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WP Designed Speed 802
WP Designed Speed 802
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Preparing for the 802.11n adoption wave ............................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Summary........................................................................................................................................................ 2 1.1.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................ 2 1.1.2 Benefits for the Enterprise ......................................................................................................... 2 1.1.3 Benefits for the user .................................................................................................................. 3 1.1.4 Reasons these benefits will initially be elusive .......................................................................... 3 1.1.5 802.11n migration strategies for enterprises ............................................................................. 4 1.2 Network design with 802.11n........................................................................................................................ 4 1.2.1 New hardware for APs and clients ............................................................................................ 4 1.2.2 RF planning & AP placement .................................................................................................... 5 1.2.3 Wired backhaul from APs & LAN implications ........................................................................... 5 1.2.4 Implications for rogue APs and IDS........................................................................................... 6 1.2.5 Good-neighbour (or bad-neighbour) strategies ......................................................................... 6 Technology in 802.11n............................................................................................................................................ 7 2.1 Techniques for high-throughput PHY ........................................................................................................... 7 2.1.1 High Throughput PHY: MIMO................................................................................................... 7 2.1.2 High throughput PHY: transmit beamforming (TxBF) ............................................................. 11 2.1.3 MIMO, SDM, beamforming terminology and techniques ..................................................... 12 2.1.4 802.11n MIMO configurations and terminology ....................................................................... 12 2.1.5 High Throughput PHY: 40 MHz channels............................................................................... 13 2.1.6 High Throughput PHY: Shorter guard interval ........................................................................ 13 2.1.7 High Throughput PHY: More subcarriers ............................................................................... 14 2.1.8 High Throughput PHY: New Modulation Rates ...................................................................... 14 2.1.9 High Throughput PHY: Duplicate format ................................................................................ 16 2.2 Techniques to enhance the MAC................................................................................................................. 17 2.2.1 MAC layer enhancements: Frame aggregation ...................................................................... 17 2.2.2 MAC layer enhancements: Multiple Traffic ID Block Acknowledgement (MTBA)................... 18 2.2.3 MAC layer enhancements: Reduced inter-frame spacing (RIFS)........................................... 18 2.2.4 MAC layer enhancements: Spatial multiplexing power save (SM power save)...................... 19 2.2.5 MAC layer enhancements: Power Save Multi-poll (PSMP) .................................................... 19 2.3 Compatibility Modes and Legacy Support in 802.11n ................................................................................ 20 2.3.1 Phased coexistence Operation (PCO) .................................................................................... 22 2.3.2 Other mechanisms for coexistence: Dual-CTS protection (CTS-to-self) ................................ 23 2.3.3 Other mechanisms for coexistence: 40 MHz-intolerant indication.......................................... 24 2.3.4 Using 802.11n in the 2.4 GHz band ........................................................................................ 24 Product development and capabilities................................................................................................................... 26 3.1 Standards and Certification framework ....................................................................................................... 26 3.2 Expected product introduction timelines ..................................................................................................... 27 Migration strategies............................................................................................................................................... 28 4.1 Different paths to enterprise-wide 802.11n ................................................................................................. 28 4.1.1 Greenfield ................................................................................................................................ 29 4.1.2 Summary of Greenfield recommendations: ........................................................................... 30 4.1.3 AP-overlay ............................................................................................................................... 30 4.1.4 Summary of Overlay recommendations:................................................................................ 31 4.1.5 AP substitution......................................................................................................................... 32 4.1.6 Summary of AP substitution recommendations: .................................................................... 32 4.2 Other considerations when planning an upgrade......................................................................................... 32 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................ 33 Appendix............................................................................................................................................................... 34 6.1 Note on expected real-world cell capacity with 802.11n .......................................................................... 34 6.2 Note on expected real-world data rates with 802.11n............................................................................... 35 6.3 Glossary of terms used in this note.............................................................................................................. 41
802.11n Theory and Practice Aruba Networks
1.1.1 Introduction
Wi-Fi technology has traced a curve of ever-increasing performance from the earliest pre-802.11 standards through 802.11b to 802.11a/g, with peak data rates rising from 2Mbps to 54Mbps. The latest set of innovations is a package known as 802.11n. This standard is still in development at the IEEE, but pre-n silicon has been shipping for some months, a draft-n certification will be available soon, and Enterprise infrastructure vendors will be introducing 802.11n access points in the first half of 2007. This note is intended to explain the important technology in 802.11n, but also to give non-specialists sufficient information to plot their own upgrade strategy.
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Lower network costs. This is a consequence of improved range and more uniform coverage. APs can now be further apart. This reduces costs in a number of ways: fewer APs, lower installation costs, possibly fewer edge-switch ports, and fewer outdoor APs to cover campus areas between buildings. Against this, 802.11n APs will initially be more expensive than older Wi-Fi, but this premium will be eroded over time.
compatible with the eventual standard. There is no concern that such mixed networks will not work, but they may not prove capable of realizing the full benefits listed above. Indeed, the Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group, is developing an official draft-n standard, which will add a measure of predictability to these issues, but risks further confusing customers. Thus, while the eventual benefits are easy to see, it may prove more difficult to get there from here. It is the migration plan that requires careful consideration.
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Other areas of the LAN should be checked for traffic capacity but will probably not require augmentation. The traffic on the upstream connection from the edge switch still represents the same aggregate number of users and applications as when clients were all wired. The power consumption of 802.11n APs is likely to be greater than for 802.11a/g APs. The power draw is likely to exceed 802.3af (12.95W maximum can be delivered to a Class 3 device under 802.11af ) which means the edge switches or in-line power injectors must support the (unratified) 802.3at which provides phantom power over all four pairs, rather than just two as in 802.3af. Alternatively, the AP must use a local power brick.
5 802.11n Theory and Practice Aruba Networks
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2 Technology in 802.11n
There are several key technologies and features in the 802.11n standard. This section includes a brief but technical treatment of all significant technologies, including: High throughput PHY (physical layer): MIMO. The new PHY supports OFDM modulation with additional coding methods, preambles, multiple streams and beam-forming. These can support higher data rates, and a much larger range of data rates than earlier 802.11 standards. The MIMO technique that is synonymous with 802.11n belongs in this section. High throughput PHY: 40 MHz channels. Two adjacent 20 MHz channels are combined to create a single 40 MHz channel. This relatively simple technique (already used in some point-to-point bridges and consumer equipment) more than doubles the effective data rate under a given set of RF conditions. Efficient MAC: MAC aggregation. Two MAC aggregation methods are supported to efficiently pack smaller packets into a larger frame. This reduces the number of frames on the air, and reduces the time lost to contention for the medium, improving overall throughput. Efficient MAC: Block Acknowledgement. Particularly for streaming traffic such as video, a performance optimization where one acknowledgement can cover many transmitted frames: an ack is no longer required for every frame. This technique was first introduced in 802.11e. Power Saving: power save multi-poll. This is an extension of the U-APSD and S-APSD concepts introduced in 802.11e.
2 A B 1
MAC etc
Tx Tx Rx
Rx
MAC etc
Each antenna is connected to its own RF chain for transmit and receive: this is architecturally important, as it allows signals received at each antenna to be decoded independently. The baseband processing on the transmit side can synthesize different signals to send to each antenna, while at the receiver the signals from different antennas can be decoded individually. (We will simplify this explanation by showing only one direction of transmission and a 2x2 MIMO example, practical systems will transmit in both directions and may use up to 4 antennas at each station.)
7 802.11n Theory and Practice Aruba Networks
Under normal, line of sight conditions, the receiving antennas all hear the same signal from the transmitter. Even if the receiver uses sophisticated techniques to separate the signals heard at antennas 1 and 2, it is left with the same data. If the transmitter attempts to send different signals to antennas A and B, those signals will arrive simultaneously at the receiver, and will effectively interfere with each other. There is no way under these conditions to better the performance of a non-MIMO system: one might as well use only one antenna at each station.
2 A B 1
(Nearly all 802.11 stations built to date actually use two antennas. However, this is not MIMO the radio switches a single radio chip from one antenna to the other, so only one is used at any time. Using two antennas in this way helps to negate the effects of multipath, as when one antenna is in a multipath null, the other is likely to have a better signal. It is generally reckoned that using antenna diversity in this way improves overall reception by perhaps 3-6 dB, although the effect is of course statistical. MIMO is different in that both antennas are driven by or receiving signals at all times, and those transmitted signals need not be identical.)
2 A B 1
However, if there is sufficient RF distortion in the path, receiving antennas will see different signals from each transmit antenna. This distortion of the RF channel is extremely complicated, but for our purposes it amounts to multipath reflections. The transmit antenna radiates a signal over a broad arc, and it reflects off various objects in the surrounding area. Each reflection entails a loss of signal power, and the longer the reflected path, the more delay is introduced relative to a line-of-sight signal. In the past, multipath has been the enemy of radio systems, as the receiver sees a dominant signal (line of sight if it is present), and all the multipath signals tend to interfere with it, effectively acting as noise or interference and reducing the overall throughput of the system. Multipath effects also change over time, as objects in the path move, and movement of reflecting objects results in a Doppler shift of the frequency of the received signal, further complicating the control mechanisms needed to counter multipath. To understand how MIMO works, first consider the signal each receive antenna sees in a multipath environment.
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b a
c 2
A B 1
Received power level
a b c
Dominant signal at Rx antenna 1 is from path a. Path b, c and other multipath signals cause some degradation to the dominant signal a similar effect to higher background noise.
time
In this example there are 3 multipath signals arriving at antenna 2. The strongest is signal a, and the information carried in this signal will be decoded. Other multipath signals will arrive at lower power levels, and they are likely to be time-shifted (or phase-shifted) compared to a, so it is likely they will degrade the overall signal-to-noise ratio associated with a.
B2 2 A B A1 B1 1
A2
A1 B1 B2 A2
time
Dominant signal at Rx antenna 1 is from Tx antenna A (B1 signal and other multipath signals cause some degradation) Dominant signal at Rx antenna 2 is from Tx antenna B (A2 signal and other multipath signals cause some degradation)
When multiple antennas are considered, however, MIMO offers considerable gains in throughput. The example above shows that each receive antenna receives its dominant signal from a different transmit antenna: receiver 1 uses transmitter A while receiver 2 uses transmitter B. When the system understands, it can take advantage by transmitting different signals from each antenna, knowing each will be received with little interference from the other. Herein lies the genius of MIMO.
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V11
U11
V21 V12
U21 U12
V22
U22
The diagram above shows a more detailed explanation of MIMO implementation. At the transmit side, signal processing provides real and imaginary outputs S1in and S2in. These are then mixed with different weights V11 etc, before the signals are combined and delivered to the transmit antennas. A similar mixing function processes signals from the receive antennas using weights U11 etc. Provided the RF characteristics are known, the weights V11 and U11 can be calculated and set for optimum throughput, given the RF channel conditions. The most favourable case would be where each transmit-receive pair operates with a completely independent RF path: a 2x2 (2 antennas at each station) system will have double the throughput of a single-antenna 1x1 system, and a 3x3 configuration could extend to triple the throughput. 802.11n defines MIMO configurations from 2:1 to 4x4 antennas and spatial streams. MIMO is the most difficult aspect of 802.11n to understand: multipath (reflected RF between transmitter and receiver) is normally the enemy of performance, but with MIMO it can be used constructively. Line of sight normally gives the best performance, but with MIMO it provides just baseline data rates. (Note, however, that reflected signals are usually much weaker than primary, line-of-sight signals. Even though losing line-of-sight may allow use of more RF paths and hence the additive MIMO effect, the signal-tonoise ratio of each path may be considerably worse than previously. It is difficult to predict the relative weight of these two opposing effects without extensive field testing.) As noted above, MIMO works best when antennas are positioned more than half a wavelength apart. For 5.5 GHz, half a wavelength is about 2.7 cm or one inch. The 802.11n standard mandates at least two spatial streams (antennas) for access points and one spatial stream for client devices, with a maximum of 4 spatial streams per device. One key question in MIMO systems is how to tune the transmit signals at different antennas for optimum reception at the receiver. 802.11n offers two methods for this. Implicit feedback requires the MIMO receiver to transmit long training symbols, which are received by the MIMO transmitter. There is an assumption that the RF channels characteristics are reciprocal, and that the transmit and receive radios at each end are identical, and under these conditions the measurements will be valid in the MIMO transmit direction. Implicit feedback is not held to be a promising method in practice, so a second, explicit feedback mechanism has been defined. The MIMO transmitter sends a long series of training symbols which the MIMO receiver analyses so as to characterize the differential path loss and delay for each antenna and spatial stream. It then sends this information back to the transmitter which can optimize its transmit signals and modulation for the RF path characteristics. This is a complicated procedure, as many calculations must be performed and RF conditions may be changing rapidly, requiring continuous adjustment. Since 802.11n uses OFDM, each symbol is modulated around many carriers rather than only a single carrier, and each carrier should be measured for each
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transmit-receive antenna pair for full characterization. But explicit feedback (MRQ) is a key mechanism in enabling MIMO, and it has been shown to work in plugfests and in the field.
A C
Normal isotropic radiation pattern
B
Directional pattern after beamforming
tca
B C
B C
time
tcb
Identical RF signals are transmitted from each antenna, but very slightly offset in time (phase)
Transmit timing offsets are calculated to match the path delays of the different RF beams, so all signals are directed at the target inphase
This results in constructive interference, and a higher signal-to-noise ratio at the receive antenna
By carefully controlling the time (or phase) of the signal transmitted from multiple antennas, it is possible to shape the overall pattern of the received signal, emulating a higher-gain, or directional antenna in the direction of the target. The same implicit and explicit feedback mechanisms used to characterize the MIMO channel allow beamforming. In practice, beamforming may be used when MIMO with SDM is not feasible, as in line-of-sight conditions. This is because beamforming aims to produce a single, coherent RF signal at the receiver, while SDM relies on multiple, independent signals. (Beamforming and MIMO SDM are in fact similar techniques: MIMO has been described as beamforming to steer antenna pattern nulls to different receive antennas.) Beamforming is a part of 802.11n that is not fully-agreed as of April 2007, so it will probably not be part of the Wi-Fi Alliance certifications. Beamforming will only work well with 802.11n clients, as it relies heavily on feedback messages from the client.
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2
P1a P1
A B
P1b
P1b
MIMO with Spatial Diversity Multiplexing (SDM) and Space Time Block Coding (STBC). Independent paths between pairs of antennas allow data transmission in parallel: data packets (P1) are interleaved and mapped to different paths, where they may be encoded at a different data rate for each path, depending on RF conditions. The receiver interleaver re-builds the original packet.
P1
2
P1
A
P1
P1
B 1
Transmit beamforming. The transmitter sends a single stream of data, adjusting the signal from each antenna to ensure the optimal signal forms at the receiving antenna. This is used where there is little RF separation between the different inter-antenna paths, so SDM is not useful.
2
P1
A B
P1
P1
Receive antenna spatial diversity. Working on only one transmitted signal, the receiver can use RF combining techniques on signals from different receive antennas to achieve higher signal-to-noise ratios and higher data rates.
2 A B C 1
P1b
P1a P1 P1b
SDM combined with antenna diversity. In this example, the path between the A-3 antenna pair has different RF characteristics from the other antenna pairs: it offers RF diversity, and carries one spatial stream. The other interantenna paths, B/C to 1/2, are not RF-isolated, so they cannot only be used for one further spatial stream. However, transmit beamforming or receive antenna diversity may be used to optimise this spatial stream. In this case a system with 3 transmit and 3 receive antennas nevertheless supports only 2 spatial streams.
number of antennas at the receiver. Next the number of spatial streams must be specified. While for most access points this will be the same as the number of antennas, many clients, particularly where power consumption, processing or size is a concern, may have asymmetric capabilities. 802.11n offers MIMO specifications up to 4x4, with 4 spatial streams.
b a 2 A B 1
Guard interval Received power level Inter-symbol interference N+1 N N N+1 N+1 N+2 N+2 N+2
a b c
802.11n (also 802.11a/g) transmission is by OFDM symbols (examples N, N+1, N+2). Multipath increases delay spread at the receiver; the guard interval prevents intersymbol interference. In this example, path b is within the guard interval while c causes inter-symbol interference.
time
Previous 802.11 standards used a guard interval of 800nsec. 802.11n adds an option for 400nsec, negotiated between receiver and transmitter, for cases where the worst-case multipath delay is low. (propagation in free-space, delay = distance x 0.3 metres/nsec, so 400nsec is equivalent to 120metres path difference.)
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For best (least-error) decoding, the symbol must arrive at the receiver without any interference or noise. Previous sections of this document have shown how 802.11n uses MIMO to improve reception of multipath, but this only works symbol-by-symbol. Inter-symbol interference occurs when the delay between different RF paths to the receiver exceeds the guard interval, causing a reflection of the previous symbol to interfere with the strong signal from the current symbol: a form of self-interference. The optional 400nsec short guard interval in 802.11n can be used when the path difference between the fastest and slowest RF paths is less than that limit. The diagram includes a quick calculation for path loss, but in reality multipath reflections can introduce RF phase changes and reach 400nsec relatively easily. This means the shorter guard interval will be very useful in consumer settings, but cannot be relied upon when planning for enterprise deployments.
26 carriers
26 carriers
28 carriers
28 carriers
-10MHz
fc
+10MHz
-10MHz
fc
+10MHz
52 subcarriers (48 usable) for a 20 MHz non-HT mode (legacy 802.11a/g) channel
57 carriers
57 carriers
-20MHz
-10MHz
fc
+10MHz
+20MHz
The additional subcarriers effectively add bandwidth to the channel, allowing increased data rates for a given modulation type (see the section below on new modulation rates). (The figures above include pilot tones, used for dynamic calibration, hence the lower figure for usable subcarriers. The effect is not very significant).
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While 802.11a and g specify 7 rates (6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48 and 54 Mbps), 802.11n provides many more: over 300. However, the basic set is of 8 rates: Basic rates of 802.11n (Mbps) 20 MHz channel; single stream; 800 nsec GI; equal modulation 6.5 13 19.5 26 39 52 58.5 65 This is a set of rates for one spatial stream in a 20 MHz RF channel and with an 800 nsec guard-interval and equal modulation on all spatial streams. This basic set of rates is comparable to the 802.11b/g rates above: each rate is improved by about 8% (e.g. 18 to 19.5 Mbps) by using slightly wider bandwidth and improved modulation. The 65 Mbps rate has no equivalent in 802.11a/g. Other rates are generally derived in multiples of the basic rates above: Rates of 802.11n (Mbps) 20 MHz channel; two streams; 800 nsec GI; equal modulation 13 26 39 52 78 104 117 130 Rates of 802.11n (Mbps) 40 MHz channel; single stream; 800 nsec GI; equal modulation 13.5 27 40.5 54 81 108 121.5 135 The 40 MHz channel allows slightly more than twice the data rate of two 20MHz channels. Rates of 802.11n (Mbps) 20 MHz channel; single stream; 400 nsec GI; equal modulation 7.2 14.4 21.7 28.9 43.3 57.8 65 72.2 The shorter 400nsec guard interval allows slightly higher data rates than 800nsec. Rates of 802.11n (Mbps) 20 MHz channel; two streams; 800 nsec GI; unequal modulation 39 52 65 58.5 78 97.5 For a given system, the range of choices will be smaller than the tables above or below would indicate, because some of these factors are fixed for a given system: 20 MHz or 40 MHz channel. As discussed elsewhere in this paper, a 40 MHz channel will not often be feasible for an enterprise deployment in the 2.4 GHz band. However 40 MHz channels are likely to be widespread in the 5 GHz band. Spatial streams. As described above, a 3x3 system will normally support 3 spatial streams. However, where there is insufficient RF path isolation between streams, even a 3x3 system may not be able to support 3 diverse streams. Also, a 3x1 system only supports one spatial stream, and many clients may initially be equipped with only one antenna. Guard interval. The guard interval is the time between OFDM symbols in the air. Normally it will be 800 nsec: the option is for a 400 nsec guard interval, but as noted above, reliable detection with this value may be challenging under normal enterprise conditions. Convolutional coding. When data arrives at the PHY layer for transmission, it is scrambled and coded. This alters its spectral characteristics in order to achieve the best signal to noise ratio, and also includes built-in error correction, known as convolutional coding. The 802.11n standard includes BCC (block convolutional coding), as included in previous 802.11 standards, but also adds an option for LDPC (low density parity check) coding, which can improve effective throughput for given RF conditions. Modulation. All spatial streams may use the same (equal) modulation, or they may carry different (unequal) modulation and coding. An example might be where there are three spatial streams with
802.11n Theory and Practice Aruba Networks
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good MIMO characteristics, but one stream has a high noise floor or a low signal level: under these conditions the weak stream would support a lower data rate than the other streams. It is too early to predict with confidence how often unequal modulation will be invoked.
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52 carriers
52 carriers
-20MHz
-10MHz
fc
+10MHz
+20MHz
52 x 2 usable subcarriers for a 40 MHz duplicate format (802.11n) channel (applicable to greenfield and mixed-modes)
HT duplicate format is used only for the lowest data rate for a 40 MHz channel, for a single spatial stream. It sends the same data on each 20 MHz sub-channel, providing better error performance for a given (high) noise level.
P1
P2
P3
P1
P2
P3
P1
P2
P3
MAC processing
MAC processing
MAC processing
MAC header
P1
P2
P3
MAC header
P1
MAC header
P2
MAC header
P3
PHY layer
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In the A-MSDU format, multiple packets from higher layers are combined and processed by the MAC layer as a single entity. Each original packet becomes a subframe within the aggregated MAC frame, with its own sub-header containing source & destination addresses and length. Thus this method can be used for packets with differing source and destination addresses, but only MSDUs of the same priority (access class, as in 802.11e) can be aggregated. An alternative method, A-MPDU format, allows concatenation of MPDUs into an aggregate MAC frame. Each individual MPDU is encrypted and decrypted separately. Since MPDUs are packed together, this method cannot use the earlier 802.11 per-MPDU acknowledgement mechanism for unicast frames. AMPDU must be used with the new Block Acknowledgement function of 802.11n. In order to accommodate aggregated MAC frames, the maximum length accepted by the PHY is increased from 4095 in previous standards to 65535.
The format of the Block Ack is a bit-map to acknowledge each outstanding frame: it is based on a mechanism originally defined in 802.11e. The bit-map identifies specific frames not received, allowing selective retransmission of only those required.
arguably with less implementation complexity. 802.11n defines a RIFS interval as 2 usec, whereas SIFS is 16 usec.
2.2.4 MAC layer enhancements: Spatial multiplexing power save (SM power save)
The basic 802.11n power save mode is based on the earlier 802.11 power save function. In this mode, the client notifies the AP of its power-save status (intention to sleep), then shuts down, only waking for ATIMs (Ad-hoc traffic indication maps) broadcast by the AP, while the AP buffers downlink traffic for sleeping stations between ATIMs. Power save in 802.11n is enhanced for MIMO operation with SM power save mode. Since MIMO requires maintaining several receiver chains powered-up, standby power draw for MIMO devices is likely to be considerably higher than for earlier 802.11 equipment. A new provision in 802.11n allows a MIMO client to power-down all but one RF chain when in power save mode. When a client is in the dynamic SM power-save state, the AP sends a wake-up frame, usually an RTS/CTS exchange, to give it time to activate the other antennas and RF chains. In static mode, the client decides when to activate its full RF chains, regardless of traffic status.
AP
Data
Multicast
Data
AP
Sleep
Data
Multicast
Data
Trigger/Data
Ack / Sleep
time
Unscheduled PSMP is simpler: it is very similar to U-APSD, supporting both trigger-enabled and deliveryenabled options. Each sleep interval is considered and signaled independently, with the client determining when to wake to receive or transmit data. In the diagram above, the sleep frame informs the AP that the client will stop receiving frames until further notice. When the client wishes to communicate, it sends a regular or trigger frame to the AP, and both parties then transmit whatever data is queued. At the end of this exchange, the client can indicate its return to sleep mode. Scheduled PSMP is very similar to the S-APSD function introduced in 802.11e. The client requests a TSpec (traffic specification) from the AP, giving details of data rate, frame size, frame interval and access class (QoS priority) of the traffic streams it wishes to send and receive. The AP, once it has admitted this
19 802.11n Theory and Practice Aruba Networks
T-Spec, defines and a polling schedule for the client. Since there may be several clients using S-PSMP, the AP defines global PSMP SP (service period) for S-PSMP traffic, informing other stations they cannot transmit during these intervals. Once a PSMP SP is declared, the AP first transmits data in the downlink direction to all applicable S-PSMP clients during the DTT (downlink transmission time), then accepts traffic from clients during the UTT (uplink transmission time).
A
802.11n PSMP
C
PSMP = power save multi-poll 802.11n Not PSMP 802.11n PSMP
AP B
Data A PSMP-DTT Data A Data B PSMP-UTT
Data B
AP
Publish schedule
Arequest B C
TSpec request
TSpec
Data
Data
Data
Data
S-PSMP is a very efficient way to transmit streaming or periodic traffic over 802.11n: there is no contention for the medium, as everything depends on a published schedule.
Unfortunately, as explained elsewhere in this note, working with legacy 802.11 clients and networks degrades the performance of 802.11n considerably, to the point where 802.11a/b/g clients will see very comparable performance whether they are using an 802.11a/b/g or 802.11n access point. In addition, working with legacy clients poisons the 802.11n cell: its capacity will be severely degraded as soon as even one legacy client is present. This does not negate the need for legacy operation, but it does increase the urgency of upgrading the client population to 802.11n. The diagram below shows how
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introducing an 802.11a client into an 802.11n cell reduces the throughput (based on data rates alone: coexistence mechanisms will further reduce throughput).
A
802.11n 52 Mbps 2SS SDM
B
802.11n 2SS SDM 802.11n 104 Mbps
AP
B to AP 1KB @ 104 Mbps AP to A 1KB @ 52 Mbps
A to AP 1KB @ 52 Mbps
AP to A 1KB @ 52 Mbps
2N
2N
2N
time
Data transferred = 6KB, 3KB to/from A and 3KB to/from B ***(for a time interval of 9N*).
A
802.11n 52 Mbps
2SS SDM
B
802.11n 1SS 802.11a 24 Mbps 2SS SDM 802.11n 117 Mbps
AP
C
AP to A 1KB @ 52 Mbps
A to AP 1KB @ 52 Mbps
AP to C 1KB @ 24 Mbps
2N
4N
2N
time
Data transferred = 4KB, 2 KB to/from A, 1KB to/from B, 1KB to/from C ***(for a time interval of 9N) . *** In a time interval of 9N, ignoring contention time
Depending on the requirements to support legacy 802.11a/b/g clients, 802.11n defines three modes of client compatibility: High Throughput (Greenfield), High Throughput Mixed-Format and Non-HT (legacy) mode.
HT (High Throughput) Greenfield format
HT-GF-STF HT-LTF1 HT-SIG HT-LTF
HT-LTF
HT-LTF
HT-LTF
Data Key Short Training Field Long Training Field Signal Greenfield Legacy (e.g. pre-802.11n) High Throughput (e.g. 802.11n)
Non-HT format
L-STF L-LTF L-SIG Data
HT mixed format
L-STF L-LTF L-SIG HT-SIG HT-STF HT-LTF
HT-LTF
HT-LTF
HT-LTF
Data
High Throughput (HT). In HT or Greenfield mode, the AP does not expect to connect to any legacy 802.11 clients, and indeed, assumes that there are none operating in the area. Even so, the first part of the preamble is a legacy short training sequence, enabling other devices and APs to sense that there is 802.11 equipment in the area. However, after that no indication is available that will allow older devices to understand the remaining part of the transmission: it is all in HT-format. HT-mode is the only one of the three that is not mandatory in the 802.11n standard.
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Non-HT format. This is essentially legacy mode. The frames are all in 802.11a/g format (PHY and MAC), so they can be understood and decoded by 802.11a/b/g clients. This mode gives essentially no performance advantage over legacy networks, but offers full compatibility. Non-HT mode cannot be used with 40 MHz channels. HT Mixed Format. As might be expected, this allows operation of 802.11n clients in HT mode, while legacy clients are fully-supported. There is a full legacy preamble, then the option of using HT or legacy format afterwards. The preamble allows legacy clients to detect the transmission, acquire the carrier frequency and timing synchronization, and the L-SIG field allows them to estimate the length of the transmission. This (mixed) mode can be used in a 40 MHz channel, but to make it compatible with legacy clients, all broadcast and non-aggregated control frames are sent on a legacy 20 MHz channel as defined in 802.11a/b/g, so as to be interoperable with those clients. And of course all transmissions to and from legacy clients must be within a legacy 20 MHz channel.
C
802.11n In 20 MHz or 40 MHz
AP
802.11a 20 MHz
B
Sends selfaddressed CTS setting NAV to N in both 20 MHz channels Sends selfaddressed CTS setting NAV to N in upper 20 MHz channel
AP
Sends selfaddressed CTS setting NAV to N in lower 20 MHz channel AP and A and C exchange traffic in 802.11a 20 MHz channel (mixed mode)
C T No transmission S
AP and B and C exchange traffic in 802.11a 20 MHz channel (mixed mode)
C T S C T S
C T No transmission S N
C T No transmission S
AP and B and C exchange traffic in 802.11a 20 MHz channel (mixed mode)
N
time
Firstly, for 802.11n clients, the AP advertises a forthcoming switch of operation, allowing these clients to continue communicating in all time slices, whether 20 MHz or 40 MHz. Clearly, throughput is lower during 20 MHz time slices, but nevertheless, two-way transmission between the client and the AP can continue
Aruba Networks 802.11n Theory and Practice 22
uninterrupted. While the diagram shows all time slices of equal length for simplicity, the AP can choose between a number of defined time intervals for each time slice. For legacy 802.11 clients, only one of the three modes of operation (40 MHz, upper 20 MHz, lower 20 MHz channels) will be possible at any time: these clients will only operate in one of the 20 MHz channels. During time slices when the AP is in one of the other two modes, these clients must be informed that they cannot transmit: the AP will not be able to receive their frames. This is achieved by the AP transmitting a self-addressed CTS (clear to send, see below) frame with a duration value equal to the next time-slice duration. When clients hear this frame, they set their NAV (network allocation vector) to this value: under the rules of all 802.11 standards, they are not allowed to attempt transmission until this timer has expired. Phased coexistence operation is also a good-neighbour policy because APs and clients in range of the AP will be able to hear the self-addressed CTS messages and set their NAV timers in similar fashion, avoiding one form of co-channel interference. However, 802.11a/b/g cells operating in range of a PCO cell will experience much-reduced capacity, as APs and clients will be inhibited from transmitting for a significant percentage of the time previously available.
AP
802.11a (L) 20 MHz
AP
RTS (HT)
CTS (HT)
CTS (L)
A B
Sets NAV
Sets NAV
Sets NAV
time
In this mode, the AP transmits extra CTS (clear to send) frames, so every data frame, whether from a client or the AP, is protected by a legacy and an HT CTS. When the traffic is generated by a station, it first sends an RTS (request to send) to the AP. The AP responds with two CTS frames, one in HT and the other in legacy format. The client is then free to transmit the data frame, while other clients in the same and neighbouring cells set their NAV correctly so they do not transmit over the authorized frame, interfering with it. When the AP has traffic to send, it uses a self-addressed CTS frame to perform the same function. Dual-CTS makes the network a good neighbour to overlapping or adjacent legacy 802.11 networks. It also solves the hidden node problem where different clients in a cell may not be able to hear each others
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transmissions, although, by definition they can all hear the AP and its CTS frames. However, the use of RTS/CTS further reduces the data throughput of the cell.
+19MHz 0dBr +21MHz -20dBr +30MHz -28dBr +40MHz -40dBr -30MHz -40dBr -20MHz -28dBr
fc
fc
11
Channel
10
11
12
13
Centre Frequency 2412 2417 2422 2427 2432 2437 2442 2447 2452
Channels defined for 2.4 GHz band, showing common 20 MHz channel plan and 40 MHz options
This means that in practice, it is unlikely that 40 MHz channels will be used in the 2.4 GHz band. But this does not mean that 802.11n should not be used: there will be performance improvements even when a 20 MHz channel is used, although the presence of legacy clients will reduce the realized benefits. This also illustrates one of the drivers for using 802.11n in handheld clients such as mobile Wi-Fi phones. Design of these devices will offer challenges in terms of siting diverse antennas and power consumption already a concern but allowing the device to work in greenfield 802.11n mode will avoid the need for the
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cell to fall into a PCO or other coexistence mode, and greatly increase overall cell performance, even if a single antenna with a single transmit/receive chain is used.
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Feature
Mandatory / Optional in WFA Certification (M = Mandatory, O = Optional) APs Client: PC Baseline O M Client: HandHeld Client: Consumer Electronics O M
High Throughput PHY 40 MHz channel in 5 GHz 20 MHz channel in 5 GHz 40 MHz channel in 2.4 GHz 20 MHz channel in 2.4 GHz Concurrent operation in 2.4 and 5 GHz bands SDM (Spatial Division Multiplexing): number of spatial streams supported STBC (Space-time block coding): the modulation options available Spatial expansion of legacy frames Reverse direction TxBF (Transmit Beamforming) Greenfield Mode L-SIG legacy protection (mixed mode) High Throughput duplicate mode
Aruba Networks
O M
O O
Supported Supported Supported (may be disallowed by Wi-Fi Alliance) Supported Supported (this is for a dual-radio solution: not splitting SSs over two bands).
M O 2x2 / 4x4
M O 2x2 / 4x4
M Tx 2x1
O O
O M
Initial chipsets support only 2 spatial streams, (despite public marketing positions & statements). We expect a maximum of 2 or 3 antennas on commercial products for enterprise, perhaps at the end of 2007. We expect only symmetrical coding options to be implemented initially. Explicit feedback frames may not work across dissimilar vendors. We dont expect to see this capability initially. We dont expect to see this, except maybe if same vendors chip sets at both ends, AP & client. Not yet properly defined (target Q1 2008). Not likely to be supported before 2008. Optional but critical for improved performance! All products will support this. Supported. Supported.
O
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Short guard interval MRQ/MFB. Fast Link adaptation MAC Layer Enhancements A-MPDU, A-MSDU PSMP. Power Save Multipoll MTBA Block Ack Quality of Service WMM (including WMM Power Save) Security WPA2
O M
Supported. Supported.
O M M M M M M
Supported (although there are some questions about a security vulnerability of AMSDU) Supported. Supported. Will support WMM in 802.11n mode.
4Q 2007 1Q 2008
AP PC
draft-n draft-n
2Q-3Q 2009
AP, PC
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Phones 2010
Handheld n devices
unlikely 4 spatial streams, except for special circumstances like point-point bridging applications. APs may become capable of beamforming. Wi-Fi phones have only just incorporated 802.11g, and very few yet support 5 GHz operation. Bar code readers, location tags & other specialized Wi-Fi clients will take years to incorporate 802.11n because while 802.11a/g technology is cheaper, more compact & lower-power (and networks are backwards-compatible), designers will not be able to justify.
4 Migration strategies
4.1 Different paths to enterprise-wide 802.11n
There are essentially three strategies to get an Enterprise WLAN to 802.11n: greenfield, overlay and interspersed. The four questions the network designer must answer are where to place the new 802.11n APs, which channels to use, whether to remove some older 802.11a/b/g APs, and how to manage the client population. As indicated earlier, a uniform 802.11n network will allow greater range and hence wider AP spacing than an 802.11a/b/g network. RF engineers insist that every site has unique conditions and usually avoid giving any figures for typical deployments, but a rule of thumb in carpeted enterprise buildings is that with design figures of 9-12 Mbps minimum rate and 150% cell overlap, and a typical office layout and user population, 802.11a/g APs can be spaced at about 15-21 metres (5070 feet). With 802.11n APs and 802.11a/b/g clients (remembering they must support at least two spatial streams), we would expect the same guidelines to hold. However, with 802.11n APs and 802.11n clients with at least two spatial streams (or antenna diversity processing at both ends an option that is unlikely to be available till 2008), Aruba estimates that AP spacing can be increased to perhaps 20-25 metres (65-85 feet). In a new greenfield installation, this offers a considerable savings of AP hardware, cabling & installation, and even in edge switch ports, closet space, power and cooling provisions. As noted throughout this paper, 802.11n offers an opportunity to increase usage of the 5 GHz band where channels are plentiful, interference is uncommon and 40 GHz channel usage is feasible. However, while PC clients will be readily available with 802.11n and draft-n capability, specialized clients such as Wi-Fi phones, location tags or handheld bar-code readers will be confined to 2.4 GHz for 12-24 months or more, with few exceptions. For this reason, and because of the considerable installed base of 802.11b/g client, we suggest that any enterprise network should provide coverage in the 2.4 GHz band. Since WLAN vendors will be marketing access points supporting two radios: either with both capable of 802.11n, or one 802.11n and the other 802.11a/b/g, this will be quite feasible, but remember that if legacy clients are to be fully and reliably supported, AP spacing cannot be increased. In general, we recommend that when 802.11n access points are used, they should support two radio-sets, one operating with a 40 GHz channel at 5 GHz and the other with a 20 MHz channel at 2.4 GHz. This will provide maximum performance and flexibility for a small installed price premium over an 802.11n+802.11a/b/g or a single 802.11n access point. Even though phones, location tags and other handheld clients will be slow to adopt 802.11n, it is important that they eventually achieve this goal. Even if they only support one antenna, one RF chain and a single
Aruba Networks 802.11n Theory and Practice 28
spatial stream, the upgrade will prevent access points from dropping into legacy-compatible modes and hence will remove a serious inhibitor of performance as measured by cell capacity. It is likely that an early driver for introducing 802.11n access points in an existing network will be defensive: to provide rogue AP detection that extends to the APs on the shelves of consumer electronics shops. If previous upgrades of Wi-Fi are an indication, the consumer market will lead the enterprise market for several quarters, and the only way to detect and classify an 802.11n rogue will be to use an 802.11n access point. Most WLAN vendors are expected to continue their architecture where a single access point can dynamically switch between coverage and monitoring mode, and in a Wi-Fi service delivery network we expect the usual ratio of 15% to 25% extra access points in order to ensure full monitoring even under heavy load, as well as dynamic network healing in the event of AP failure. If new APs are used for the sole purpose of monitoring, they would normally be installed at wider spacing than indicated above. This may change for 802.11n: since some of the range-enhancing techniques are not symmetrical and depend on the client implementing and enabling particular features. We will be able to give firmer guidelines after more testing with early 802.11n products.
4.1.1 Greenfield
This is not really a migration: it is building a network with new APs and new clients where there was no WLAN before. This offers an opportunity to start with all-n coverage, and to ensure that clients are ncapable, or can be rapidly phased-out in favour of n-capable substitutes. The foremost concern with this strategy is that all clients must be 802.11n-capable: older clients will have shorter range, similar to 802.11a/g distances, and will experience very low connectivity rates and coverage holes, at the same time reducing the potential performance of 802.11n clients in the cells where they are connected.
802.11n Access
802.11n coverage
As seen from the approximate figures above, it may be possible to reduce the number of APs required to cover an area by a factor of 30% or more, when comparing 802.11n with older 802.11 technologies. This may mean that the capacity of a cell becomes more important than the connection speed of any data client, but this is easily incorporated into the planning stage. The savings indicated above may make it worthwhile to upgrade clients to 802.11n in order to take advantage of the wider AP spacing this enables. Other aspects of a greenfield deployment include rogue detection and intrusion prevention. These functions will work successfully for all types of 802.11a/b/g/n devices.
29 802.11n Theory and Practice Aruba Networks
A further consideration will be whether to cover one or both of the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. We believe all 802.11n clients are likely to be 5 GHz-capable, so for these clients, coverage of 5 GHz only will be sufficient. However, the likelihood of requirements, albeit infrequent, for 2.4 GHz-only client support means that we consider it prudent for most enterprise deployments of this type to include dual-radio access points providing coverage of the 2.4 GHz band, even if this is legacy coverage and it becomes intermittent at the edge of the cell (due to 802.11n-driven access point spacing).
Note that for a lightly-loaded greenfield network, using 802.11n access points with 802.11a spacing, and enabling PCO for a mixed client base presents a perfectly acceptable solution: throughput will initially be low, probably lower than an 802.11a network until the number of legacy clients is reduced, but the network can be installed once and grow with the client base, without any required reconfiguration.
4.1.3 AP-overlay
Here, the 802.11n network would be planned as if there were no existing network, for optimum placement of the new APs. The old and new network will be able to operate in parallel if care is taken with RF channel allocation, and when the new one is complete and all clients are 802.11n-capable, the old APs can be de-installed or abandoned.
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802.11n Access
802.11a/g Access
802.11n coverage
802.11a/g coverage
Since 802.11n makes best use of the 5GHz band (with 40MHz channels), it makes an attractive overlay on an 802.11b/g network operating at 2.4GHz: the original network can operate in the 2.4 GHz band (or even 2.4 GHz and several channels of the 5 GHz band) while the 802.11n network can use the remainder of the 5 GHz band. In this scenario, there will be no need for legacy clients to connect to the 802.11n network, so it can operate in HT mode. (It may be useful in the early days of such a network to use it in PCO mode if there are very few 802.11n-capable clients, but this will negate much of the throughput advantages of 802.11n.) Against this, the 802.11n network is additive, so additional cabling, power and edge switch ports will probably be required: it is likely these upgrades would eventually be needed, anyway.
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4.1.5 AP substitution
In this model, existing APs are swapped one-for-one with new 802.11n APs. If every AP is replaced with 802.11n, the resulting network will have plenty of capacity we estimate perhaps a three-fold improvement, depending on the mix of 802.11a/g and 802.11n clients but will have more APs that would be strictly necessary. In most networks it will be possible to abandon many AP locations either running an RF planning tool, or using RF self-calibration tools on a network mid-way through migration will give an indication of whether this is feasible. 802.11n Access 802.11a/g Access
802.11n 802.11a/g
A network of mixed 802.11n and 802.11a/g or even 802.11b APs can operate indefinitely: this is a possible solution where 802.11n is important for identifying rogue APs but not for capacity or range considerations. Note that even though APs can be swapped at a location, the new 802.11n AP may require different power and Ethernet connections.
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AP mounting and positioning guidelines may differ. With earlier 802.11 APs, it was important to provide as clear a line of sight as possible between the AP and the client, so hiding APs behind metal pipes or air conditioning ducts was not recommended. With MIMO, such practices may become optimum for 802.11n. Opportunities to mount APs in the workspace - on walls, partitions and on furniture, but not in the ceiling plenum space increase with 802.11n, as the non-line-of-sight characteristics are favourable. This may mitigate some of the installation issues mentioned above: if GE drops already exist in some offices, 802.11n APs can be located to take advantage of these, and local power for the AP via a wall brick may be a reasonable option.
5 Conclusion
This note has two goals: to explain the technology and features of the 802.11n standard, and to examine its implications in terms of likely product development cycles, and for the design of enterprise Wi-Fi networks. It is clear that 802.11n represents a significant leap forward in technology and performance for enterprise networks. Uniform greenfield 802.11n networks will be able to offer higher capacity and longer range than current WLANs, and there are potential savings in terms of fewer access points to cover a given area. However, this note has also identified several issues that will delay the adoption of 802.11n in enterprise networks. These include the (relatively) slow progress of standards, infrastructure requirements such as LAN edge switch ports, cabling and power, and the installed base of 802.11a/b/g clients and WLANs that must be considered in any migration strategy. Taken together, these are likely to slow the 802.11n adoption wave, so a number of years will pass before the full benefits are felt. In the pages above, we have disclosed the facts of 802.11n, along with our best estimates of future activity. There is a case in enterprise networks for tuning and extending existing 802.11a/g networks in the short-term, while testing and running pilot trials on draft-n and eventually full 802.11n-compliant products. When and how to migrate to 802.11n will be an important decision: the information here is intended to assist the enterprise network manager in formulating an optimum upgrade strategy. Despite our best efforts, developments will inevitably prove us wrong in some of the predictions above: our advice to the reader is to check often with the technical press and vendors for current information. 802.11n offers very real and exciting benefits: it will eventually change the way we build and operate enterprise wireless LANs.
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6 Appendix
6.1 Note on expected real-world cell capacity with 802.11n
Whereas an 802.11a/g access point can support a top data rate of 54Mbps, 802.11n can stretch to 600Mbps. This is important, as a Wi-Fi cell (the area covered by a single AP) shares all bandwidth: its very similar to the original wired Ethernet, where all stations shared a single segment of cable, and had to co-ordinate transmissions to avoid collisions. Three effects limit the effective capacity of an 802.11 cell (examples are taken from 802.11g, but should be equivalent form 802.11n): Actual data rates. While specifications quote maximum data rates, these are only achieved under the best radio conditions. The distance from AP to client, RF obstructions such as walls, furniture, people, and interfering RF transmissions all limit the achievable data rate. Thus, a client 20 metres from the AP in an office environment might only support a data rate of 12Mbps rather than the advertised peak of 54Mbps. If all clients connect at this rate, the raw capacity of the cell becomes 12Mbps. Contention loss. Since the wireless medium is shared, stations wishing to send data must contend for temporary control of the medium. This contention takes time that is then not available for data traffic, lowering the capacity of the cell. Contention depends on the number of clients and the length of frames sent: the more clients and the shorter the frame, the less the effective capacity of the cell. For instance, while an 802.11g may achieve throughput of 36Mbps with 1500Byte frames, capacity drops to around 16Mbps with 256Byte frames. The MAC aggregation function in 802.11n should reduce losses due to contention, but it will not be effective for all types of traffic. Legacy support. All 802.11 systems are designed to support older 802.11 clients. Thus an 802.11g AP will support 802.11b clients. However, there is a cost associated with this. When even a single legacy client joins a cell, all other clients and the AP must indicate traffic is present, using data rates the older client can understand. For 802.11g/b compatibility, this means using RTS/CTS at slower rates, considerably increasing overhead and decreasing cell capacity. And of course, when the legacy station transmits or receives, it does so at lower data rates, reducing the effective capacity of the cell. The 400 nsec guard interval is not a realistic option in an enterprise network, where there will be many multipath reflections, some with long delay spreads. Client design for 802.11n is challenging, as it is difficult on many devices to find the space to mount extra antennas, the extra RF chains and processing require more board area and power, and of course 802.11n silicon will command a price premium for several years over 802.11a/g silicon. Not least, NIC cards and clients such as Wi-Fi phones are complex to design: until recently, Wi-Fi phones were limited to 802.11b.
All these effects serve to reduce the effective capacity of a cell. Thus, while 802.11n advertises rates to 600Mbps, the expected capacity of an 802.11n cell is between 100 and 200Mbs, and it could certainly be less if clients connect over long distances, transmit short frames, or there are legacy 802.11a/b/g clients present. However, this is still an increase of 5x over 802.11a/g technology. Here are our estimates of reasonable expectations for data rates in an enterprise 802.11n deployment (this assumes greenfield deployment with no legacy 802.11a/b/g clients or APs). Interpret this table as a comparison of the achievable data rate of 802.11n with that of 802.11a or 802.11g at the same distance from the access point. Alternatively, it can be read as the capacity of a cell (with all-802.11n clients) when compared with a cell of the same radius. Spatial Streams 1 (2x1, 3x1)
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40 40 40
1.5x 2x 2x 4x 4x 6x
In addition to the PHY effects above, the many MAC enhancements in 802.11n will increase the throughput, and hence the capacity of a cell. Analysis of these effects is challenging, as they are extremely dependent on the data patterns. Some of the enhancements are aimed specifically at streaming media such as video, but there has been speculation that they may actually reduce the throughput of other types of traffic such as voice or file transfers.
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Where f is the frequency (for our purposes, 5.5 GHz as the centre of the 5GHz band), and A is a constant where we sweep a lot of base assumptions. The calculation used in the spreadsheet is: P = 20log10(d) + 47.26 This is adjusted to give a figure for power at the receive antenna connector based a power level to the transmit connector of 100mW and combined antenna gains of 6dBi. In-building propagation loss Many academics, notably Theodore Rappaport, have researched how radio waves propagate in-building. It is not too harsh to say that the conclusion is that it is nearly impossible to predict performance in any particular case, but much work has been done on characterizing general performance when averaged over many buildings, clients or measurements. Of the many different models proposed, we use one of the simplest: P = x10log10(d) + 47.26 Where is a parameter showing increased loss over distance compared with free space. SNR and channel capacity From an equation defining how receive power varies with distance, a few operations derive a usable data rate. First, define a noise floor so a signal to noise ratio (SNR) can be calculated. Thermal noise depends on Boltzmanns constant (kB) and absolute temperature (T), and it calculated by:
B
P = kBT(f) which simplifies to PdBm = -174 + 10log(f) Where P is power in dBm, and f is the channel bandwidth in Hz. In our case, the channel is either 20 or 40MHz. Thermal noise in a 20MHz channel is -101dBm; and in a 40MHZ channel, -98dBm. Channel capacity is calculated from SNR by Shannons formula: C = Blog2(1 + SNR) Where C is the capacity in bits/sec, SNR the signal to noise ratio expressed as a ratio, not in dB, and B is a constant depending on the channel bandwidth. Since 802.11n uses different coding schemes to deal with differing levels of SNR, this equation is taken as a general guide but is adjusted to give results more closely modelling 802.11n.
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70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 10 11 13 14 15 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 30 31 32 34 35 1 2 4 5 6 7 9
Free Space
Inbuildin g
Distance (metres)
The graph above shows the results of the free-space and in-building propagation models. The freespace line assumes uninterrupted line-of-sight behaviour, and is obviously the upper-bound of what could be expected in practice: it will not be possible to improve on these figures in practical networks. The inbuilding plot shows a much steeper decline of data rate with distance, as one might expect: generally it assumes non-line-of-sight, and many multipath reflections. The general form of this curve is wellaccepted: the slope varies depending on the type of environment. Our assumption is for a propagation factor of 2.7 (estimates vary from 2.0 for free-space to 3.5 in extremely challenging environments), and we judge this reasonable for a building with few thick internal walls, but with desks, cubicle partitions and thin office walls and doors. A modern office building might be typical of this, whereas buildings constructed with internal walls of brick or concrete, or containing large metal objects would warrant a higher factor. Applying noise and calculating expected data rates for 802.11n To the raw calculations above, we add a factor to simulate random noise in the environment. This is a gross simplification of a typical enterprise environment, where there will be sources on non-random noise, and other Wi-Fi devices, which will in effect interfere with the channel under consideration, but it serves to give an indication of expected performance. The methodology, explained above, is to apply a random variation in the range +/- 6dB to the mean values for in-building propagation above. This gives the figure for a single spatial stream in the plots below. To model multiple spatial streams (SS), a number of independent random events are calculated, one for each SS in the system. These are then added using a variety of weightings, as it is not reasonable to expect perfect RF isolation of the spatial paths: adding a second SS will cause some interference and degradation of the first. Subtracting from this effect, however, the transmitter can use feedback from the receiver to characterize the combination of channels and adjust its antenna weightings. Overall we expect these effects to balance: the calculations above expect that the second and third spatial streams are directly additive to the overall data rates.
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Free Space
Inbuilding
150 100 50 0 1 3 5 6 8 10 12 14 15 17 19 21 23 24 26 28 30 32
Distance (metres)
1 SS, 20MHz with noise 2 SS, 20MHz with noise 3 SS, 20 MHz with noise
The diagram above also includes a simplification, in that it assumes non-line-of-sight, but with significant multipath: good conditions for MIMO with SDM. Our practical experience in our own office building suggests that actual data rates can be lower at short distances from the access point, because there is more likely to be line-of-sight, especially with ceiling-mounted antennas. This means that at short range, line-of-sight negates the MIMO effect, and data rates are similar to single spatial stream figures. As distance increases, the dominant line-of-sight/near-line-of-sight signal is attenuated, promoting multiple, more isolated RF paths, and overall data rates increase. Now the results must be matched to actual 802.11 data rates, depending on different coding combinations. The plot below shows this for 802.11a, which can be used as a benchmark for comparison with the 802.11n results.
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38
Free Space
60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 3 4 6 7 9 11 12 14 15 17 19 20 22 23 25 27 28 30 31 33
Distance (metres)
Inbuilding
Using the same methodology we model 802.11n data rates for different combinations of spatial streams and channel bandwidth.
Free Space Inbuilding 1 SS, 20MHz 2 SS, 20MHz 3 SS, 20MHz 1 SS, 40MHz 2 SS, 40MHz 3 SS, 40MHz
80 70
Data rate (Mbps)
60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 3 5 6 8 10 12 14 15 17 19 21 23 24 26 28 30 32 33
Distance (metres)
35
802.11a (20MHz)
The results demonstrate that even with one spatial stream, 802.11n gains range over 802.11a/g. This can be ascribed to a series of minor PHY-layer improvements (beamforming is not included in this model because it is not part of the first release of 802.11n, and it is not incorporated in 2007-releases of silicon). The extent of this improvement of 802.11n range over 802.11a is perhaps 5%.
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Also, the effective range of 802.11n (the distance at which the lowest data rate becomes unreliable) increases slightly with the number of spatial streams: maybe 20% with the second spatial stream. While this may seem to be a small increase, it will allow an increase in the spacing of access points, and a reduction in their number of perhaps 30-50%. Note that as this model deals only with range and data rates at the PHY layer, the achievable throughput will be less than indicated above sometimes considerably less, especially when older 802.11a/b/g clients are present in the cell. The table below shows the estimated contribution of different 802.11n features in extending range (range here is defined as the distance at which the error rate at the lowest defined data rate becomes excessive: the range is compared to 802.11a). Feature Increased channel bandwidth, 20 MHz channel, modulation & coding improvements Increased channel bandwidth, 40MHz channel, modulation & coding improvements Diversity effects from multiple antennas, 2x1/3x1 Diversity effects from multiple antennas, 2x2, 3x2 Transmit beamforming 2x1 Two spatial streams Three spatial streams Estimated Improvement 5% 5% 7% Notes More subcarriers are used, but the improvement is directed to a higher data rate rather than increased range. As above. Transmitting identical signal from 2 or 3 antennas at the AP, and receiving on one (relies on the AP using receive processing to support the reverse link). This improvement may not be realized in 2007. As above, except the client can combine received signals from both antennas, and transmit identical signals on both. This improvement may not be realized in 2007. This will not be implemented in silicon (at least with intervendor interoperability) in 2007. (Not additive with diversity). (This is not additive with diversity effects or beamforming.) (This is not additive with diversity effects or beamforming.)
The practical solutions available in 2007 should benefit from diversity effects and the two-spatial-stream opportunity, giving the range estimates (based on two spatial streams) used through this paper for a 2007 greenfield 802.11n network. Note that MAC enhancements do not affect the maximum range of an 802.11n signal, although they do serve to increase the overall throughput at any particular AP to client distance.
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References The IEEE is the fount of 802.11 standards. While it does not publish standards until final ratification, much useful information may be found here: http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11/ .In particular, there is a useful summary of each forthcoming amendment (currently under WG Info / 802.11 Quick Guide) and a current estimate of schedules (use the search box for timeline). The information in this paper was taken from and checked against P802.11n draft 2.0. The Wi-Fi Alliance is working on certifications for 802.11n. The WFA web site is here: http://wi-fi.org/
41 802.11n Theory and Practice Aruba Networks
2007 Aruba Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Aruba Networks and Aruba Mobile Edge Architecture are trademarks of Aruba Networks, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Specifications are subject to change without notice.
AN000WP80211n-2.7
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