said by stevech0 :

My ISP is 20Mbps burst and 12Mbps or so sustained if I can find an Internet host that comes anywhere close to that for web and file servers. My mpeg2 streaming is just 6Mbps.

If I were trying to do HD video streaming on WiFi (and that's ill-advised), I'd care about getting more than the 24Mbps net goodput that 11g gives.

---
'11v - ah yes, this is the war between Aruba (ARM) and Cisco (CCE) for fast handoffs and managed channel assignments and power control, things that 802.11 has left out.

said by homers :

Does a 802.11n router improve range for 802.11g clients (in a typical house environment)?

said by mozerd :

No, N will not improve range for 802.11g clients.

802.11n router does improve range dramatically for 802.11n clients IF that 802.11n router AND those 802.11n clients incorporate effective MIMO where that MIMO incorporates the following:

[1] multiple antennas and radios on both the transmit and receive sides of the link [minimum 3 radios by 3 antennas]
[2] The ability to exploit multipath
[3] the ability to do Spatial Multiplexing

Properly implemented MIMO systems divide a data stream into multiple unique streams, each of which is modulated and transmitted through a different radio-antenna chain at the same time in the same frequency channel. By taking advantage of multipath, reflections of the signals, each MIMO receive antenna-radio chain is a linear combination of the multiple transmitted data streams. The data streams are separated at the receiver using proprietary MIMO algorithms that rely on estimates of all channels between each transmitter and each receiver.

Each multipath route can be treated as a separate channel creating multiple "virtual wires" over which to transmit signals. Properly implemented MIMO employs multiple, spatially separated antennas to take advantage of these "virtual wires" created by multipath and transfer more data. In addition to multiplying throughput, range is increased because of an antenna diversity advantage, since each receive antenna has a measurement of each transmitted data stream.

Where "N" is concerned not all MIMO systems are equal regardless of how the standards body have defined the "N" standard --- in other words how MIMO is implemented in "N" systems by various ODM's etc. is vitally important. Insofar as consumer grade gear is concerned its a virtual crap shoot with very little if any integrity.

said by tipstir :

Didn't you buy Belkin N+ and that only has 2T3R with the two ANT on it.

Coverage is what is the key element here. Does all your wireless clients have coverage?

said by mozerd :

I am primarily a system integrator -- so I work and test many brands of gear. I do not test in a lab -- my tests are all conducted in real world on-site situations -- and I do those tests for paying clients.

The Belkin N+ version 100X is a very good N wireless implementation insofar as an Access-Point is concerned [as a wired router the N+ is mediocre to poor] -- and as an access point the N+ version 100X does perform better than many other N gear from Linksys, Netgear, Buffalo, SMC, ZyXEL, Asus. I have not been asked by any paying client to test the Belkin N+ version 200X or the 300X.

A 3 by 3 MIMO N system when implemented properly and assuming that it effectively incorporates the ability to exploit multipath as well as the ability to do Spatial Multiplexing will outperform any 2 by 3 system -- based on my experiences todate. The same can be said for a 4 by 4 system etc. etc.

There are many ways to implement multiple antennas under MIMO -- the fact that some gear may have 8 antennas like the Netgear does not mean squat unless that Netgear also matches the 8 antennas with 8 radios AND has the ability to effectively exploit multipath as well as the ability to do Spatial Multiplexing.

From a wireless perspective You are correct in stating that "Coverage" is one key element.

said by mozerd :

The ability to distinguish the difference between a AP, a Router and a Switch is important in the IT trade.

I stated that the Belkin N+ is a very good N wireless implementation insofar as an Access-Point is concerned --- I also stated that the Belkin N+ as a router is mediocre to poor -- nowhere in my comments did I comment on the quality of the SWITCH incorporated into the Belkin N+ and in fact I can state that the 5 port gigabit SWITCH works extremely well should one want to exploit the switch.

A Router has a specific management function
A Switch has a specific function
A AP has a specific function
NAT is a function integrated into many Routers
SPI Firewall is a Function integrated into many Routers
ACL is a function integrated into many better quality Routers
ETC.

The Belkin N+ incorporates Router management functions and provides a 5 port gigabit SWITCH + a dedicated Wireless Access Point -- where the ROUTER attemps to integrated all aspects and as a ROUTER based on my analysis -- the Router management portion is mediocre to poor. For many homes the router will function adequately but fails in demanding situations under heavy loads [VoIP and streaming Video -- where more than 3 people are actively using those 2 specific capabilities]

The ZyXEL USG 100 is a excellent ROUTER [firewall] -- combine the USG 100 with a Belkin N+ version 100X [in Access Point mode] and anyone doing so would have a superb WIRED/WIRELESS system. There are many other combinations that would work effectively.

said by tipstir :

Well all routers have pretty much the same concept for home/small office wireless router.

said by mozerd :

In to-days technology marketplace, my experience is that most consumer grade mass produced wireless router products do not provide ROBUST seamless integrated capability and functionality in FIRMWARE [embedded system integrated capability and functionality like Routing, Firewall - NAT-T/PAT/SPI, VPN - IPSec/L2TP/PPTP, Ethernet Switch, Wireless Access Point]. And no matter how good the glowing reports and reviews are for these products, they all continue to have far too many disruptive issues.

And that is the reason, tipstir, that it is very important to be able to distinguish the difference --- concepts are not relevant when execution of those concepts continues to be flawed.

Competent network technologists strives to provide their clients with a stable network environment comprised of robust devices that they know from experience will provide needed reliability, capability|functionality and transparency. Granted, that approach is a more expensive approach in the short term, but I have a mindset that networks I install and support should be invisible once set up correctly. You should just be able to use it whenever and however you want without having to deal with dropped connections, reboots, freeze ups, etc.

said by tipstir :

Hog Wash!

said by cacroll :

Good summary of your analyses.

Why a dozen pictures? Is saturating everybody's bandwidth with pictures supposed to make you an expert?

Got any actual analyses of the problems associated with those circuit boards, or are they just pictures in your library? Pretty good technique, that.