Forum

Hi all,

Where would I find good forums to ask and discuss 802.11 questions? So far the forums I have found are either home/consumer level or so quiet as to be useless.

For example: On http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/571-8-wi-fi-beamforming-networking.html it indicates that slower speeds are more susceptible to interference. That would make sense if slowing network speeds was akin to turning a record at a slower speed, but that is not my understanding of how Wi-Fi works. I thought that as speed negotiated down the network would switch to a more robust phy. So I thought the connection would get more reliable, not less. (Though the author seems to be focusing on speed and not giving much attention to reliability.)

Is this accurate?

[quote]The incredible and sad thing is that the practice of dropping PHY rates in the face of interference is pervasive. Nearly every vendor does it, despite the fact that doing so is counterproductive to performance.[/quote]

Of course that is just an example. I'm really looking for a forum where I can ask questions like that and reasonably expect an answer.

Many thanks,

Dan

The forums here are good, although I too would like to see more recent discussions. Just don't be impatient and expect instant answers.

Often times questions have already been answered in previous months or years ... So use the search box.

The statement from Tom's hardware, may be being taken out of context, otherwise it is at least 50% wrong. [u]The slower rates are LESS susceptible to interference[/u]. They require lower SNR values for good reception. That is why the practice is pervasive !

I often refer to Toms Hardware too, but in this specific case they don't know what they are talking about.

I said 50% because yes, using a lower rate does cut down on [i]performance[/i]. But if the alternative is to have no reception at all at a higher rate, then I would argue that a slower rate is better than no rate.