802.11g & 802.11b performance [WAS: PCMCIA card]

[John R McDaniel]

Answering my own question:

On Dec 22, 2003, at 10:21 PM, Tom R. no spam wrote:

> I've read different info from different sources

Here's one source:

<www.proxim.com/learn/library/whitepapers/ 
maximizing_80211g_investment.pdf>

It explains bandwidth overhead required, and how the use of "g" and "b" 
affects performance. In short with both "g" and "b" in operation, 
you're going to get about 9 Mbps out of your "g" connection and 6 Mbps 
out of your "b" connection.

Other interesting stuff:

Max throughput for a "g" only setup:  27 Mbps (approx. actual 
throughput after overhead)

Max througput for a "b" only setup: 6 Mbps (approx. actual throughput 
after overhead)

Max throughput for a "g" device that is serving only "g" clients, but 
listening for "b" clients: 18 Mbps

Max thoughput for a device that is simultaneously serving both "g" and 
"b" clients: 9 Mbps.

They remind you that 2 to 3 Mbps is in the range of cable or DSL 
internet speeds.

Some manufacturers are apparently improving on this performance by 
"optimizing" the 802.11 protocol overhead.

later, j mcd