802.11ac vs 802.11n

Hello friend!

The fifth-generation 802.11 standard 802.11ac is an improvement on 802.11n. The following table describes the differences between 802.11ac Wave 1, 802.11n, and 802.11a working in the same frequency band.

At the PHY and MAC address layers, 802.11ac optimizes the channel bandwidth, multi-input multi-output (MIMO), modulation mode and uses new technologies. 802.11ac architecture is the same as 802.11n architecture. That is, 802.11ac is evolved from 802.11n.

802.11ac provides a maximum throughput of 6.93 Gbit/s, which is almost 10 times the maximum throughput of 802.11n. The initially launched Wave 1 802.11ac products provide the maximum throughput of up to 1.3 Gbit/s, meeting expectations of Gbit/s Wi-Fi. In addition to great increase of the maximum throughput, 802.11ac enhances the concurrent user access capability. 802.11ac can transmit data of four users simultaneously. It improves channel management when multiple channel bandwidths are used and enhances compatibility with 802.11a and 802.11n.

https://support.huawei.com/enterprise/en/doc/EDOC1100081215#EN-US_TOPIC_0245380635

https://support.huawei.com/enterprise/en/doc/EDOC1000060368/edf5fa88/what-are-the-differences-between-80211a-b-g-n-ac-ac-wave2-ax-standards

Thanks!

Hi S_Noch,

802.11ac vs. 802.11n

802.11ac achieves optimization and development on the basis of the previous-generation 802.11n, achieving a higher transmission rate. The following figure shows their differences.

802.11ac vs. 802.11n

Compared with 802.11n, 802.11ac has made the following improvements:

1. Introduces new technologies or extends original technologies to improve the maximum throughput or number of access users, for example, 256-QAM and MU-MIMO.

2. Optimizes protocols to reduce complexity. For example, 802.11ac deletes implicit transmit beamforming (TxBF), and provides only one channel sounding mode and one feedback mode.

3. Keeps compatible with earlier 802.11 protocols. 802.11ac improves the physical layer (PHY) frame structure and channel management when different bandwidths are used.