802.11n - Everything you need to know!

IEEE 802.11n is more than just another evolutionary step for the wireless LAN. It marks the point at which wireless LANs can truly equal their wired equivalents in terms of performance, making the all-wireless edge feasible for all applications. Meru ensures that it can also offer the predictability, security and management simplicity of Ethernet, while maintaining backward compatibility with legacy wireless clients. Meru shipped the first enterprise 802.11n access points in 2007. With thousands of customers across all industries worldwide, Meru has made 802.11n a mature technology.

Companies are turning to Meru for 802.11n solutions. In Q3/09, 84% of access point shipments from Meru were 802.11n (Source: Del Oro Q3 2009 Report).

802.11n Impact with Dr. Bharghavan, CTO

802.11n's significance and why it finally makes it possible to have a reliable wireless network edge	The advantages and mechanics of those advantages that can be found in 802.11n	Continuation of improvements to 802.11n with a look at the physical (or PHY) layer improvements	MAC layer improvements of 802.11n.
High-level view of what performance benefits you can expect from 802.11n	The potential problems that may be experienced when upgrading and installing 802.11n in your enterprise	Impact of 802.11n on network design	Technical deep dive on what Meru learned over two years of deploying large 802.11n networks in mission critical situations

The Business Case

Why deploy 802.11n? Increased speed isn’t the only reason to deploy an 802.11n wireless network. There are also powerful cost advantages stemming from its ability to replace both legacy wired and legacy wireless networks. When combined with Wireless LAN Virtualization, wireless 802.11n offers all the performance, reliability and scalability that users expect from Ethernet. It also supports all applications and devices designed for legacy 802.11 a/b/g standards.

Independent Reports

Enterprise 802.11n Wireless LAN Access Point Performance Benchmark - Novarum compares 802.11n performance of Cisco, Aruba Networks and Meru Networks. Tests include data throughput of 1, 5 & 10 clients in both the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz bands, as well as fairness performance when legacy a/g clients are mixed in, as well as performance in converged traffic with voice and data. Power consumption was also measured.

802.11n in the Enterprise - ABI Research took a very close look at 802.11n products from various WLAN vendors and rated vendors on a number of different criteria. Criteria included strength of a vendor's channel partners, reach of early adopters, number of real deployments, and whether the product features, product variants, single and dual radio versions, and cost resulted in a value proposition. ABI Research evaluated vendors on their degree of innovation, creativity in handling voice and video, migration strategy from b/g, as well as planning and management tools.