Just how fast is it supposed to be?  If you look 802.11n up on Wikipedia, you'll see that it's listed as a 540 megabit standard, a flat 10 times the speed of 802.11g.  That's great and all, but that also requires a gigabit Ethernet connection on the other side.  So why, then, do many of the current routers have 10/100 switches?

This Linksys 802.11n router claims 12x the speed of 802.11g, but only has a 100Mbps switch yielding less than 2x the 54Mbps of 802.11g.  This Netgear 802.11n router has a 1000Mbps switch, but it claims only 300Mbps for the 802.11n port, making the wireless part slower yet the actual throughput to wired network devices much faster.  This D-Link 802.11n router claims 12x the rate of 802.11g, like the Linksys, yet also only has a 100Mbps switch on it.  They have a newer 802.11n router, though, that does have a Gigabit switch on it.

The story is not all that different on the adapter side.  Netgear and Belkin both have Cardbus adapters that only do 300Mbps, although I don't know the maximum transfer rate of Cardbus.  This Linksys adapter claims both 12x speed and 54Mbps rates, but that's probably just a type. This other Linksys adapter claims that when 802.11n is used, speeds can go "beyond 100Mbps."  This Netgear PCI adapter claims a data rate of 270 Mbps, while the Belkin PCI adapter remains at 300 Mbps. 

So is it over 100Mbps, 270Mbps, 300Mbps, 540Mbps, or 648Mbps (12x 54Mbps)?  That would depend on how well your Draft 802.11n gear can interoperate with each other.   It should all settle out at 540 Mbps in the end.  However, this will only help when either communicating with all 802.11n devices or with wired devices on a Gigabit network. 

It's nice to know, though, that when it does work properly, it could technically be faster than your USB2 connection.  That is, a wireless 802.11n connection to a Gigabit network connected to a fast Gigabit network storage device with good cabling and good signal strength could have a chance of outperforming a 480Mbps USB2 connection to a hard drive.

For now, I'd definitely stick with all of the same brand and make sure you get one with a gigabit switch to connect to current and future gigabit devices.  Just don't expect it to make your Internet connection any faster. ;)

Posted by Shane on February 27, 2007 8:40 AM | Permalink