Testing 802.11n wireless LAN gear for enterprises means thinking big.

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With the latest version of Wi-Fi promising vastly higher data rates compared with previous incarnations, a couple of laptops running a few FTP sessions through a single access point won't do.

Instead, Network World set up the largest public 802.11n test ever conducted. We invited all enterprise Wi-Fi vendors to supply not one but eight 802.11n access points, along with controllers if needed. Working with test instrument vendor VeriWave, we crafted test traffic from hundreds (and in some cases thousands) of virtual clients to see just how high the new 802.11n systems would scale, both in pure 802.11n settings and also with a mix of 802.11n and legacy clients. In all these tests, the goal was to determine 802.11n performance in an enterprise context.

Four vendors took us up on the challenge: Aerohive, Bluesocket, Motorola and Siemens. Some big names declined to take part, leaving us to wonder how ready their 802.11n offerings actually are (see "Big players missing in action"). We stand at the ready to test these products against our existing methodology, should they become comfortable enough to place their gear in a public test.

The vendors that did participate proved the adage that 90% of life is about showing up. Multiple vendors cracked the 2-Gbps mark in pure 802.11n throughput tests, pushing data rates of 250Mbps or more per access point. That's around a 10fold improvement in throughput over existing 802.11g and 802.11a access points, which makes a compelling case for considering 802.11n as a real alternative to wired connectivity to the enterprise.

Power is a big concern with the new systems, especially because some may need more juice than standards-based power-over-Ethernet (PoE) switches can supply. Some systems stayed within the limits of current PoE specs, while others may require upgrades to larger power supplies.

The new systems also showed rough spots in a few places. We couldn't complete throughput tests in some cases because access points became unresponsive or even rebooted. That's especially interesting given that all systems tested are built around the same Atheros radio module. The very different results speak to the different optimizations each vendor has done in working with the Atheros radios.