802.11n Wi-Fi Routers: Tested to the Nth degree

February 19, 2013

Sure, those fancy new 802.11ac routers are wicked fast, but the IEEE isn’t expected to ratify that standard until later this year. So today’s 802.11ac hardware could be rendered obsolete if the standards body changes course between now and November. That probably won’t happen, but if you value interoperability assurances more than raw speed—for instance, if you’re buying networking equipment for your small business—you’ll want to stick with products based on the tried-and-true 802.11n standard. Here’s a look at five of the best routers in that category. You might recall that the first 802.11n routers hit the market in advance of the IEEE’s final ratification of that standard. But there’s a key difference: Back then, the Wi-Fi Alliance ran a certification program that not only assured consumers that all 802.11 Draft N equipment bearing the Wi-Fi logo would operate together, but that those devices would also be compatible with the final 802.11n standard. The Wi-Fi Alliance is not operating such a program for gear based on the 802.11ac draft standard, so you’re on your own. What the jargon means Each of the routers in this roundup is a so-called N900 model, meaning it supports three 150-megabits-per-second spatial streams on the 2.4GHz frequency band, and three 150-mbps spatial streams on the 5GHz frequency band. That’s 450 mbps in total for each band. Multiply that by two and you get 900. You should be aware, however, that none of these routers will actually deliver 900 mbps of data throughput—N900 is just a label. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2028219/802-11n-wi-fi-routers-tested-to-the-nth-degree.html