Cisco Cisco Aironet 1850e Access Points 백서
IEEE 802.11ac Wave 2 AP’s: Cisco, Aruba, Ruckus
4
DR151120D
Copyright © Miercom 2015
5 February 2016
2 - Products Tested
Wave 2 refers to products built to the latest, formally approved IEEE 802.11 WiFi specification –
the IEEEs 802.11ac standard. This report contains some of the first independent, comparative
performance data of leading Wave 2-based Access Points (APs).
During 2012 and 2013 a broad array of WiFi products – over 200, by some estimates – were built
to the last, stable draft 802.11ac specification and delivered to market. This assortment of
products is now referred to as Wave 1. The formal, final adoption of 802.11ac occurred at the
end of 2013, with some additional technology enhancements that weren’t included in the last
draft, the basis for Wave 1 products. Products built to the final, formally adopted version of
802.11ac are referred to as Wave 2, and have been shipping since 2014.
Users can rightfully expect Wave 1 and Wave 2 products to fully interoperate. That’s because the
final, formal IEEE 802.11ac specification, the basis for Wave 2 products, is a proper superset of the
draft specification on which Wave 1 products are based.
802.11ac is just the latest of a half-dozen WiFi standards that the IEEE 802.11 committee has
issued since 1997, each more technologically advanced and performance-capable than the
previous one. These bear WiFi product labels including 802.11 a, b, g, n, and now most recently,
ac. The evolution of standards has featured improved distance, client density, and most
important to users, per-station and per-AP throughput.
The chart below compares the salient operational characteristics of IEEE 802.11n – the last major
WiFi standard adopted in 2009 – with today’s 802.11ac Wave 1 and Wave 2 products.
the IEEEs 802.11ac standard. This report contains some of the first independent, comparative
performance data of leading Wave 2-based Access Points (APs).
During 2012 and 2013 a broad array of WiFi products – over 200, by some estimates – were built
to the last, stable draft 802.11ac specification and delivered to market. This assortment of
products is now referred to as Wave 1. The formal, final adoption of 802.11ac occurred at the
end of 2013, with some additional technology enhancements that weren’t included in the last
draft, the basis for Wave 1 products. Products built to the final, formally adopted version of
802.11ac are referred to as Wave 2, and have been shipping since 2014.
Users can rightfully expect Wave 1 and Wave 2 products to fully interoperate. That’s because the
final, formal IEEE 802.11ac specification, the basis for Wave 2 products, is a proper superset of the
draft specification on which Wave 1 products are based.
802.11ac is just the latest of a half-dozen WiFi standards that the IEEE 802.11 committee has
issued since 1997, each more technologically advanced and performance-capable than the
previous one. These bear WiFi product labels including 802.11 a, b, g, n, and now most recently,
ac. The evolution of standards has featured improved distance, client density, and most
important to users, per-station and per-AP throughput.
The chart below compares the salient operational characteristics of IEEE 802.11n – the last major
WiFi standard adopted in 2009 – with today’s 802.11ac Wave 1 and Wave 2 products.
WiFi Evolution: IEEE 802.11n ► 802.11ac Wave 1 ► 802.11ac Wave 2
Products based on
IEEE 802.11n
IEEE 802.11ac
Wave 1
IEEE 802.11ac
Wave 2
Standard basis
Standard adopted
October 2009
Last stable draft of
802.11ac
Standard adopted
December 2013
Frequency band (GHz)
2.4 & 5 (opt)
5
5
Channel width
20 & 40 MHz
20, 40 & 80 MHz
20, 40, 80, 80-80 & 160
MHz
Multiple-Input, Multiple-
Output (MIMO) support
Single-User
(SU-MIMO)
(SU-MIMO)
Single-User
(SU-MIMO)
(SU-MIMO)
Multi-User
(MU-MIMO), (2)
Number of Spatial
Streams (1)
2 - 4
3
3 - 4 (opt)
Modulation (Quadrature
Amplitude Modulation)
64 QAM
(rate 5/6)
256 QAM (rates 3/4
and 5/6)
256 QAM (rates 3/4 and
5/6)
Theoretical capacity (PHY
rate, 3 spatial streams) (3)
450 Mbps
1300 Mbps
2600 Mbps
Source: Miercom; chart is a compendium from varied published sources, including IEEE and Wikipedia.