802.11b issues

[The Saint]

What's a realistic speed to expect from my 802.11b network? I get <=1Mbps when transferring between my two computers, even though both computers claim that the access point is capable of 11 Mbps, they are capable of 11Mbps and they are connected at 11Mbps. Signal strength is registered in WinXP as a healthy 5 bars on one machine, and on the other computer which uses percentages, a good ~80%. Is this similar to what other people are seeing or is something screwy around here? I have to admit, I'm pretty disappointed with the performance myself. I expected when switching to an 11Mbps wireless LAN from a 10Mbps wired LAN I would at least get about the same performance level........

Also, I have WEP 128 bit enabled, and oddly enough, one of my wireless network cards (a Geowave brand) refuses to connect whenever there's a letter A-F in my hex numbers in my encryption key. Even stranger, I could have sworn it worked before, and then I messed with it, and now the moment the encryption is changed to something that's not purely decimal, it flips out and can't connect anymore. Anyone ever heard of anything like that before?

 

[JackMDS]

Under optimal condition, i.e. the two wireless computers are in the same room, and the encryption is off, you get a transfer of 6-7Mb/sec.

Most Wireless cards lose ?speed? when encryption is on 128bit.

Try to improve the positioning of the Antennae.

 

[ktwebb]

CSMA encoding cuts real world bandwidth in half. The best, corporate grade equipment barely crests 6 Mb under perfece conditions. You can expect 4-5 Mb with the bulk of the SOHO 802.11b equipment without WEP enabled. As Jack mentioned, enabling WEP takes another chunk of bandwidth from your Wi-Fi LAN. 1 Meg still seems a little low if your signal strength is good. Depending on your client utility, the signal quality is a more important indicator of your client connection. You may be experiencing multipath interference, especially if you have only one dipole antenna. Diversity antennas (2 antennas) do fight multipath but it's still a possiblity. Move the AP away from any wall, corners, or metal objects. You can also change the channel on the AP from the normal default, channel 6. Channel 1 and 11 do not overlap so you should try those if you play with this setting. Beyond that, make sure your client card and AP firmware is up to date and the drivers for the client card are current as well.

 

[blstriker]

On my 802.11b network, I get about 7-8 which is okay for most of my needs.

The speed hit when wep is enabled depends on the equipment. Some take a big hit, others are barely affected.

When you enter your WEP keys, make sure to see if all your equipment talks in the same way. I had problems before because the access point wanted the key in ASCII while the nic wanted it in HEX. Linksys' website has a conversion utility if this is the problem.

Good luck!

 

[ktwebb]

<< I get about 7-8 >>




The 802.11b industry would like to have a sit down with you. lol

 

[OS]

-

 

[dave5317]

<I get about 7-8>

I have been working with a number of WLAN products and I have never seen any products that are able to go up to 7 Mbps. The highest throughput that I recorded was 5.3, which is the Intel and the 3COM. Depending on the products, some access points don't show fluctuations when WEP is turned on.

 

[ktwebb]

After a firmware upgrade about a month and a half ago, I got right at 6 Mbps with a Cisco 350, the industry performance leader in 802.11b equipment. I've tested or played with pretty much all the corporate level 802.11b AP's. I suppose it could be tweaked a few more KB but 6 Mb is about as good as it will ever get. CSMA takes too big a chunk. From the literature I have read SOHO AP's ceiling is around 5 Mbs give or take a few hundred KB. 7 or 8 Mb is a pipe dream.

 

[dave5317]

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to work with Cisco products. I used to work for a technical online publication and we mainly review and test networking products. The company shut down as soon as Cisco opened its door to us.

 

[ktwebb]

I work for a company that had an in with an Aironet rep. We were one of the first companies in the southeast to install their 802.11b product. Before it was available publicly. You may find this interesting. When we got those AP's, AP4800's, and a year and a half before Cisco bought them out, they were barely getting 2 Mbps in the 11 Mb cell. It was awful. Firmware upgrades pushed the ceiling up pretty quickly but that first install was really a bitch. IT people on the job site giving us grief from the first day of testing. Little by little firmware upgrades broadened the pipe to what it is now, around 6 Mb. Cisco screwed up the console interface of the AP's but the biggest strides in throughput were after they bought Aironet out. Still some old Aironet people working on the software I suspect but it's nice to have deep pockets behind you.