Wireless G vs Wireless B

[svandevoorde]

In the wiki documentation I found this

Wireless B :

- modulation: DSSS

- indoor range 38 m

- outdoor range 140 m

data rates: 5.5, 11 mbits

Wireless G:

- modulation: DSSS, OFDM

- indoor range 38 m

- outdoor range 140 m

data rates: 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mbits

I can conclude that the connectivity distance is the same but the speed is different , Wireless G is better because it also uses OFDM...

When there are a lot of other wireless G networks active in the same area, and I use a wireless B network, is it true that my connection interference is a lot worse. Should it be a solution if I switch to a wireless G? Or do I need Wireless N for the best speed.

background information:

I have a lot of handheld scanners, they connect with wireless B to an access point, but they are used in a public area with many many other wireless networks... I think that more and more networks are switching to wireless G and because of the interference clients (my handheld devices) gets disconnected. I am planning to switch them also to wireless G but I not 100% sure it will fix my problem.

Kind regards

Stijn

[Nicolas Darchis]

Hi,

I think you're mixing some concepts, let me clarify point by point :

-11n allows speed up to 144 or 300mbps (depending what features you go for) so best speeds are with 11n.

-The fact that there are other wireless networks where you are is the source of interference. No matter if they are b or g .... Several wireless networks in the same channel = interferers and less bandwitdh.

-Regarding the interaction of wireless B and G, it's actually you being a pain for your neighbors :-) When 11G devices hear 11B devices in the neighborhood, they have to take special precautions not to freak them out and it slows down the G network.

So no impact on your B clients but the G clients of your neighbors are slower than they should be.

-When you mention "moving to wireless G or N", be aware than changing your access points won't change anything if your handheld scanners are still 11B. Very little improvements unless you change all your clients to G or N.

I hope this clarifies.

Nicolas

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[svandevoorde]

Thank you for replying Nicolas,

So I can conclude the following:

- When I use my handheld devices with 11B again in a Congested Area with lots of WIFI's

The impact of interference is the total of WIFI's connected to the same single channel

It doesn't matter to switch to 11G or 11N to change the interference impact (Probably 11N on the 5Ghz network does change the interference impact)

==> When I switch to the most free WIFI channel in the 2.4 Ghz network, the 11G interference will not be better then 11B interference.

Is this correct?

Kind regards

Stijn

[Nicolas Darchis · Accepted solution]

Correct.

11n is a special case as it may also work on 2 channels at the same time. But that only increases the risk of interferences (twice the amount of B/g devices interfering). But you're globally right about the fact that it's the amount of devices talking on the same channel that represents the problem and not particularly their speed (b, g or n).

The mix of speeds is impacting for higher speeds (g/n) since they have to adapt to the presence of lower speed devices.

Nicolas