Visual commentary Reviewing the Wi-Fi environment Router is "6"

[Click here for the main article] Review of the Wi-Fi environment High-speed and secure router "6" is the mainstream

Fig. 1 Wi-Fi router packages and specifications cover Wi-Fi standards and functions. Knowing these things will help you choose the right product. The image is of Buffalo's "WSR-3200AX4S-WH" package diagram 2. Currently, the standard mainly used for Wi-Fi is IEEE802.11ac. The latest IEEE802.11ax, also called Wi-Fi 6, has started to come out with compatible products around 2019, and is gradually gaining popularity. was taken. "6" represents the generation of Wi-Fi. At the same time, the past IEEE802.11ac was called "Wi-Fi 5" and IEEE802.11n was called "Wi-Fi 4". Wi-Fi”, which took the place of the word wireless LAN. Most home wireless LAN devices currently on the market are certified, and Wi-Fi and wireless LAN can be considered almost the same. Figure 5 5G is the fifth-generation mobile communication system that communicates with base stations. . Wi-Fi is a system that allows you to connect wirelessly to the internet line in your home or office, and replaces the wired LAN cable with a wireless one. It also uses the 2.4GHz band as well as the 5GHz band. The data modulation method has also improved, the orthogonal frequency division method has been replaced by OFDMA, and the subcarrier interval has been shortened to increase speed. Figure 7 WPA3, which also increased the maximum number of MU-MIMO connections, is a new encryption standard that eliminates vulnerabilities and provides stronger security than WPA2. However, if the encryption is set to WPA3, only devices that support WPA3 can be connected. Note that WPA2 devices are also displayed in the list, but cannot be connected. Use WPA2-compatible mode in an environment where old equipment coexists Figure 8 Conventional OFDM could only communicate with one terminal per communication band. Communication efficiency is poor in an environment with a large number of connected devices. On the other hand, OFDMA can assign multiple terminals to one communication band, and can send and receive data more efficiently than OFDM. Therefore, unrelated terminals were also canceled each time, wasting power. A router that supports TWT (Target Wake Time) sends a start signal only to the necessary terminals, so unrelated terminals can keep sleep state and save power consumption Figure 10 When purchasing a Wi-Fi router, the package and Always check the maximum speed listed in the specifications. Depending on the maximum speed of the Wi-Fi router, the performance of the computer may not be fully utilized. Figure 11 Almost all current Wi-Fi 6 compatible computers are equipped with Intel's Wi-Fi 6 AX201 or AX200. The maximum speed is 2.4Gbps. When choosing a Wi-Fi router, choose a product with a higher speed Fig. 12 Wi-Fi 6 communication speed can only be connected when connecting a Wi-Fi router that supports Wi-Fi 6 to a computer. You can connect to the internet even if one of the standards is older, but the 5 GHz band, which is the communication speed of the old standard in Fig. 13, is a frequency band dedicated to Wi-Fi, and there are many channels that can be used, and the communication speed is fast. In addition, it is difficult to interfere with radio waves other than Wi-Fi. On the other hand, it has the weak points that the radio waves are highly straight and vulnerable to obstacles, and that the radio waves are difficult to reach in the distance. Compared to the 5GHz band, the 2.4GHz band has a narrower range of available channels and slower communication speeds. Although it is easily affected by the surrounding communication environment, it is resistant to obstacles and easy to connect even over long distances. Choose the 5GHz band if speed is important, and the 2.4GHz band if you want long-distance connectivity

[Click here for the main article] Wi-Fi environment review High-speed and safe router "6" is the mainstream

[Nikkei PC21 November 2021 article restructured]

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