Is software-only upgrade to 802.11n possible ?
JF Mezei
With the "n" standard having now been ratified, I am curious if it is
technically possible for Cisco to enable the "n" service on existing
equipment with just firmware upgrades ? Or does that require truly
different hardware and frequencies that would not be available on
equipment Cisco has been selling in recent months ?
In other words, is it possible Cisco has been waiting for official
ratification of the "n" standard before unleashing software upgrades
that enable "n" this on its current products ?
alexd
> I recently bought a 877 router. It has up to 802.11g standard.
>
> With the "n" standard having now been ratified, I am curious if it is
> technically possible for Cisco to enable the "n" service on existing
> equipment with just firmware upgrades ?
The last 877W I opened up had an AR5213-based MiniPCI wifi card in, so could
have supported A/B/G should Cisco have chosen to enable it, however it's B/G
only. I'm going to extrapolate from this that they're not going to add 'N'
[which seems to be such a broad term as to be pretty much meaningless] to
products that don't already support it. 'show controller do0' should tell
you what chipset you have.
--
<http://ale.cx/> (AIM:troffasky) (UnSoEs...@ale.cx)
10:24:36 up 21 days, 12:16, 2 users, load average: 0.51, 1.04, 0.66
Qua illic est accuso, illic est a vindicatum
Uli Link
No. the Atheros radio used doesn't support the additional 802.11n
features. For the throughput enhancements of 802.11n there is a lot of
additional hardware needed.
the Aironet 1250 and new 1140 APs are 802.11n capable.
--
ULi
JF Mezei
> [which seems to be such a broad term as to be pretty much meaningless] to
> products that don't already support it. 'show controller do0' should tell
> you what chipset you have.
router2#show controller do0
!
interface Dot11Radio0
Radio ATHEROS AR5212, Base Address 0025.8462.45d0, BBlock version 0.01,
Softwar0
So, As "Uli Link" said in another message, it looks like I am out of
luck. At least I know not to expect it.
But, since I now know the name of the chip...
http://www.atheros.com/pt/AR5002X.htm
Supported Data Rates
IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g Standard Mode 1-54 Mbps
Atheros Super A Mode
Atheros Super G Mode
Atheros Super A/G Mode 1 - 108 Mbps
Some blurb on the "super" mode:
� Super A/G mode includes dynamic 108 Mbps capability, real-time
hardware data compression, dynamic transmit optimization and
standards-compliant bursting
I wonder if this could have been an early implementation of the "n" ?
Atheros now has the 5008 series chips which do formally support "n".
Jasper Janssen
<jfmezei...@vaxination.ca> wrote:
>Supported Data Rates
>IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g Standard Mode 1-54 Mbps
>Atheros Super A Mode
>Atheros Super G Mode
>Atheros Super A/G Mode 1 - 108 Mbps
>
>
>Some blurb on the "super" mode:
>
>� Super A/G mode includes dynamic 108 Mbps capability, real-time
> hardware data compression, dynamic transmit optimization and
> standards-compliant bursting
>
>I wonder if this could have been an early implementation of the "n" ?
>Atheros now has the 5008 series chips which do formally support "n".
When you see A/G 108 Mbps, that simply means that (with compatible kit on
the other side) the product will be able to use a and g (which run at
different frequencies) simultaneously, loadbalancing across the two, and
getting up to 54 Mb on 5GHz .11a plus up to 54 Mb on 2.4 GHz .11g.
The super-a and super-g modes probably include all the features they
mention above, data compression and transit optimization and bursting, for
whatever that's worth in real life. HTML may actually be very slightly
compressible, so it may even have some effect for particular types of
usage.
11n really is a very different kettle of fish, although it does run on
both frequencies and the bundling of a and b frequencies is supported in
the spec if both products support both frequencies -- many n products only
use one, and you can usually tell by whether they are b/g/n or a/b/g/n
products.
Jasper