HP mt41 HP Velocity Technology Overview - Page 10

LiveWiFi WiFi is constrained for a number of technical reasons and, as a result, delivers a much lower network performance experience. High-end, consumer-grade WiFi access points (APs) advertise that they are capable of speeds of 300 to 450 Mbps. In reality, WiFi capacity is much lower than advertised (Figure 5): • Distance (signal strength): The further away a WiFi-enabled device is from the AP the lower the signal strength, which in turn lowers the effective available throughput. • Noise from other devices: The most common frequency used for WiFi is the 2.4GHz band, which is also used for household devices, such as cordless phones, baby monitors, and microwave ovens. Throughput is degraded if any of these devices are used within range of a WiFi network. • Noise from other APs: There are only three non-overlapping channels that can be used by 2.4GHz WiFi. In areas with a high density of APs, such as a city neighborhood or an office tower, it is likely that there will be several other networks using the same channel, leading to speed degradation. • Older devices: If an 802.11n-enabled AP tries to connect to an older device that supports only 802.11b, then the AP is forced to drop the supported speeds for everyone while the 802.11b device is operating. This significantly reduces the throughput that 802.11n devices can achieve. Figure 5. WiFi bandwidth constraints HP Velocity Technology Overview 10