Author: Koen Crijns
Ever since it was announced in 2004 we have been patiently waiting, however up till now to no avail, for the release of 802.11n. This hasn't discouraged a number of manufacturers from releasing routers based on a concept version of this new wireless standard. Though these prematurely released routers have their fair share of teething problems, they are definitely a lot faster than any of the current 802.11g sets.
When practically all the companies in a particular market segment work together to develop a new standard it usually proves to be beneficial to both consumers and manufacturers alike. A format war such as Blu-ray versus HD DVD is not something people in general are waiting for and only leads to confusion and apprehension when it comes down to adopting a new standard. The companies involved in this particular market segment are greatly aware of the importance of developing one new standard instead of multiple, though having said that it seems they cant quite agree on the way it should be implemented.
In 2004 the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, a leading authority on international technological standards) gave green light for the development of a successor to the popular WiFi-standard 802.11g. Fast-forward three years and the ratification of 802.11n is still not in sight. IEEE have stated that this should take place sometime this year but it is clear that it has given itself some leeway in regards to that statement. Taking into consideration that the final phase of the ratification process usually entails going over the finer details, several chip manufacturers have decided to release product based on the concept version of the 802.11n standard. The decision to release a product based on a standard that hasn't been ratified isn't exactly new: even before the current 802.11g standard had been sanctioned there were numerous products available which were based on the original concept version.
Meanwhile, ASUS, Belkin, D-Link, Linksys and Netgear have released products based around the concept version of the 802.11n standard. More than enough reasons for us to take a look at what the new standard has to offer.
TricksThe current 802.11g wireless standard has a theoretical maximum data throughput of 54Mbit/s. Take away the overhead and your left with a maximum net throughput of somewhere between 20 to 25 Mbit/s. Manufacturers implemented clever tricks - such as utilising multiple bands - to boost this speed. There remains to be some uncertainty as to what the maximum theoretical data throughput for the 802.11n standard will be: the original goal was set at 500Mbit/s, but the suppliers of the routers which we tested mentioned - if they were even willing to mention anything at all about concrete speeds - speeds of around 270 to 300 Mbit/s, about five times faster than 802.11g. Besides the increase in speed the new standard should also increase the range of the wireless network. To realise these figures, manufacturers have had to implement several "tricks" with 802.11n. First of all the standard uses multiple channels and the total bandwidth has been doubled from 20 MHz to 40 MHz. The 802.11n standard also utilises MIMO-technology (Multiple Input Multiple Output): by using multiple transmitter and receiver antennas and implementing some smart algorithms, MIMO allows for increased data throughput and increased range.More information about MIMO can be found here .
MIMO can improve the bandwidth and range of wireless networks by making use of the reflections of radio signals..
Compatible
To make use of the higher speeds available with 802.11n you will need a suitable router and the correct adapter for your pc. When connecting to the network through your integrated WLAN-adapter in your notebook, the sets will automatically revert back to 802.11g and hence you will not be able to go above the aforementioned speeds of 20 to 25 Mbit/s. We will therefore be testing with different PC Card models on offer from the various manufacturers. Most suppliers also offer a range of USB and PCI models.
We didn't test compatibility between the different brands too rigorously, but the few tests we did do showed us that you're better of buying a router and adapters from the same brand and preferably from the same series. Mixing and matching components from different manufacturers will either work or not at all.
More importantly we have to question whether these concept products will be compatible with the final 802.11n standard. The five manufacturers who supplied us with these routers cannot give any guarantees whatsoever whether this will be the case or not, seeing as the standard could undergo some major changes before being finalised. Once the 802.11n standard has been finalised and ratified, all the above manufacturers will attempt to ensure compatibility through a firmware upgrade. The only manufacturer that offers a hard guarantee is ASUS. They stated on their site that they will guarantee 802.11n compatibility, be it through firmware or hardware upgrades, at no additional cost to the consumer. This could turn out to be quite a costly venture for ASUS, but from the consumers point of view this policy can only be lauded. It should be noted however that ASUS has only stated this on its website, we could not find anything referring to this statement in any of the documentation that accompanied the router itself. Therefore any prospective buyers of the WL-500W would be wise to make a print screen of the aforementioned web page.
Testing procedure
As stated above, we tested the five 802.11n routers in combination with their own PC Card adapters. We tested the wireless data throughput of each set-up at ranges of 10 and 20 meters with the professional testing software NETIQ Chariot. Due to problems with the Belkin PC Card we were not able to include the test results for that specific set-up. In the bar graphs below you will find the results of the new 802.11n sets marked in red. The older 802.11g sets, shown as a reference point, are marked in blue.
ASUS WL-500WThe ASUS WL-500W is housed in a stylish white case and has three rather large antennas, which, regrettably, cannot be changed. Just like the rest of the routers in this test, the ASUS has four LAN-connections offering speeds of up to 100Mbit/s. The WLAN-security of this router is right up to date with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2. The router also supports Wireless Multimedia, also known as 802.11e. This technology ensures that multimedia streams will gain a higher priority on a wireless connection.
Sadly enough the ASUS WL-500W lacks some of the more common functions. For example, the Firewall is not of the SPI type (statefull Packet Inspection), which means that the contents of data packets are not inspected by the Firewall. The ASUS also lacks QoS (Quality of Service). On the other hand ASUS have implemented something unique into their router: on the back we find two USB-ports, to which you can connect either an external hard disk or webcam. In this way you can easily transform you router into a file- and webcam server! The fileserver offers the possibility to make the files on your hard disk accessible through FTP for example. You can also make a complete rights structure. Also unique is the integrated BitTorrent server and client: when connecting a harddisk to the router you can download files through BitTorrent even when your pc is turned off. This is an extremely handy function to have, especially when you take into account that the power usage of a router is nothing when compared to that of the average pc if you were to leave it on day and night for your downloads. One gripe that we have with the ASUS is that the routers web menu isn't exactly user friendly.
During our tests it became clear that the ASUS router was suffering from some teething problems. When we set the bandwidth of the wireless connection to 40 MHz the router was not recognized by any wireless adapter, not even its own. Setting the bandwidth back to 20 MHz solved the problem and we were able to initiate a stable and problemfree connection. Testing the connection at 10 meters we measured speeds varying between 43 to 62 Mbit/s, about two to three times as fast as the current 802.11g standard. At 20 meters we measured speeds of 37.8Mbit/s and 38.6Mbits respectively from and to the WLAN-client. There are sets that offer higher speeds but nonetheless the connection was definitely faster than anything 802.11g is capable of.
At the time of writing this article the ASUS WL-500W has an average retail price of around $155/£105, which makes it, along with Belkin, the most expensive of the five routers. The high price can be justified though: not only the routers ability to work as a fie-, webcam- and BitTorrent-server, but also because ASUS is the only manufacturer to offer a guarantee for 802.11n compatibility.
More than a year ago, Belkin released the so-called Pre-N sets on the market. These products were in fact based on the 802.11g standard and made use of MIMO-technology to attain higher speeds. In the meantime it has become clear that the Pre-N products are absolutely not compatible with the final 802.11n standard. Belkin has now released a new series of WLAN-products named N1, based around the 802.11n concept standard.
Starting off with the exterior of the unit: the build quality of the black case with three antennas looks solid. Belkin's decision to use images on the router which light up to show if there is a working connection to the internet, if there are pc's connected wirelessly or through network cables and if the wireless connection is secure or not is applaudable. Especially for those of us who are new to wireless routers this system offers the user a user-friendly visual aid to see what's going on.
In regards to the WLAN-functionality, Belkin has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at its router: WPA2 is present and even 802.11e has been integrated into the router. Belkin has left out some options we would have liked to have seen implemented: the Firewall is not of the advanced SPI-type, there is no option to block URL's, even Qos and Port Triggering are not present. Most advanced users, and the average Hardware.info reader can be seen as such, will give this router a wide berth as it falls short in its functionality. The Belkin does however make up for some of its shortcomings by being able to automatically check if there are any new firmware's available.
The accompanying PC Card gave us nothing but trouble: we were not able to install the card in two of our machines. We were eventually able to install the card into a third machine but the system would crash each time we used the connection intensively. Hence we were not able gather any test results from the Belkin.
Of all the routers we tested, the D-Link Rangebooster N 650 was the only one where we were able to use the stated 802.11n speed straight away without running into any problems whatsoever. This instantly gave it some bonus points. D-Link, just like Linksys, has not made any statements whatsoever as to what the expected connection speeds would be.
The D-Link's construction looks solid and is comparable to that of the Belkin: black exterior with three antennas. The D-Link is also the only router to offer the possibility to change the antennas for other, bigger models. Another plus point is the fact that D-link, like ASUS and Linksys, have made WLAN-security part of the installation-wizard as standard. Both WPA and WPA2 are present and WMM, also known as 802.11e has also been integrated. Another useful innovation is the ability to load the security settings to the different pc's on your network from a USB-stick used in conjunction with the USB port on the back of the router. Extracting the WLAN-configuration from a USB stick is a standard function in both Windows XP and Windows Vista and therefore it works with all types of WLAN-adapters.
We have nothing but praise for the D-Link's web based menu. The menu offers a multitude of configuration options and is fairly straightforward and user-friendly. D-Link has implemented every single router function in existence: an SPI-Firewall, UPNP, Port triggering, everything you could think of and then some. D-Link also offers extensive Quality-of-Service options: for instance, you can limit the upstream and also give certain programs, ports and even pc's a higher priotity on the network.
Creating a wireless connection in combination with the accompanying DWA-645 PC Card was a sinch. At a distance of 1 meter we measured speeds of up to 80.1 Mbit/s: comparable to the net datathroughput of a wired 100 Mbit network. At 20 meters we measured a speed of 54.8 Mbit/s from LAN to WLAN and 30.1 Mbit/s for WLAN to LAN. Excellent performance to say the least.
Of all the 802.11n routers we tested our preference goes out to the D-link. At the time of writing this article the average price, according to our online price comparrison, for the D-Link Rangebooster N 650 is around $140/£70. It might payoff to wait a little while before you rush out to purchase the N 650. D-Link will soon be releasing a new model under the Xtreme N moniker, which is basically the same router, with additional Gigabit LAN-connections.
Linksys was one of the first manufacturers to release a 802.11n router unto the market and tested the WRT300N a while ago. The exterior of the router is quite futuristic: the unit has three antennas, two of which are of the standard dipole type and one directional planar antenna. Linksys promises better performance than the 802.11g but like D-Link makes no hard statements about what speeds we should expect.
The web menu is exactly what we've come to expect from Linksys over the years: sober, businesslike and extensive. Also as expected, Linksys doesn't disappoint when it comes to integrating WLAN-configuration options: WPA2 and WMM are both there. The router-functionality is excellent with a multitude of QoS possibilities. Linksys was one of the trendsetters when it came to first implementing QoS functionality in its routers and this something we see with the WRT300N.
Creating a wireless connection went perfectly in combination with Linksys own PC Card. The only let down is that the router switches back to 802.11g quite frequently. In any case the test results were excellent: at 10 meters we measured an average speed of 50,6 Mbit/s and 45,5 Mbit/s at 20 meters, not exactly scores to be ashamed of.
In the past Linksys was always the most expensive supplier of WLAN-products, but times have changed. Linksys has run into some heavy competition from budget manufacturers and hence the company has had to cut its prices in order to regain some of its lost market share. With an average price of around $130/£82 the WRT300N is averagely priced.
The Netgear RangeMax Next is the odd one out in this round up: whereas the other routers all use three antennas, as they should for 802.11n, the Netgear has none. Clearly the antennas are inside the case itself and this doesn't seem to impact the performance negatively in any way. As the Netgear has no antennas it wont be quite as intrusive when placed in plain sight.
A major let down is the fact that WLAN-security is not part of the installation wizard as standard. The RangeMax is also the only router to not offer 802.11e. Lcukily WPA2 encryption is present. When it comes to the router functions on offer, Netgear has only implemented the more important functions. That leaves plenty of things to wish for, such as Qos. The Netgear's web interface is clear and tidy.
Like the WL-500W from ASUS the Netgear refused to work when we selected the fastest configuration. When we switched back from 270 Mbit/s down to 130 Mbit/s (which resulted in a bandwidth of 20 MHz instead of 40MHz) the connection worked as expected. We ran into the same problems when we tested this same router a while ago and sadly enough it doesn't look like Netgear has been able to solve the problem as of yet. Nonetheless the average test results were pretty good. At 20 meters we managed to attain a maximum speed of 66,4 Mbit/s from the client to the router and 39,7 Mbit/s the other way round: scores which could never be attained by a standard 802.11g set. With an average price of $130/£70 we can say that the Netgear is competitively priced.
The most important question to ask yourself is if you should go out and buy a 802.11n set right now. If you already have a 802.11g network set up and your content with the performance, then there is very little reason to upgrade. Also take into account that compatibilty with the final 802.11n standard is not guaranteed. If, on the other hand, your currently planning to invest in a new WLAN-set then there is absolutely no reason not to go out and get yourself a 802.11n set, as the performance is clearly better.
Of the five routers we tested the D-Link left us with the most positive impression. Not only because it was the only set where we did not encounter any problems whatsoever when setting up a fast and stable 80211n connection. This router also stands out due to its extensive web interface and QoS options. The ASUS WL-500W is also worthy of consideration. The D-Link is generally speaking the superior router, but the file-,webcam- and BitTorrent-server possibilities on offer from ASUS make it a definite contender. ASUS is also the only manufacturer to offer a guarantee that the router will be 100% compatible with the final version of the 802.11n standard, even if it means altering the hardware at no additional cost to the consumer. D-Link takes home the gold in this round-up with ASUS coming in at a close second.
D-Link Rangebooster N 650 Router
ASUS WL-500W