Why did the WiFi Alliance pick the same silly route of USB type-C?I would hope, on their flagship, they thought to include WiFi Easy Connect & Opportunistic Wireless Connection.
>Snapdragon 855 also offers powerful next generation Wi-Fi performance via the Qualcomm® Wi-Fi 6-ready mobile platform, including advanced features like 8x8 sounding to serve more devices more efficiently (up to 2x improvement over 4x4 sounding devices), Target Wakeup Time for up to 67% better power efficiency, and the latest security with WPA3. Snapdragon 855 also supports mmWave Wi-Fi, utilizing the Qualcomm® 60 GHz Wi-Fi mobile platform. This industry first 802.11ay-based platform takes Wi-Fi speeds up to an unprecedented 10 Gbps and brings wire-equivalent low latency.
https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2018/12/05/...
MTEK - Wednesday, December 12, 2018 - link
Unsure if it's official, but other sites report WPA3 support.MTEK - Wednesday, December 12, 2018 - link
Never mind... thanks, ikjadoon.gregoryzeng - Sunday, December 16, 2018 - link
In a few years time, there will be long-gone memories of the old days, when only Wi-Fi 5 existed. Every business intersection (roads, conferences, waiting rooms, etc) will be wondering how the earlier simpletons could ever do any kind of business.Eventually, "Wi-Fi 7" and later should be embedded directly under the human skull. So we will tele-communicate & tele-cooperate at speeds & styles that simpletons of the earlier centuries could not even imagine.