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Latest Columns, Reviews, & Tips

What's YOUR Definition of "Adjacent Channel?"
Written by Devin Akin   
Monday, 07 July 2008

I've been having an interesting discussion with an instructor regarding the term "adjacent channel", and I would like to solicit comments from our constituents regarding this term.  In the 2.4 GHz band, channels 1 and 2 are considered "overlapping" by the 802.11 standard, but the question is, "are they adjacent?"  According to the standard, they are not.  The instructor - a very expererienced one - argues that the most common use of the term "adjacent channel" has it meaning "directly next to" rather than defining it by a given frequency distance.  For example, the standard defines channels 1 and 6 in an 802.11g system as adjacent because they are separated by at least 25 MHz.  The reason this terminology is so important is because the term "adjacent channel" carries over into "adjacent channel interference."  The defining of what adjacent channel interference *is* and *is not* is important.

 
The Only Thing Missing IsThe Drivers
Written by Devin Akin   
Friday, 30 May 2008

After many years of networking, one thing I can do in my sleep is load a Windows driver.  That's a pretty good thing considering that working in networking means constantly loading and changing NIC drivers - wired and wireless.  

Linux desktops are getting remarkably easy to use, Ubuntu being my personal favorite at the moment.  Novell, Redhat, and Xandros all make some butt-kicking stuff as well.  These Linux desktop operating systems have almost everything known to man built right in, and they are so much like Windows that, with the right skin, they would be almost indistinguishable from Windows itself.  I think that rocks.  They are easy to install and use, and best of all, they are either cheap or free - my personal favorite being free.

 

 
Is the WLAN market finally settling down a bit?
Written by Devin Akin   
Monday, 19 May 2008

When the powers that be call to see if there are any "latest-greatest" hacks, I've actually had to say, "nothing to speak of."  When I read the "latest" whitepaper on WLAN "speeds and feeds" or security (authentication/encryption) topics, it's the same old thing said a different way.  Infrastructure upgrades to 802.11n is currently the hottest topic, and though there are a number of challenging facets to it, it's not mind-bogglingly difficult.  Are we finally reaching a place where change is more of an "annual thing" rather than a "daily thing?"

 

 


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