Aruba Designed Speed 802 11n

Peter Thornycroft October 2007
www.arubanetworks.com
Designed for Speed

Network Infrastructure in an 802.11n World
Peter Thornycroft Aruba Networks October 2007
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice
Aruba Networks
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Preparing for the 802.11n adoption wave
Introduction
Benefits for the Enterprise Benefits for the user These benefits will be elusive for a while 802.11n migration strategies for enterprises Network design with 802.11n Wired backhaul from APs & LAN implications Implications for rogue APs and WIDS Good-neighbour (or bad-neighbour) strategies
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4 5 5 7 8 9 10 10
Chapter 2 Technology in 802.11n

Techniques for high-throughput PHY
High Throughput PHY: Maximum Ratio Combining High Throughput PHY: Space-time Block Coding High Throughput PHY: Spatial Division Multiplexing High throughput PHY: Transmit Beamforming (TxBF) MIMO, STBC, SDM, Beamforming terminology 802.11n MIMO configurations and terminology Hierarchy of MIMO techniques High Throughput PHY: 40 MHz channels High Throughput PHY: Shorter guard interval High Throughput PHY: More subcarriers High Throughput PHY: New Modulation Rates High Throughput PHY: Duplicate format
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13 14 16 21 22 24 24 25 26 27 27 31
Techniques to enhance the MAC

Frame aggregation Multiple Traffic ID Block Acknowledgement (MTBA) Reduced inter-frame spacing (RIFS) Spatial multiplexing power save (SM power save) Power Save Multi-poll (PSMP) Compatibility Modes and Legacy Support in 802.11n Greenfield, High-throughput and non-HT modes Phased coexistence Operation (PCO)
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31 32 33 33 34 35 36 38
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice Other mechanisms for coexistence: Dual-CTS protection (CTS-to-self) Other mechanisms for coexistence: 40 MHz-intolerant indication Using 802.11n in the 2.4 GHz band Using 802.11n in the 5 GHz band 39 40 40 42
Chapter 3 Product development and capabilities

Standards and Certification framework
Expected product introduction timelines
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Chapter 4 Migration strategies

Different paths to enterprise-wide 802.11n
Greenfield Summary of Greenfield recommendations: AP-overlay Summary of Overlay recommendations: AP substitution Summary of AP substitution recommendations:
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48 49 50 51 52 53
Other considerations when planning an upgrade
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Chapter 5 Conclusion Appendix

Note on expected real-world data rates with 802.11n
Methodology Free Space propagation loss, SNR and channel capacity In-building propagation loss SNR and channel capacity Applying noise and calculating expected data rates for 802.11n
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58 59 59 60 61
Note on expected real-world cell capacity with 802.11n 56
Forms of MIMO
Channel estimation
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Glossary of terms used in this note
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References
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Aruba Networks
Chapter 1 - Preparing for the 802.11n adoption wave
Chapter 1 Preparing for the 802.11n adoption wave

The 802.11n standard heralds a new world for enterprise wireless networks. 802.11n brings higher data rates, longer range and more reliable coverage than previous Wi-Fi technology: it represents a significant upgrade in performance. Not only will 802.1n change what you can expect from a wireless LAN, it will change how you think about wireless technology. For example, you will often want to avoid line of sight, as 802.11n actually works better when there are signal reflections in the radio path from transmitter to receiver, meaning performance can improve as distance increases. However, the migration to 802.11n poses some challenges. Most of the benefits will only be realized when 802.11n-capable clients are used with similar infrastructure, as even a few legacy (802.11a/b/g) clients in the cell will drastically reduce overall performance compared to a uniform greenfield 802.11n network. For best performance, LAN edge switch ports and cabling to the access points will require an upgrade to Gigabit Ethernet and the new 802.at power-over-Ethernet standard. Migration strategies will require careful planning and patience. In this paper, we will explain the advanced technology introduced in 802.11n, allowing non-specialists to understand its benefits and to plan their own upgrade strategies.
Introduction
Wi-Fi technology has carved a path 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. As 802.11n is a very new technology, this paper should be considered a snapshot of progress in late 2007, rather than a definitive guide. We refer in this paper to two key documents that shape the industry, and will endeavour to maintain consistency in using these terms: 802.11n-Draft2.0 is a technical standard developed by the IEEE 802.11 working group in early 2007. This is the base technical standard for all 802.11n products. However, 802.11n is not a finished work, and the IEEE continues to develop, refine and (in some cases) correct it.
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice Meanwhile Draft-n is an interoperability certification developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance, a trade association of companies interested in promoting 802.11 products (Wi-Fi is a Wi-Fi Alliance brand). Draft-n is a certification awarded by the Wi-Fi Alliance to indicate a product has passed a set of tests that ensure it will inter-operate with other Draft-n products. For this certification, the Wi-Fi Alliance took parts of 802.11n-Draft2.0 and developed a series of tests involving a testbed of early Draft-n equipment: thus the certification tests only a subset of the full 802.11n-Draft2.0 functionality. (It is important to distinguish Draft-n, a certification, from pre-n which is a label used by many equipment vendors before the certification was available. Many of these products do indeed interoperate, but they are not certified by any independent organization.)
Benefits for the Enterprise

802.11n includes a number of complex technological advances which are explained in detail later in this paper. However, a focus on the complex technology can distract from the overall concepts and implications for network design. Increased capacity. 802.11n enables increased data rates, improving the usable data capacity of a cell from perhaps 15-20 Mbps with 802.11a/g to 100-200 Mbps (see appendix for more analysis). Given that this capacity will be spread over a number of simultaneous users, performance should match or exceed that of a wired 100Mbps Ethernet connection, the standard for desktop connectivity. Improved range. An 802.11g connection from AP to client can usefully extend up to 60 metres in open, unobstructed areas but this range drops to only 20 metres in office environments. 802.11n will increase this through multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) techniques which involve driving multiple antennas (we used the term antenna chains in this note) on the access point and the client. In some parts of the network this will lead to simpler design, with larger cells and fewer APs required to cover a given area. More uniform reliable coverage. Coverage in Wi-Fi networks is notoriously spotty. A user may have a good signal at some point, but moving the client a short distance, stepping in front of it, or even opening a door across the room can significantly affect the signal strength received, moving the client into a coverage null and hence Aruba Networks
Chapter 1 - Preparing for the 802.11n adoption wave reducing performance. One contributor to this issue is multipath propagation, and the best technology to counter this to date has been antenna diversity nearly every Wi-Fi device sports two antennas, and switches between them so when one is in a multipath null, the other should still have a workable signal. The MIMO technology in 802.11n is extremely effective in reducing the effect of multipath nulls. Lower network costs. This is a consequence of improved range and more uniform coverage: APs can be spaced further apart. This reduces costs in a number of ways: fewer APs, lower installation costs, possibly fewer LAN edge switch ports, and fewer outdoor APs to cover campus areas between buildings. Conversely, 802.11n APs will initially be more expensive than existing equipment, although we expect this premium will erode over time. Also, where networks, or areas within networks are designed to capacity limits (the bandwidth available per user) rather than range, it may not be possible to increase AP spacing.
Benefits for the user

End users will also benefit from higher data rates, higher throughput and more uniform coverage. For a given group of users in a cell, each will now have access to more bandwidth. The WLAN will no longer be the limiting factor for application performance, overcoming a significant obstacle to un-wiring the desktop. One example of an application that will benefit from 802.11n is video, both interactive and broadcast, which many organizations are beginning to use as an internal communications tool. Earlier 802.11 networks can support video, but its demands are sufficient to stress current installations. Not only will 802.11n provide more bandwidth, it also incorporates many features to optimize video performance.
These benefits will be elusive for a while

While the promise of 802.11n is great, there are many reasons it will be difficult for enterprises to realize its full expected benefits in the shortterm. Obstacles include: The presence of legacy clients impairs 802.11ns performance. The benefits outlined above are easy to achieve in a greenfield network, where all APs and all clients are 802.11n-capable. However, very few deployments are completely new, particularly on the client side. 5
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice Most enterprises upgrade PCs (the most common Wi-Fi client) over a cycle of 2- years or longer. As long as older clients exist, they will affect network performance by connecting at much lower rates than 802.11n clients, effectively slowing cells to near-802.11a/g rates. Most WLAN vendors try to escape this limitation by implementing some kind of per-user bandwidth control, but that is only a partial solution. As long as even a few legacy clients exist, the expected capacity improvements are unlikely to be realized. Legacy devices are also unable to take advantage of the improvements in range and uniformity of coverage offered by 802.11n. If 802.11n APs are spaced farther apart to lower costs, legacy clients will likely run into more coverage problems than before. Moving to 802.11n will drive equipment upgrades in other parts of the network. 802.11n requires new access point hardware incorporating new silicon, while Gigabit Ethernet and powerover-Ethernet upgrades will often be required for wiring and edge switches. The WLAN controllers that are used by state-of-the-art centralised architectures should be considered vendor-by-vendor. For a controller to become 802.11n-capable, it must support the new radio and other features of the access point from a technology perspective, which is not likely to present a problem. However, the increased data rates generated by an 802.11n WLAN may challenge some current controllers using general-purpose computing platforms: traffic analysis will allow the network designer to develop an accurate estimate of WLAN controller capacity requirements. There is already a wave of pre-standard implementations. The WiFi industry is technology-driven and consumer-led. Consumers are inherently less sensitive to standards than enterprises, since a typical consumer WLAN might include a handful of devices working together where compatibility is easily addressed by simply using a single vendors equipment. Thus there are already first and second waves of pre-n silicon and consumer products on the markets, and major vendors are now building Draft-n support into mass-market PCs. This is helps move the new technology into the field, but it is pre-empting the standards process, which is not yet complete. There is no guarantee that Draft-n products shipped today will be fully-compatible with the eventual standard. (There is no concern that such products from different vendors will not work together, but they may not prove capable of realizing the full benefits listed above.)
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Chapter 1 - Preparing for the 802.11n adoption wave Thus, while the eventual benefits are easy to see, it may prove more difficult to get there from here. These obstacles can be overcome by carefully considering the plan to migrate from current WLAN installations to a new 802.11n infrastructure.
802.11n migration strategies for enterprises

802.11n includes a number of mechanisms for successful coexistence with legacy 802.11 networks. As noted above, these operating modes impair many of the performance advantages of a greenfield 802.11n network, but they do offer complete support for older 802.11 clients. Thus, 802.11n access points can be installed before any 802.11n clients are present, and operate in 802.11a/b/g mode. It will be possible to mix 802.11n access points within an 802.11a/b/g network, replacing selected existing access points, or deploying new 802.11n access points as an overlay in parallel with an existing 802.11 network: a later section of this note provides more detail on migration strategies. Since the IEEE will not finalize its technical specification until 2008, the only short-term option for network managers wishing to move to 802.11n is Draft-n equipment. This will certainly offer good legacy 802.11 support, but it is currently unknown how the final 802.11n standard may differ from Draft-n. Our feeling at Aruba is that such differences are likely to be minor, but facts will only become apparent with the passage of time. Aruba suggests that enterprises install Draftn access points for testing with Draft-n clients in a pilot or limited trial of the technology. For some enterprises a more widespread deployment may be appropriate, but we suggest doing so only after a consideration of the technology risks. Finally, before embarking on a technology migration it is useful to assess the requirements and drivers. The most compelling reason to move to 802.11n is to provide greater bandwidth for users. 802.11n will indeed provide increased raw data rates, but for many enterprises there is actually only a limited need to provide greater bandwidth on the wireless network: most current users performance is not limited by the WLAN, but by other bottlenecks in the application-delivery network. For those current 802.11 networks where performance is an issue, opportunities for improvement often exist; for instance, by making more use of the 5 GHz band, in similar fashion to a practical 802.11n network. Other measures to improve performance of existing WLANs include providing more access points, reducing the size of the 802.11 cells and increasing the capacity of each cell even as it serves fewer users. www.arubanetworks.com 7
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice These techniques for designing high-performance 802.11 enterprise WLANs have been refined by vendors over a number of years. While the overall network efficiency and performance will fall short of a greenfield uniform 802.11n network, such a mid-life upgrade can provide the desired performance improvements for another 12-24 months, by which time the technology risks of moving to 802.11n will have been allayed.
Network design with 802.11n

For RF planning purposes, 802.11n differs from 802.11a/g in utilizing MIMO and the option of a 40MHz channel, which provides approximately twice the data rate of a 20 MHz channel, but uses twice the RF spectrum. Because the 2.4 GHz band has a limited number of channels, the 40 MHz option is unlikely to be used in this band (and this combination is not part of the Draft-n certification), although the many other enhancements in 802.11n will still provide significant performance improvements. However, the 40 MHz channel will be popular in the 5 GHz band where channels are plentiful. Most RF planning tools rely on modeling the reduction of signal strength over distance and across or through RF obstructions. For most purposes, this reduces to a simple calculation of dB loss at a given distance from the AP; knowing the transmit power, the data rate achievable at a given distance from the AP can be easily calculated. For instance, to plan an Aruba network, the required inputs are the dimensions of the floorplan, the minimum data rate desired and the cell overlap factor. Since the propagation characteristics for 802.11n signals should be little different from 802.11a/g, existing RF planning tools such as this one will need little modification. The new factors that must be considered are the number of antennas on both AP and client, and whether the design should account for legacy clients. The output of the RF planning tool will be, as before, a grid of suggested AP locations that satisfy the input parameters. A benefit of 802.11n should be that a greenfield design with 802.11n clients can be built with fewer APs, but still give better performance than an equivalent 802.11a/g design. The type, placement and attitude of the antennas, particularly on the AP, may be important to 802.11n performance; most enterprise office deployments will use the captive antennas supplied on the AP. Spacing
Aruba Networks
Chapter 1 - Preparing for the 802.11n adoption wave the antennas by at least half a wavelength (6.25cm for 2.4GHz or 2.7cm for 5.5GHz) will give better performance.
Wired backhaul from APs & LAN implications

With 802.11a/g, the maximum data rate on the air is 54Mbps, and actual, achievable data throughput tops out at about 26Mbps. Such a rate is easily supported on a 10/100Mbps Ethernet connection for backhaul from the AP. 802.11n rates, however, can move well beyond 100Mbps, at least for peak traffic. A dual-radio Draft-n access point can generate 600Mbps peak traffic and this is too much for a single connection, so vendors have three options in designing APs: Use multiple 10/100 Ethernet connections to the AP. Two (or more) cable drops and two LAN edge switch ports will be needed for each AP location. Continue with the current design, with one 10/100 Ethernet, realizing that at peak loads this will be the network bottleneck. In the shortterm this may be acceptable: traffic peaks will be widely spaced since clients do not often connect at maximum data rates. Provide Gigabit Ethernet connections (10/100/1000). This comprehensively accommodates the traffic load, but may require that cabling is upgraded to Category 5e or Category 6, and that LAN edge switches provide GE ports. Thus far, most infrastructure vendors are providing this GE option.
Other areas of the LAN should be checked for traffic capacity but will probably not require augmentation. This is because 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 greater than for 802.11a/g APs, exceeding 802.af limits (12.5W maximum can be delivered to a Class device under 802.11af, now properly termed clause of updated 802.-2005 ). This means the edge switches or in-line power injectors must support the unratified 802.at standard. Alternatively, the AP must use a local power brick.
Implications for rogue APs and WIDS

One significant issue for 802.11n infrastructure will be providing RF monitoring and wireless intrusion detection (WIDS). This is because the rogue AP problem will reappear, as employees use 802.11n consumer products at home, find they work and bring them to the office. The only way to reliably identify the traffic using these devices (when in greenfield mode) is to use another 802.11n device such as an 802.11n AP in monitor mode. Once 802.11n is deployed, WIDS will need some enhancements to identify characteristics of 802.11n-specific attacks, but as most attacks are at higher levels than the PHY, the current WIDS functionality will be portable to 802.11n.
Good-neighbour (or bad-neighbour) strategies

802.11n networks will often overlap with other 802.11 networks. In some cases the network manager will wish to cooperate with these neighbours, while in others it may be better to use non-coexisting modes, supporting higher throughput, and to ignore occasional interference. 802.11n allows a number of strategies. Several forms of interference are possible: If an 802.11n network is operating in greenfield mode, its transmissions will not be comprehensible to 802.11a/b/g APs and clients. Therefore, even though neighbouring cells may be operating in the same RF channel, the transmissions from one cell (AP and clients) will appear as noise bursts to the other. This interference will work in both directions: 802.11n transmissions are likely to be affected as much as the legacy network. An 802.11n network using a 40 MHz channel will have just this effect in the 5 GHz band. In 2.4 GHz, because the channel boundaries of 802.11n do not line up with the traditional channels used in 802.11b/g (channels 1, 6, 11), transmissions will inevitably overlap in frequency. This one reason such 40 MHz operation at 2.4 GHz is not recommended. However, it is quite reasonable to use 802.11n in 20 MHz channels in the 2.4 GHz band. An 802.11n network operating in mixed-mode is entirely compatible with overlapping 802.11a/b/g cells. In this mode, all transmissions
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Aruba Networks
Chapter 1 - Preparing for the 802.11n adoption wave are prefixed by a preamble that uses legacy modulation, allowing such networks to coexist. Another optional mechanism, Phased Coexistence Operation (PCO) allows an AP to alternate between a 40 MHz channel and each of the constituent 20 MHz channels. The AP sets the Network Availability Vector (NAV) on the 20 MHz channels to inhibit transmissions for a time, during which it and whatever 40 MHzcapable clients it supports switch to 40 MHz operation.
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Chapter 2 Technology in 802.11n

The 802.11n-Draft2.0 standard includes several key technologies and features. This section includes a brief but technical treatment of all significant new technologies. High throughput PHY (physical layer): MIMO. The new PHY uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulation with additional coding methods, preambles, multiple streams and beam-forming. These features can support higher data rates, longer ranges, 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, so 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 UAPSD and S-APSD concepts introduced in 802.11e.
Techniques for high-throughput PHY

802.11n marks a significant increase in complexity over previous versions, giving it excellent performance, but adding to the burdens of those explaining the technology. Several different techniques are used, and at times combined, to give the improved PHY performance. We will examine some of these techniques in this section, particularly those dealing with the advantages of multiple antenna systems. 12 Aruba Networks
Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n Legacy 802.11 equipment only drives one antenna at a time, and only receives on one antenna at a time, usually the same antenna. 802.11nDraft2.0 assumes that multiple antennas are used for either or both the transmit and receive functions. There are four distinct algorithms at work: Maximum ratio combining is a receiver function, where signals received on multiple antennas, whether from one or a number of transmit antennas, can be combined to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. MRC is an antenna diversity technique that can increase range for a given data rate. Space-time block coding can be used where there are multiple transmit antennas, regardless of the number of receive antennas. STBC is an antenna-diversity technique that improves the signalto-noise ratio at the receiver, also allowing an increased range for a given data rate. Spatial division multiplexing is the technique most often associated with MIMO. Rather than increasing range, SDM sends different spatial streams of data from each transmit antenna. Since these streams carry different data, the overall data rate of the system is increased. Under good conditions, a MIMO system of two transmit and two receive antennas doubles the achievable data rate over a single-antenna (SISO) system. Transmit beamforming is a technique where signals sent to multiple transmit antennas can be phased such that the RF power at a targeted receive antenna is maximized. TxBF is discussed here even though the technique is not included in 802.11n-Draft2.0.
High Throughput PHY: Maximum Ratio Combining

MRC is an established technique using multiple receive antennas to extract a better signal: it requires more than one receive antenna chain, but can work with a single transmit antenna. Since Draft-n equipment already features multiple independent receive chains, MRC is easily added to Draft-n products.
1
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2 A B 1
9 S N R (dB) 6 3 0 -3 -6 SNR 1
Combined SNR
SNR 2
time
In the diagram above, each receive antenna would receive an identical signal under line-of-sight conditions. However, due to noise and multipath effects, one or both of the antennas will often receive a suboptimal signal. MRC allows the receiver to process both received signals independently, then combine them, weighted by the signal strength of each signal, to extract a more accurate replica of the transmitted datastream than it could from a single antenna. In simple terms, when one antenna is in a null and has a bad signal, the other is likely to have a good signal. The receiver will only suffer when all antennas have bad signals simultaneously. As the number of antennas increases, the probability of bad conditions for all of them simultaneously becomes increasingly smaller. In order for MRC (and MIMO techniques) to be effective, the receive antennas must receive different versions (distorted by noise and interference) of the original transmitted signal. Accomplishing this goal usually means separating the antennas by at least half a wavelength, in the order of cm for a 5GHz signal. MRC is not covered in 802.11n-Draft2.0 because it can be implemented at the receiver only, with no changes at the transmit end. However, most chip designers are expected to implement a form of receive diversity such as MRC. For MRC to work well, the RF channel must be characterized. In simple terms, this involves sending a known sequence of symbols from the available transmit antennas to calibrate the system. Because the receiver knows the symbols that were sent, it can determine the type of distortion introduced by the RF channel. 802.11n-Draft2.0 provides for these known sequences in the long training fields (LTF).
High Throughput PHY: Space-time Block Coding

STBC is another diversity technique for improving SNR, but is applied when the number of transmitting antenna chains exceeds the number
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Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n of receive antennas. STBC uses coding to transmit different (but known) copies of the data-stream from different antennas; assuming the receiver knows the code, it will be able to extract the original data with fewer errors than when a single transmit antenna is used. One form of space time coding, the Alamouti code to spread one spatial stream over two space time streams, takes a pair of data-stream bits, and performs operations on them in consecutive time intervals. This is the basic STBC method in 802.11n-Draft2.0.
2 A B
Spatial stream Tx Tx Space time streams Rx STBC decoding MAC etc
1
Spatial stream
MAC etc
STBC coding
802.11n coding example: for two consecutive symbols, s1 and s2: - In time interval t1, transmit s1 from antenna A and s2 from antenna B - In time interval t2, transmit s2* from antenna A and s1* from antenna B
When processing this sequence of two symbols from two space-time streams, the receiver is able to re-constitute the original data-stream even in the presence of channel noise and distortion. STBC uses the time dimension: consecutive symbol intervals contain the same pair of basic symbols, but modified according to the code. A good choice of code such as Alamouti allows minimum complexity for the transmitter and receiver, but maximum improvement in SNR under normal channel impairments. 802.11n-Draft2.0 defines STBCs to split a spatial stream into as many as 4 space-time streams. This technique can be used when the number of transmit antennas exceeds the number of receive antennas: it can also be used in conjunction with MRC. STBC requires both channel characterization and shared knowledge of the STBC code in use.
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High Throughput PHY: Spatial Division Multiplexing

802.11n achieves its significant improvements in data rate through the use of MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) spatial division multiplexing. SDM requires MIMO, specifically the transmitting and receiving stations must each have multiple RF chains with multiple antennas it does not work where either station has only a single antenna chain. The diagram shows the simplest MIMO system, with two transmitting and two receiving antenna chains (2 spatial streams).
2 A B 1
MAC etc
Signal processing
Tx Tx Rx
Rx
Signal processing
MAC etc
Each antenna is connected to its own RF chain for transmit and receive. 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, practical systems will transmit in both directions.) 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.
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Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n
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 -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. The transmit antenna radiates a signal over a broad arc, and it scatters and reflects off various objects in the surrounding area. Each reflection entails a loss of signal power and a phase shift, 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.
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Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice To understand how MIMO works, first consider the signal each receive antenna sees in a multipath environment.
b a A B
c 2
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
Total throughput (per unit time) from transmitter to receiver = a
In this example there are multipath signals arriving at antenna 2. The strongest is signal a, and the information carried in this signal will be decoded. Other signals arrive at lower power levels, and they are timeshifted (or phase-shifted) compared to a, so it is likely they will degrade the overall signal-to-noise ratio associated with a.
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A2 A B A1 B1
B2 2
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)
Total throughput (per unit time) from transmitter to receiver = +
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 this, 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. (In fact the technique is more sophisticated, using RF channel characterization as explained earlier in this paper: it is not necessarily the case that individual signal paths can be drawn between pairs of transmit-receive antennas, but given that the nature of the cross www.arubanetworks.com 1
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice coupling is known at the receiver, and that mathematical conditions for the channel are favourable, this is the overall effect.)
V11 U11
S1 in MAC etc signal processing S2 in
V21 V12
U21 U12
S1 out signal S2 out processing MAC etc
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 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 singleantenna 1x1 system, and a x configuration could extend to triple the throughput. 802.11n defines MIMO configurations from 2x1 to 4x4 antennas and up to 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 lineof-sight may allow use of more RF paths and hence the additive MIMO effect, the signal-to-noise ratio of each path may be considerably worse than previously. It is difficult to predict the relative weight of these two opposing effects.) 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-Draft2.0 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. 20 Aruba Networks
Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n One key question in MIMO systems is how to tune the transmit signals at different antennas for optimum reception at the receiver. 802.11nDraft2.0 offers different methods for this. With implicit feedback the MIMO transmitter characterizes signals from the receiver, and assumes that the channel is reciprocal reflections and impairments operate equally in both directions. This is a reasonable approximation for most purposes, but better performance is achieved when the receiver sends explicit feedback messages to the transmitter; with these, the transmitter can accurately tune its signals for optimum reception and best signal to interference and noise ratios at the receiver.
High throughput PHY: Transmit Beamforming (TxBF)

Transmit beamforming is a technique that has been used in radio for many years; it is included in the 802.11n-Draft2.0, but is not part of the Draft-n certification, and will not be seen in products until 2008 at the earliest. Beamforming will allow an AP to focus its transmission to a particular client in the direction of that client (and vice versa for a client with multiple antennas), allowing higher signal to noise ratios and hence higher data rates than would otherwise be the case.
A C
Normal isotropic radiation pattern
Transmitted power level
B
Directional pattern after beamforming
B C
tca tcb
time
B C
time
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 in phase -
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. www.arubanetworks.com 21
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice In practice, beamforming may be used when MIMO with SDM is not effective. This is because beamforming aims to produce a single, coherent RF signal at the receiver, while SDM relies on multiple, independent signals. Beamforming will only work well with 802.11n clients, as it works best with explicit feedback messages from the client. This highlights a difference from some other adaptive antenna or beam steering technologies: in 802.11n, the beam is not based on an indication of the direction of a client, but rather on the actual RF conditions at its antennas; hence the requirement for explicit feedback messages.
MIMO, STBC, SDM, Beamforming terminology

In this note, we use the term MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) for any system where the transmitter has a number of antenna chains (antennas that can be powered simultaneously with independent signals) and/or receiver chains. Many commentators use terms such as SIMO, SISO: we see these as degenerate forms of MIMO, but there is a brief explanation in the Appendix. A MIMO system can use a variety of techniques to improve range and/or data rate. The key technique associated with MIMO is SDM (spatial division multiplexing). For our purposes, these are related terms: SDM provides a MIMO system with its superior data throughput. SDM allows transmission of multiple streams of data, enabling higher data throughput due to the multiple antenna chains. The following diagrams explain the difference between MIMO/SDM, STBC, MRC and transmit beamforming as used in this document.
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P1a P1a P1 P1b
2 A C B
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 inter-antenna paths, B/C to 1/2, are not RFisolated, 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.
P1a P1a P1 P1b
2
P1a P1 P1b
A B
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 P1
2
P1
A B
P1
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.
While SDM is a multiplexing technique to increase overall data rate, STBC and MRC are diversity techniques that improve the signal to noise and interference ratio, SNR or SINR. These techniques can be combined under some conditions.
2
802.11n MIMO configurations and terminology

A full specification of an 802.11n system includes a number of parameters. MIMO is often defined as MxN: e.g. 2x2, x. In this case M refers to the number of transmit antennas configured, and N to the 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.
Hierarchy of MIMO techniques

MIMO as defined here includes diversity techniques (STBC for multiple transmit antennas and MRC for multiple receivers) and SDM where there are multiple parallel paths that can be used to increase data rate. The logical combination of these techniques in 802.11n-Draft2.0 is somewhat confusing: the diagram below shows the general relationship.
Data flow in this direction
MAC etc
Spatial Division Multiplexor
Space-Time Block Coder
RF channel
Space-Time Block Decoder and Maximal Ratio Combiner
MAC etc
Original data stream
Split into NS spatial streams
Split again into NSTS space-time streams
Received signals from available antennas
Re-built into NS spatial streams
The first decision is how many spatial streams to use. A spatial stream in this context carries data that is independent of other spatial streams: spatial streams are combined by SDM techniques. The number of spatial streams can be no greater than the smaller of the number of transmit or receive antenna chains in the system, where the system covers a transmitting and a receiving unit. Most current 802.11nDraft2.0 chipsets (Draft-n) can process two spatial streams. After the number of spatial streams is defined, there may be excess antennas at either the receiver or transmitter. For instance, most current Draft-n access points sport three driven antennas, while PC clients have two. Therefore, in the direction of transmission towards the 24 Aruba Networks
Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n client, the access point has an excess transmitter. This transmitter can be used to provide better performance by implementing STBC. The STBC encoder takes the two spatial streams from the SDM block, and expands them to form three signals to drive the transmit antennas. At the receiver, antenna chains are programmed for the STBC used at the transmitter, and may use whatever MRC capabilities the designer implements. In this case one would not expect any gains from MRC, as there are (to approximate to a simple model) two antennas receiving two spatial streams. The combined system gains bandwidth from SDM, and some SNR gains from STBC: in practice, SNR may translate to a higher data-rate for a given range, or a longer range for a given data-rate, its the implementers choice. The diagram below shows the reverse link, where the transmitter has two antenna chains and the receiver three. Now, it is not possible to use an STBC gain, as there are no excess transmit antennas, but the MRC processing the receiver realizes from its excess antenna will provide approximately the same gain.
Data flow in this direction
MAC etc
Space-Time Block Coder
RF channel
Space-Time Block Decoder and Maximal Ratio Combiner
MAC etc
Split into NS spatial streams
Split again into NSTS space-time streams
Received signals from available antennas
Re-built into NS spatial streams
High Throughput PHY: 40 MHz channels

All earlier versions of 802.11 have used 20 MHz channels, defined in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Some vendors have increased throughput, particularly in point-to-point bridging applications by using two adjacent channels simultaneously, usually modulating each channel separately then combining the streams at the far end. 802.11n-Draft2.0 specifies operation in the same 20 MHz channels used by 802.11b/g in the 2.4 GHz and 802.11a in the 5 GHz bands, but adds a mode where a full 40-MHz wide channel can be used. As might
25
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice be expected, this offers approximately twice the throughput of a 20 MHz channel. However, while in the 5 GHz band the channels are defined as pairs of existing 20 MHz channels, they do not line up with commonlyused 20 MHz channels in the 2.4 GHz band, as these channels are not adjacent. This means that when a 40 MHz channel is used in 2.4 GHz, it will interfere with at least one other 802.11b/g channel.
High Throughput PHY: Shorter guard interval

The diagram shows how the guard interval is used in OFDM. 802.11 uses complex modulation techniques with OFDM, where groups of input data are coded into a single OFDM symbol at RF.
b a A B c 1
Guard interval
Inter-symbol interference N+1 N+2 N+2 N+1 N+2
a b c
N N N
N+1
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 inter-symbol 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 worstcase multipath delay is low. (propagation in free-space, delay = distance x 0.3 metres/nsec, so 400nsec is equivalent to 120metres path difference.)
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-Draft2.0 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.
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Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n 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 path loss calculation, but in reality, indoor multipath reflections can 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.
High Throughput PHY: More subcarriers

Through advances in implementation, it is now possible to squeeze more OFDM subcarriers (each subcarrier allows more data to be transmitted over the RF channel) in a 20MHz or 40 MHz channel.
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
56 subcarriers (52 usable) for a 20 MHz HT mode (802.11n) channel
57 carriers
57 carriers
-20MHz
-10MHz
fc
+10MHz
+20MHz
114 subcarriers (108 usable) for a 40 MHz HT mode (802.11n) channel
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).
High Throughput PHY: New Modulation Rates

Radio systems have to adapt to the signal and noise characteristics of the RF path, and they accomplish this by changing the modulation rate. For a given SNR (signal to noise ratio) the system will change the modulation rate to provide the best compromise between data rate and error rate: at any point, modulating for a higher data rate will increase the error rate. This is a continuous decision-making process, the transmitter relying on feedback from the receiver about its SNR to adjust the transmit modulation. www.arubanetworks.com 27
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice While 802.11a and g specify 8 rates (6, , 12, 18, 24, 6, 48 and 54 Mbps), 802.11n provides many more: over 00. However, the basic set is of 8 rates: Basic rates of 802.11n (Mbps) 20 MHz channel; single stream; 800 nsec GI; equal modulation 26 52 58.5 1 1.5
6.5
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 1.5 Mbps) by using slightly wider bandwidth, more subcarriers and improved modulation. The 65 Mbps rate has no equivalent in 802.11a/g: it uses 5/6 coding, a higher rate than the previous maximum of /4. Other rates are generally derived as multiples of the basic rates above: Basic rates of 802.11n (Mbps) 20 MHz channel; single stream; 800 nsec GI; equal modulation 26 52 78 104 117 Rates of 802.11n (Mbps) 40 MHz channel; single stream; 800 nsec GI; equal 27 40.5 54 81 108 121.5
1
10
1.5
15
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 14.4 21.7 28. 4. 57.8 65
7.2
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 52 65 58.5 78

7.5
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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, it will be quite usual for the number of supported spatial streams to be smaller than the number of antenna chains either because of silicon processing capabilities or because the client has fewer antenna chains than the AP. For instance, client state of the art x systems in late 2007 only support 2 spatial streams. Also, where there is insufficient RF path isolation between streams, even a 2x2 system may not be able to support 2 diverse streams. 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 indoor 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 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.
2
Data rate ranges for various 802.11n system parameters

Equal Modulation Channel Width (MHz) Guard Interval (nsec) Number of streams Minimum PHY rate (Mbps) Maximum PHY rate Number of (Mbps) rates
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 20 20 20 20 20 20 40 40 40 40 40 40
800 400 800 400 800 400 800 400 800 400 800 400 800 400 800 400 800 400 800 400 800 400 800 400 800 400 800 400
1 1 2 2 4 4 1 1 2 2 4 4 2 2 4 4 2 2 4 4
6.5 7.2 1 14.4 1.5 21.7 26 28. 1.5 15 27 0 40.5 45 54 60 4. 52 57.8 65 72.2 81 0 108 120 15 150
65 72.2 10 144.4 15 216.7 260 288. 15 150 270 00 405 450 540 600 7.5 108. 156 17. 214.5 28. 202.5 225 24 60 445.5 45
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 6 6 14 14 24 24 6 6 14 14 24 24
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High Throughput PHY: Duplicate format

Non-HT (legacy) duplicate format defines the subcarriers used for transmitting in mixed-mode, where each half of the 40 MHz channel is used separately: its the same format used by 802.11a/g devices. This makes the 802.11n access point compatible with legacy devices.
52 carriers
52 carriers
-20MHz
-10MHz
fc
+10MHz
+20MHz
52 x 2 subcarriers (96 usable) for a 40 MHz duplicate format (802.11n) channel (applicable to greenfield and mixed-modes)
Techniques to enhance the MAC

MAC layer enhancements: Frame aggregation
A client (or AP) must contend for the medium (a transmit opportunity on the air) with every frame it wishes to transmit. This results in contention, collisions on the medium and backoff delays that waste time that could be used to send traffic. 802.11n-Draft2.0 incorporates mechanisms to aggregate frames at stations, and thus reduce the number of contention events. Many tests have shown the efficacy of this effect in prior 802.11 standards. For instance, in 802.11g, a given configuration can send 26 Mbps of data using 1500 Byte frames, but when the frame length is reduced to 256 Bytes, throughput drops to 12 Mbps. With MAC-layer aggregation, a station with a number of frames to send can opt to combine them into an aggregate frame (MAC MPDU). The resulting frame contains less header overhead than would be the case without aggregating, and because fewer, larger frames are sent, the contention time on the wireless medium is reduced. Two different mechanisms are provided for aggregation, known as Aggregated MSDU (A-MSDU) and Aggregated-MPDU (A-MPDU). The figure below shows the general architecture:
1

Applications
P1
P2
P3
MSDU (MAC Service Data Unit)
P1
P2
P3
P1
P2
P3
MAC processing
MAC processing
MAC processing
MAC header
P1
P2
P3
MPDU (MAC Protocol Data Unit)
MAC header
P1
MAC header
P2
MAC header
P3
Aggregated MSDU format (A-MSDU)
PHY layer
Aggregated MPDU format (A-MPDU)
In the A-MSDU format, multiple frames from higher layers are combined and processed by the MAC layer as a single entity. Each original frame 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 frames 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. A-MPDU must be used with the new Block Acknowledgement function of 802.11n-Draft2.0. In order to accommodate aggregated MAC frames, the maximum frame length accepted by the PHY is increased from 405 in previous standards to 6555.
MAC layer enhancements: Multiple Traffic ID Block Acknowledgement (MTBA)

Earlier 802.11 standards demanded an ack frame for every unicast data frame transmitted. The new block ack feature allows a single ack frame to cover a range of received frames. This is particularly useful for streaming video and other high-speed transmissions, but if a frame has not been received, there will be a delay before a nonacknowledge is received and re-transmission can be accomplished: this is not often a problem with broadcastvideo, where re-transmission is 2 Aruba Networks
Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n often not feasible, given the time constraints of the media, but may be problematic for other real-time applications.
Block Ack covers many frames in one Ack

P4 header P3 header P2 header P1 header header Ack P1, P2, P4
Aggregate MPDU is a special case requiring Block Ack

P3 P2 P1 header header Ack P1, P2, P3
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.
MAC layer enhancements: Reduced inter-frame spacing (RIFS)

When a station (client or AP) has a number of frames to send sequentially, it must pause between frames. However, these pauses constitute overhead for the overall network. Prior to 802.11n, the pause between frames transmitted by the same station was set at SIFS (single inter-frame spacing). 802.11n-Draft2.0 defines a smaller spacing, RIFS (reduced inter-frame spacing). RIFS cannot be used for the pause between frames transmitted by different stations, and it can only be used when the station is transmitting in 802.11n HT (greenfield) mode. It accomplishes similar goals to the MAC aggregation functions explained earlier, but arguably with less implementation complexity. 802.11nDraft2.0 defines a RIFS interval as 2 usec, whereas SIFS is 16 usec.
MAC layer enhancements: Spatial multiplexing power save (SM power save)
The basic 802.11n-Draft2.0 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 DTIMs (Delivery Traffic Indication Maps) broadcast by the AP, while the AP buffers downlink traffic for sleeping stations between DTIMs. www.arubanetworks.com
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice Power save in 802.11n-Draft2.0 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 may be considerably higher than for earlier 802.11 equipment. To mitigate this, a new provision in 802.11n-Draft2.0 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.
MAC layer enhancements: Power Save Multi-poll (PSMP)

PSMP can be considered an extension of APSD from 802.11e: it has the same extensions, scheduled- and unscheduled-PSMP (viz. S-APSD, UAPSD).
A
802.11n (HT)
AP
Incoming to AP (wired side)
Data
Multicast
Data
AP A
Sleep
Buffers traffic for A
Data
Multicast
Data
Buffers traffic for A
Trigger/Data
Ack / Sleep
time
Unscheduled PSMP is the simpler mode: it is very similar to U-APSD, supporting both trigger-enabled and delivery-enabled 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 reservation for a T-Spec (traffic 4 Aruba Networks
Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n 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 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 SPSMP 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
802.11n Not PSMP 802.11n PSMP
PSMP = power save multi -poll DTT = downlink transmission time UTT = uplink transmission time
AP B
Data A
Incoming to AP Data (wired side) A
Data B
Data B
Buffers traffic, no polling
PSMP-DTT
Data A Data B
PSMP-UTT
AP
Buffers traffic, no polling
PSMP-DTT
Data A Data B
PSMP-UTT
Publish schedule
Arequest B C
TSpec request
TSpec
Data
Data
Data
Data
sends & receives frames
Transmit inhibited by NAV
sends & receives frames
Transmit inhibited by NAV

time
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.
Compatibility Modes and Legacy Support in 802.11n

The most vexing aspect of 802.11n is how it works in the presence of earlier 802.11 technologies. Because it operates in the same bands as legacy 802.11, and is developed by the same standards bodies, and because there are already more than 100 million Wi-Fi devices in use world-wide, 802.11n is designed to support earlier forms of Wi-Fi. This includes:
5
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice Support for legacy clients. 802.11a/b/g clients can connect to 802.11n APs. They will not be able to use 802.11n features, and their performance will be only marginally improved when connecting to an 802.11n AP. Awareness of neighbouring or overlapping 802.11a/b/g networks. This is particularly important when using the new 40 MHz channel capability, which would impair the performance of such networks.
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 introducing an 802.11a client into an 802.11n cell reduces the throughput (based on data rates alone: the overhead introduced by co-existence 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
Data on the air
A to AP 1KB @ 52 Mbps
AP to B 1KB @ 104 Mbps
B to AP 1KB @ 104 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
Data on the air
A to AP 1KB @ 52 Mbps
AP to B 1KB @ 104 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
Greenfield, High-throughput and non-HT modes

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. 6 Aruba Networks

HT (High Throughput) Greenfield format
HT-GF-STF HT-LTF1 HT-SIG HT-LTF
HT-LTF
HT-LTF
STF LTF SIG GF L HT
HT-LTF
Data
Non-HT format
L-STF L-LTF L-SIG Data
Key Short Training Field Long Training Field Signal Greenfield Legacy (e.g. pre802.11n High Throughput (e.g. 802.11n)
Note: In 802.11n terminology, L- = NonHT
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. 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.
7
Phased coexistence Operation (PCO)

Phased coexistence operation is designed to allow an 802.11n AP to support both 802.11n and 802.11a/g clients while being a good neighbour to other legacy 802.11 APs operating in the area. As the diagram shows, the AP time-slices its cell, switching between 20 MHz, 802.11a/b/g compatible operation in each of the constituent 20 MHz channels and full 40 MHz operation for 802.11n clients. To maintain order and provide the best throughput, two mechanisms are used.
A
802.11n (HT) 20 MHz
AP
802.11a (L) 20 MHz
L = Legacy (802.11a/b/g mode) HT = High Throughput (802.11n mode)
AP A B
RTS (HT)
CTS (HT)
CTS (L)
CTS (HT) CTS to self Sends data (HT)
Data frame (L)
CTS (L) CTS to self
Data frame (HT)
Sets NAV
Receives data (HT)
Sets NAV
Receives data (L)
Sets NAV
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 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: 8 Aruba Networks
Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n 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 appropriately, avoiding one form of co-channel interference. However, 802.11a/b/g cells operating in range of a PCO cell will experience reduced capacity, as APs and clients will be inhibited from transmitting for a significant percentage of the time previously available.
Other mechanisms for coexistence: Dual-CTS protection (CTS-to-self)

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.
A
802.11n (HT) 20 MHz
AP
802.11a (L) 20 MHz
L = Legacy (802.11a/b/g mode) HT = High Throughput (802.11n mode)
AP A B
RTS (HT)
CTS (HT)
CTS (L)
CTS (HT) CTS to self Sends data (HT)
Data frame (L)
CTS (L) CTS to self
Data frame (HT)
Sets NAV
Receives data (HT)
Sets NAV
Receives data (L)
Sets NAV
time
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 www.arubanetworks.com
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice others 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.
Other mechanisms for coexistence: 40 MHz-intolerant indication

A mechanism is defined in 802.11n that allows an AP to advertise in its beacon that it prohibits 40 MHz operation in adjacent or overlapping cells. This indication can also be transmitted by a client, informing the AP that it must prohibit 40 MHz operation by all other cell members.
Using 802.11n in the 2.4 GHz band

The 2.4 GHz band presents special challenges for 802.11n. While in the 5 GHz band, usable channels have been defined by regulators to be 20 MHz apart, the spacing in 2.4 GHz is 5 MHz. Combined with the limited overall spectrum available in this band, this has led to customary usage where channels 1, 6 and 11 are used in a -channel plan (for the US: other regulators allow use to channel 1). This presents two difficulties when defining a 40 MHz channel in 2.4 GHz. First, the limited spectrum would allow only two channels in the band, one at 40 MHz and the other at 20 MHz. Second, it would not be possible to build the 40 MHZ channel on two adjacent 20 MHz channels. This channel overlap is illustrated below:
-19MHz 0dBr -21MHz -20dBr +19MHz 0dBr +21MHz -20dBr -9MHz 0dBr -11MHz -20dBr +9MHz 0dBr +11MHz -20dBr
-30MHz -28dBr -40MHz -40dBr
+30MHz -28dBr +40MHz -40dBr -30MHz -40dBr
-20MHz -28dBr
+20MHz -28dBr +30MHz -40dBr
-40MHz -30MHz -20MHz -10MHz
fc
+10MHz +20MHz +30MHz +40MHz
-30MHz -20MHz -10MHz
fc
+10MHz +20MHz +30MHz
Spectral mask for 40 MHz channel 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Spectral mask for 20 MHz channel
11
Channel
10
11
12
13
Centre Frequency 2412 2417 2422 2427 2432 2437 2442 2447 2452 2457 2462 2467 2472
Channels defined for 2.4 GHz band, showing common 20 MHz channel plan and 40 MHz options
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Aruba Networks
Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n 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, and even in plug-in PC NIC cards where space is limited and designers are tempted to revert to 802.11g components for power consumption, size and cost reasons. Allowing such devices to work in Draft-n mode will avoid the need for the 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. Designers of small clients such as cellphones are already attacking these challenges using techniques such as diverse polarization and attitude, but a PC with antennas embedded in the frame is likely to realize better MIMO performance than a small hand-held 802.11n device for some time to come.
41
Using 802.11n in the 5 GHz band

US UNII I and UNII II bands UNII I: 5150-5250 MHz UNII II: 5250-5350 MHz 8x 20 MHz channels 4x 40 MHz channels UNII II requires DFS
Channel Frequency (MHz)
Band Edge 5150
36
40
44
48
52
56
60
64 5320
5180 5200 5220 5240 5260 5280 5300
Band Edge 5350
Band Edge 5450
100
104
108
112
116
120
124
128 132
136
140
5500 5520 5540 5560 5580 5600 5620
5640 5660 5680 5700
Band Edge 5725
US intermediate band (UNII II extended) 5450-5725 MHz 11x 20 MHz channels 5x 40 MHz channels Requires DFS
Band 149 153 157 161 Edge 5725 5745 5765 5785 5805
Band Edge 5850
US UNII III / ISM band 5725-5850 MHz 4x 20 MHz channels 2x 40 MHz channels
Channels defined for 5 GHz band (US regulations), showing common 20 MHz channel plan and 40 MHz options
We anticipate that Draft-n enterprise networks will make extensive use of the 5 GHz band. The diagram above shows the available 40 MHz channels in the various 5 GHz bands. Note that Dynamic Frequency Selection a technique from 802.11h, is required for operation in some of these bands: Draft-n silicon is generally compliant with the DFS requirement. The plenitude of channels will allow widespread deployment with 40 GHz channels, and will also allow deployment options with parallel 802.11a and Draft-n cells at 5 GHz, allowing the Draft-n cells to load-balance legacy clients to the 802.11a cells.
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Aruba Networks
Chapter - Product development and capabilities
Chapter 3 Product development and capabilities

This section deals with three issues: IEEE 802.11n stipulations for mandatory and optional features; Wi-Fi Alliance tests for certification; and chip-designers implementations. There is a fourth level, those features the equipment vendors such as Aruba will choose to implement, but historically, most features provided by the chip vendors have been supported and of course, those that are not supported in silicon cannot be implemented in equipment.
Standards and Certification framework

In the table below, the first two columns are correct as of September 2007, while the last column is based on discussions with chip vendors, and the opinions and experience of Arubas engineering team. The Wi-Fi Alliance has implemented certification for Draft-n APs, and two profiles for clients, handheld for battery-powered devices and consumer electronics for AC-powered, video-capable devices. Each certification includes mandatory and optional elements.
Feature (M=Mandatory) (O= Optional) Client: Handheld Client: Consumer Electronics WFA certification requirements Draft-n Likely to be implemented by chip vendors and product vendors?
APs 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 M O M
O O
O M
Supported Supported Not tested
Supported
4

Concurrent operation in 2.4 & 5 GHz bands O Supported (this is for a dual-radio solution: not splitting SSs over two bands). After long deliberation, 2.4 GHz-only (and 5 GHz-only) clients are allowed. 1x1 / 2x2 (equal mod at client) 2x2 (equal mod only) Initial chipsets support only 2 spatial streams, (despite public marketing positions & statements). We expect a maximum of 2 or antennas on commercial products. We expect only symmetrical coding options to be implemented initially. Explicit feedback frames may not work across dissimilar vendors. O 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. O Optional but critical for improved performance! All products will support this. M Supported.
SDM (Spatial Division Multiplexing): number of spatial streams supported
2x2 / 4x4
STBC (Spacetime 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 O
Supported.
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Aruba Networks
Chapter - Product development and capabilities

Short guard interval MRQ/MFB. Fast Link adaptation MAC Layer Enhancements A-MPDU, AMSDU O Supported (although there are some questions about a security vulnerability of A-MSDU) Supported. Supported. O M Supported. Supported.
PSMP. Power Save Multipoll MTBA Block Ack Quality of Service WMM (including WMM Power Save) Security WPA2 M M
M M
Will support WMM in 802.11n mode.
Will certainly support WPA2 in all 802.11 modes.
Expected product introduction timelines

This section gives estimates of the type of 802.11n products likely to be offered to the enterprise market, and when they might be introduced. The information is speculative the passage of time will surely show that much of it is wrong but it represents the authors best guess as of late 2007. The major players determining this timeline are the silicon vendors and client (PC) designers and of course enterprise customers and their buying decisions. This section ignores the consumer market, which is likely to develop much more quickly and may in the end be a significant influence on the enterprise market, especially by affecting silicon prices and overall user acceptance of the technology. We suggest that while pre-n products present too much technology risk to use for more than isolated tests in enterprise networks, Draftn products certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance will be suitable for pilot deployments, and to alleviate any local congestion points before full upgrade plans can proceed, either with Draft-n products (after experience, the standards process and certification tests demonstrate reduced risk) or with fully 802.11n-certified products. www.arubanetworks.com 45

Time Interval Q-4Q 2007 Product AP Cert Draft-n Notes APs will support two spatial streams. Many APs will be dual-radio-set, capable of either dual-band 802.11n operation or with one radio-set for 802.11n and the other for 802.11a/g. As above. It will take longer for the technology to be integrated on PC motherboards at manufacture, but this will offer a superior solution, as proper antenna spacing and placement is easier when embedded in the PC case. APs will support 2 spatial streams. New PCs will ship with 802.11n embedded as standard, as vendors ramp production volume up to reduce costs and accelerate market adoption. Unlikely to move to spatial streams on the client because the increased cost, complexity, heat generated and PC board-space is difficult to justify. Full 802.11n certification should be available in this timeframe. Capabilities as above. APs will possibly extend to 4 antennas, but 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 & lowerpower (and networks are backwards-compatible), designers will not be able to justify.
PC
Draft-n
4Q 2007 1Q 2008
AP PC
Draft-n Draft-n
2Q-Q 200
AP, PC
Phones
2010
Handheld devices
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Aruba Networks
Chapter 4 - Migration strategies
Chapter 4 Migration strategies Different paths to enterprise-wide 802.11n

There are essentially three strategies to get an enterprise WLAN to Draft-n: 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 Draft-n 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 -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 Draft-n APs and 802.11a/b/g clients, we would expect the same guidelines to hold: legacy clients will not connect over greater ranges, or at higher data rates. However, with Draft-n APs and Draft-n clients, Aruba estimates that AP spacing can be increased to perhaps 20-25 metres (65-85 feet). In a new greenfield installation, this can offer a considerable savings in AP hardware, cabling & installation, and even in LAN edge switch ports, closet space, power and cooling provisions. As noted throughout this paper, Draft-n 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 5 GHz Draft-n PC clients are readily available, specialized clients such as Wi-Fi phones, location tags or handheld bar-code readers will be confined to 2.4 GHz and 802.11b/g for at least 12-24 months, with few exceptions. For this reason, and because of the considerable installed base of 802.11b/g clients, 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 Draft-n, or one Draft-n 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.
47
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice In general, we recommend that when Draft-n access points are used, they should support two radio-sets, one operating with a 40 MHz 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 price premium over a Draft-n + 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 were only to support one antenna, one RF chain and a single 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. One driver for introducing Draft-n 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 while their beacons include legacy transmissions, the only way to reliably classify an 802.11n rogue and its clients will be to use an 802.11n access point. Most WLAN vendors are expected to continue supporting an 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.
Greenfield
This strategy 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 Draft-n coverage, and to ensure that clients are Draft-n-capable, or can be rapidly phased-out in favour of capable substitutes. The foremost concern with this strategy is that all clients must be Draft-n-capable, otherwise 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. 48 Aruba Networks
802.11n Access Points
802.11n coverage
As seen from the figures above, it may be possible to reduce the number of APs required to cover an area by a factor of 0% or more, when comparing Draft-n 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 should work successfully for all types of 802.11a/b/g/n devices. A further consideration will be whether to cover one or both of the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Enterprise-class PC Draft-n 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 for 2.4 GHz-only client support (as discussed above) means it will be important 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 Draft-ndriven access point spacing).
Summary of Greenfield recommendations:

Confirm that 802.11n-capable clients are available for all current and foreseeable enterprise requirements.
4
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice RF planning can proceed with 802.11n range assumptions, allowing fewer APs. Use increased AP spacing only if all clients are capable of at least 2 spatial streams. Restrict existing APs to a subset of the available 5 GHz channels, and use the remainder for 802.11n. Consider power to the APs, edge switch ports, etc. Place APs to avoid line-of-sight for best MIMO performance. Disable co-existence mechanisms such as PCO that support mixedmode operation. Enable good-neighbour mechanisms such as dual-CTS if there are other 802.11a APs in the same building, on the same channel.. Ignore 40 MHz-intolerant requests, or reject such clients. Use dual-radio APs where the primary radio(s) is 802.11n at 5 GHz, while the second radio (can be 802.11a/b/g) runs in the 2.4 GHz band. Remember that this scheme does not guarantee complete 2.4 GHz coverage for non-Draft-n clients: there may be areas at the edge of cells where signal strength will not support an 802.11a/b/g signal.
Note that for a lightly-loaded greenfield network, using Draft-n access points with 802.11a spacing, and enabling PCO for a mixed client base presents a perfectly acceptable solution: throughput will initially be low, maybe even 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.
AP-overlay
Here, the Draft-n network would be planned as if there were no existing network, for optimum placement of the new APs. The old and new networks 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. For this scheme, it is important that the radio planning and management algorithm of the WLAN can manage 802.11a, b, g and Draft-n cells and APs simultaneously.
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Aruba Networks
802.11a/g Access Points
802.11n coverage
802.11a/g coverage
Since Draft-n makes best use of the 5 GHz band (with 40 MHz channels), it makes an attractive overlay on an 802.11b/g network operating at 2.4 GHz: 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 Draft-n 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 Draft-n.) Against this, the Draft-n network is additive, so additional cabling, power and edge switch ports will probably be required (but it is likely these upgrades would eventually be needed, anyway).
Summary of Overlay recommendations:

Decide on the client migration strategy: it may be better to wait until Draft-n clients are available before investing in 802.11n-capable infrastructure. RF planning can proceed with Draft-n range assumptions, allowing fewer APs.
51
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice Switch PCO off, use dual-CTS. Consider power to the APs, edge switch ports, etc. Place APs to avoid line-of-sight for best MIMO performance. Use single-radio APs if there is no future requirement for 2.4 GHz Draft-n coverage. If there is an intent to eventually remove the older infrastructure, it may be better to use dual-radio access points for the overlay so the second radio can be switched on later (becoming similar to the greenfield model over time, as the original infrastructure disappears).
AP substitution
In this model, existing APs are swapped one-for-one with new Draft-n APs. If every AP is replaced with Draft-n, the resulting network will have plenty of capacity we estimate perhaps a three-fold improvement, depending on the mix of 802.11a/g and Draft-n clients but will have more APs that would be strictly necessary. In most networks it will be possible to abandon some 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.
802.11a/g Access Points
802.11n coverage 802.11a/g coverage
A network of mixed Draft-n and 802.11a/g or even 802.11b APs can operate indefinitely: this is a possible solution where Draft-n is important for classifying rogue APs but not for capacity or range considerations. Note that even though APs can be swapped at a location, the new Draft-n AP may require different power and Ethernet connections.
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Aruba Networks
Summary of AP substitution recommendations:

Decide on the client migration strategy: it may be better to wait until Draft-n clients are available before investing in Draft-n-capable infrastructure. Run an RF planning tool to determine which APs should be upgraded to 802.11n. Enable PCO, dual-CTS. Consider power to the APs, edge switch ports, etc. Place APs to avoid line-of-sight for best MIMO performance. Use single-radio or dual-radio APs, depending on the existing infrastructure and plans for future migration.
Other considerations when planning an upgrade

Points to bear in mind when planning an upgrade strategy: Draft-n APs will require Gigabit Ethernet connections if the backhaul link is not to become a bottleneck. This may in turn require upgrading cables to Category 5e or Category 6 cable (older Category 5 cable is not rated for Gigabit Ethernet). However, performance will be significantly increased even without the GE upgrade. Also, GE ports must be available on LAN edge switches in wiring closets. Since 802.af power-over-Ethernet is not sufficient for many new Draft-n APs (assuming at least 2 antennas and RF chains at 5 GHz, an AP will draw at least 15W), 802.at should be supported by edge switches or mid-span POE equipment, or local power bricks may be required. (Aruba has new AP technology that will avoid this requirement in most cases.) 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 Draft-n.
5
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice Opportunities to mount APs in the workspace - on walls, partitions and on furniture, but not in the ceiling plenum space increase with Draft-n, 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, Draft-n APs can be located to take advantage of these, and local power for the AP via a wall brick may be a reasonable option.
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Aruba Networks
Chapter 5 - Conclusion
Chapter 5 Conclusion
This note has two goals: to explain the technology and features of the 802.11n standard, and to examine its implications for the design of enterprise Wi-Fi networks, in terms of likely product development cycles. 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 much 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 incomplete state of the 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 we can realize the full benefits. In the pages above, we have discussed 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.
55
Appendix Note on expected real-world cell capacity with 802.11n

Whereas an 802.11a/g access point can support a top data rate of 54 Mbps, 802.11n can stretch to 600 Mbps (with full 4x4 configurations, although these are not yet available). 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 12 Mbps rather than the advertised peak of 54 Mbps. If all clients connect at this rate, the raw capacity of the cell becomes 12 Mbps. 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 cell may achieve throughput of 26 Mbps with 1500 Byte frames, capacity drops to around 12 Mbps with 256 Byte frames. The MAC aggregation function in 8 02.11n 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
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Appendix 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 often 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 Channel width (MHz) 20 40 40 40 Guard Interval (nsec) 800 800 800 800 Range of PHY rates (MHz) 7.2-72.2 1.5 - 15 27 - 270 40.5 - 405 Performance relative to 802.1 a/g 1x - 1.5x 1.5x - 2x 2x - 4x 4x - 6x
1 (2x1, x1) 1 (2x1, x1) 2 (2x2) (x)
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 www.arubanetworks.com 57
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice 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.
Note on expected real-world data rates with 802.11n

This section is not based on thorough testing. It is not based on rigorous simulation. When papers giving figures through either of these methods become available, they will be both more accurate and more useful than the section below. However, since little information has not been published in digestible form, this analysis, which is based on many simplifications, but which gives results Aruba judges to be reasonable, may serve as a guide to the performance expected in practical 802.11n networks.
Methodology
This explanation is not necessary to an understanding of the results below, but is included so the scientifically-inclined can understand the degree of simplification involved in deriving the results. In deriving the expected data rates and how they vary with distance from the access point, the following steps are employed: Calculate free space loss with distance. Apply a model (Rappaport et al) for typical in-building propagation loss. Calculate the signal to noise ratio (SNR) by distance from the access point. Apply some random statistics to the above to simulate a real-world network. Calculate the Shannon bandwidth of the channel, based on the SNR. Round to the nearest (lower) data rate available
This necessarily includes many approximations. In addition to the methodology above, the following assumptions were used: 58 Aruba Networks
Appendix Propagation loss at 5.5 GHz In-building propagation loss index of 2.7 Assumed transmit power to the antenna of 100 mW, and combined antenna gains of 6 dBi 20 MHz, 40 MHz channel bandwidths for calculating thermal noise and Shannon bandwidth Variation of +/-6 dB in signal strength due to noise and fading effects. This is applied as a random factor uniformly distributed between +/-6 dB of the mean calculated by the in-building propagation formula. No allowance is made for beamforming, as this will not be incorporated in shipping silicon until at least 2008. Only up to spatial streams are analysed, rather than the maximum of 4 in the standard: early products are expected to extend only antennas and 2 spatial streams.
Free Space propagation loss, SNR and channel capacity

The general equation for calculating the loss in power (P) at a distance (d), where P is measured in dB, is given by: P = 20log10(d) + 20log10(f) + A Where f is the frequency (for our purposes, 5.5 GHz as the centre of the 5 GHz 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 100 mW and combined antenna gains of 6 dBi.
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 www.arubanetworks.com 5
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice 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: 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 40 MHz. Thermal noise in a 20 MHz channel is -101 dBm; and in a 40 MHz channel, -8 dBm. 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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Appendix
Free space and in-building propogation loss model
Maximum data rate (Mbps) 80
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
11 12 14 15 16 18 19 21 22 23 25 26 28 29 30 32 33
Distance (meters)
Free space In-building
The graph above shows the results of the free-space and in-building propagation models. The free-space line assumes uninterrupted lineof-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 in-building 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 well-accepted: 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 .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. www.arubanetworks.com 61
35
Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice 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.
Data rates varying with distance
Maximum data rate (Mbps) 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0
10
12
14
15
17
19
21
23
24
26
28
30
32
Distance (meters)
Free space
1 SS, 20 MHz with noise 2 SS, 20 MHz wtih 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, lineof-sight negates the MIMO effect, and data rates are similar to single 62 Aruba Networks
33
Appendix 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.
Data rates varying with distance - 802.11a
Maximum data rate (Mbps)
80
70 60
50 40
30 20
10 0
11
12
14
15
17
19
20
22
23
25
27
28
30
31
33
Distance (meters)
Free space In-building
802.11a actual data rate
Using the same methodology we model 802.11n data rates for different combinations of spatial streams and channel bandwidth.
35
6

Data rates varying with distance - 802.11n
Maximum data rate (Mbps) 300
250 200
150 100
50 0
11
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
31
Distance (meters)
1 SS, 20MHz
1 SS, 40MHz 2 SS, 40MHz
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 STBC, MRC and a series of minor PHY-layer improvements (beamforming is not included in this model). The extent of this improvement of 802.11n range over 802.11a is perhaps 5% for single antennas, increasing to 50% where extra antennas are available. 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 0-50%. 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). 64 Aruba Networks
33
Appendix
Feature Increased channel bandwidth, 20 MHz channel, modulation & coding improvements Increased channel bandwidth, 40MHz channel, modulation & coding improvements Diversity effects from multiple antennas, 2x1/x1 Diversity effects from multiple antennas, 2x2, x2 Transmit beamforming 2x1 Estimated Improvement 5% Notes More subcarriers are used, but the improvement is directed to a higher data rate rather than increased range. As above.
5%
0%
STBC or MRC. This improvement will be realized in 2007. STBC and MRC. This improvement will 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.)
50%
50%
Two spatial streams
20%
Three spatial streams
0%
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.
65
Forms of MIMO
There are already more than enough terms and acronyms in this document. We have deliberately avoided introducing more than were necessary to explain 802.11n. But the reader may have encountered SIMO and other terms. The figure below shows that these are just degenerate forms of MIMO with a single antenna chain at one or the other end of the connection:
SISO
(Single input, single output)
MISO
(Multiple input, single output)
Tx Tx Rx Tx Rx
SIMO
(Single input, multiple output)
Rx Tx Rx
MIMO
(Multiple input, multiple output)
Tx Tx Rx Rx
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Appendix
Channel estimation
As explained above, all the techniques used for MIMO require the receiver to estimate the channel characteristics. It does this by receiving a sequence of known signals. The diagram below explains how this is done, both in general matrix algebra and with an example. This is for a 2x2 system.
TA hA2 = 0.7
2
hB2 = 0.5 hA1 = 0.3
R2
A
TB
hB1 = 0.9
R1
To determine the channel characteristics, known symbols are sent from antennas A and B. If enough known symbols are sent, it is possible to construct these equations: R1 = TA x hA1 R2 = TA x hA2 + TB x hB1 + TB x hB2 Algebraic form Numerical example R1 = 0.3TA R2 = 0.7TA + 0.9TB + 0.5TB
TA = R1 x qA1 TB = R1 x qB1
+ R2 x qA2 + R2 x qB2
Algebraic form Numerical example
T1 = -1.04RA + 1.88RB T2 = 1.46RA + -0.63RB
Now, for every received symbol (RA and RB in this case), the original transmitted symbol can be determined.
67
Glossary of terms used in this note

802.11 is replete with acronyms, and 802.11n has contributed more than its share to the lexicon. The following is a subset of terms used in the standard, but should cover all terms used above. A-MPDU A-MSDI AP CTS DTT HT HT-GF-STS HT-STF HT-SIG HT-STF LDPC L-LTF L-SIG L-STF LTF MC MCS MIMO MISO MRQ MTBA NAV PCO PSMP 68 Aggregate MAC protocol data unit Aggregate MAC service data unit Access point Clear to send Downlink transmission time (Power-save multi-poll) High throughput High throughput greenfield short training symbol High throughput long training field High throughput signal field High throughput short training field Low density parity check Non-high throughput (= legacy) long training field Non-high throughput (= legacy) signal field Non-high throughput (= legacy) short training field Long training field Mobility Controller (an Aruba product controlling access points) Modulation coding scheme Multiple input, multiple output Multiple input, single output Modulation coding scheme request Multiple traffic ID block acknowledgement Network Allocation Value Phased coexistence operation Power save multi-poll Aruba Networks
Glossary and References RF RIFS RTS SISO SM SNR STBC STBC/SM TRQ TxBF UTT WLAN Radio frequency Reduced inter-frame spacing Request to send Single input, single output Spatial multiplexing Signal to noise ratio Space time block code Space time block code / spatial multiplexing Training request Transmit beamforming Uplink transmission time (Power save multi-poll) Wireless Local Area Network
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 the IEEE document P802.11n draft 2.0. The Wi-Fi Alliance certification is Draft-n. The WFA web site is here: http://wi-fi.org/
6
About Aruba Networks, Inc.

Aruba securely delivers the enterprise network to users, wherever they work or roam, with usercentric networks that significantly expand the reach of traditional port-centric networks. Usercentric networks integrate adaptive WLANs, identity-based security, and application continuity services into a cohesive, high-performance system that can be easily deployed as an overlay on top of existing network infrastructure. Adaptive WLANs deliver high-performance, followme connectivity so users are always within reach of mission-critical information. Identity-based security associates access policies with users, not ports, to enable follow-me security that is enforced regardless of access method or location. Application continuity services enable followme applications that can be seamlessly accessed across WLAN and cellular networks. The cost, convenience, and security benefits of user-centric networks are fundamentally changing how and where we work. Listed on the NASDAQ and Russell 2000 Index, Aruba is based in Sunnyvale, California, and has operations throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific regions. To learn more, visit Aruba at http://www.arubanetworks.com.
2007 Aruba Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Aruba Networks, BlueScanner and RFprotect are trademarks of Aruba Networks, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders. All rights reserved. Specifications are subject to change without notice.
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Aruba Designed Speed 802 11n

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Aruba Designed Speed 802 11n

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Peter Thornycroft October 2007

Designed for Speed

Peter Thornycroft Aruba Networks October 2007

Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice

Chapter 2 Technology in 802.11n

Techniques to enhance the MAC

Chapter 3 Product development and capabilities

Chapter 4 Migration strategies

Other considerations when planning an upgrade

Chapter 5 Conclusion Appendix

Note on expected real-world cell capacity with 802.11n 56

Glossary of terms used in this note

Chapter 1 - Preparing for the 802.11n adoption wave

Chapter 1 Preparing for the 802.11n adoption wave

Benefits for the Enterprise

Benefits for the user

These benefits will be elusive for a while

802.11n migration strategies for enterprises

Network design with 802.11n

Wired backhaul from APs & LAN implications

Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice

Implications for rogue APs and WIDS

Good-neighbour (or bad-neighbour) strategies

Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice

Chapter 2 Technology in 802.11n

Techniques for high-throughput PHY

High Throughput PHY: Maximum Ratio Combining

Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice

High Throughput PHY: Space-time Block Coding

Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice

High Throughput PHY: Spatial Division Multiplexing

Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n

Received power level

Total throughput (per unit time) from transmitter to receiver = a

Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n

Received power level

Total throughput (per unit time) from transmitter to receiver = +

S1 in MAC etc signal processing S2 in

S1 out signal S2 out processing MAC etc

High throughput PHY: Transmit Beamforming (TxBF)

Received power level

MIMO, STBC, SDM, Beamforming terminology

Chapter 2 - Technology in 802.11n

P1a P1a P1 P1b

Designed for Speed - 802.11n Theory and Practice

802.11n MIMO configurations and terminology

Hierarchy of MIMO techniques

Spatial Division Multiplexor

Space-Time Block Coder

Space-Time Block Decoder and Maximal Ratio Combiner

Spatial Division Multiplexor

Original data stream

Split into NS spatial streams

Split again into NSTS space-time streams

Received signals from available antennas

Re-built into NS spatial streams

Original data stream

Spatial Division Multiplexor

Space-Time Block Coder

Space-Time Block Decoder and Maximal Ratio Combiner

Spatial Division Multiplexor

Original data stream

Split into NS spatial streams