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Across Down
1. Original band of frequencies 25. One-million cycles per 2. When the signal is scattered 17. Reduction in signal passing
9. When a signal changes second 3. Splits one band into many through objects
direction 26. Amount of data sent 4. When the signal becomes 20. 109 Hz
11. Type of antenna resembling in a given time bent 22. Opposite of receiver
a flashlight 27. Pipe diameter 5. dB is the abreviation 23. Xirrus language
12. Ratio of signal to noise 31. An Isotropic antenna 6. Manages addressing and 24. When the signal reflects back
14. Highest performing access 32. Path for signals protocol information 25. To blend data into a carrier
device 33. Only Wi-Fi Power Play 7. Receive/send radio signal signal
16. Total area of the radio 35. Receive Signal Strength 8. Occurs when signalls bounce 28. Boost power, voltage or
18. Contiguous frequencies Indicator 10. Opposite of transmitter current of a signal
19. Maximum distance between 36. Antenna pattern resembling 13. Speed of light 29. Shperical radiation pattern
two radios a donut 15. Multiple antennas to improve 30. Conveys data between points
21. Rate at which a repeating 37. Institute of engineers rate and range 34. Another word for
event occurs 38. Circuitry to interpret and amplification
execute
Wi-Fi Range Demystified
Contents
Introduction................................................................................ 3
Range Basics.............................................................................. 4
Antenna Design........................................................................... 5
Multipath.................................................................................... 7
Attenuation................................................................................. 8
Hidden Node............................................................................... 8
802.11n Technology.................................................................. 11
Recommendations..................................................................... 12
Leading Architecture.................................................................. 13
About Xirrus.............................................................................. 13
Introduction
Distance limitations and data rates are fully understood with wired Ethernet networks due to the utilization of
specific transmitter/receiver standards and a controlled media, the wire. However, the distance limitations and
data rates with Wi-Fi networks are more difficult to calculate due to varying data rates, capacity, interference, etc.
This document will walk you through some basic Wi-Fi principles such as antenna design, gain, path loss, frame
format, multipath, etc. to enable you to deploy a high performing Wi-Fi network for your organization.
Radio Module Radio Wave (Travels at the speed of light, c) Radio Module
Amplitude
Gain
d2
In Free Space, Power varies inversely with the square of the distance
between two points. Signal Prior
Signal Strength (RSSI) to Gain
2
λ
PR = PT G T GR
4πd PR—Power at the Receiver
PT—Power at the Transmitter
Expected Free Space Signal Strength at the Receiver taking Transmit Power,
Antenna Gain, Receiver Gain, Distance, and Frequency into account. GT—Antenna Gain of the Transmitter
Path Loss GR—Antenna Gain of the Receiver
PR = PT + G T− PathLoss + G R− L R
Expected Signal available in an interference-free environment for a given
Transmit Power, Antenna Gain, Path Loss, and Receiver Loss. (See SNR).
Range Basics
It is important to understand that range is a function between the transmitter and receiver. The relative
strength of that signal at the receiver is measured
of data rate or simply put, the higher the data rate, the
as the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI).
shorter the range. In order to understand what goes into
determining the range of an Access Point, a few terms RSSI is normally expressed in dBm or as a numerical
need to be defined and a basic understanding of the percentage. For clarification purposes, a dB (Decibel)
mathematics that goes into determining the distance by is a measure of the ratio between two quantities while
which a radio signal will travel needs to be provided. dBm is a Decibel with respect to milliwatts of power.
An overall Link Budget can be defined by taking into
In an open environment, or what is referred to as Free account all the gains and losses of a signal as it moves
Space, Power varies inversely with the square of the from a transmitter to a receiver.
distance between two points (the receiver and the
transmitter). The stronger the Transmit Power, the Range and Coverage
higher the signal strength or Amplitude. Antenna Gain
also increases Amplitude and will be further discussed
in a subsequent section of this chapter. Range (Distance)
area = πr 2
Range—Maximum Distance between two radios
While Gain and Power increase the distance a wireless for which a connection can be maintained. r
signal can travel, the expected signal loss (Path Loss) Coverage—The total area in which all radios can
maintain a connection to the AP.
between the transmitter and a receiver reduces it. Path Example: If the range of a cell is 300ft then the
Coverage Area
Loss is the reduction in signal strength that a signal coverage area = 3.14 * (300)2 = 282,600sqft.
Antenna Basics
Gl = Pdirectional
Power Density (directional Antenna)
Gain =
Power Density of Isotropic Antenna Pisotropic
No matter what type of Access Point is used, their respective use of an omni-direction antenna that blasts RF
energy in all directions becomes a barrier to the performance needed for today’s Wi-Fi networks. This problem
consists of a number of issues that all limit high-performance deployments: cell size, channel reuse, hidden
nodes and multi-path.
As we’ve discussed, Omni-directional antennas transmit and receive RF energy in all directions. Directional or
sectored antennas focus RF energy into a single direction, thereby intensifying the strength of the signal (Gain)
that is transmitted and increase the receiver sensitivity for traffic coming from the clients. Since directional
antennas offer more Gain, they have the ability to transmit further and “listen better” to the signals of wireless
stations (clients) therefore increasing the range and coverage of the Access Point in a given direction.
The drawback of a directional high-gain antenna is that it does not cover the same area as a standard dipole
antenna. The solution here is to arrange the directional antennas in a circular pattern and create an array
of antennas. This provides the 360 degrees of coverage of a traditional dipole antenna, yet offers the range
advantages of a directional antenna. Some sectored antenna systems have multiple radios and multiple antennas
that allow for 360 degrees of increased coverage.
Scattering
Multipath Interference
Refraction
Diffraction
Hidden Node
The 802.11 specification operates under a “collision commonly used to eliminate a hidden node issue is to
avoidance” schema whereas clients must wait for the reduce the range of the Access Point by decreasing the
medium to be free before making a transmission. This transmit power. By reducing an Access Point’s range, it
basic premise creates a situation where two clients increases the probability that all clients within the cell
within a Wi-Fi cell (coverage area of the Access Point) will hear each other; but greatly increases the number
are within range of the Access Point, but out of range of Access Points needed within the deployment.
of each other. A wireless station on one edge of a cell
may not hear a station on the other side of the cell. The use of a directional antenna over an omni-
Because of this, wireless stations will not be able directional antenna will also eliminate the issue of
to hear when the other is transmitting; incorrectly Hidden Nodes because all wireless stations (clients)
assuming the air is idle and begin to transmit its own in a given RF sector are associated to the same
packets. This will cause the two transmissions to Access Point; so they are geometrically within the
collide requiring both stations to re-transmit greatly same sector. Since the clients operate in the same
reducing the effective bandwidth within the cell. sector, the hidden node problem is eliminated as all
stations are able to hear each other and correctly
A protection mechanism exists with in the 802.11 determine when the air is busy or idle. This eliminates
standard called CTS-RTS that can help address this the performance-robbing issues found with legacy
issue requiring each client to ask for permission from omni-directional Access Points and the use of the
the Access Point before transmitting. But the use of CTS-RTS protocol. It also has the added benefit of not
this protocol creates overhead on the network and will increasing the number of Access Points or reducing
reduce overall performance by 30%. Another method their respective coverage areas.
Station 1 Station 2
Note: Station 1 and Station 2 cannot hear each other’s transmissions in the omni-directional antenna example (above
left) whereas stations can hear each other in the directional (sectored) antenna approach.
The received signal, the noise level, (or noise floor) and Signal
SNR = Noise
with these two values, the SNR can be determined. As
data rates increase from 6 Mbps to 54 Mbps, more
complex modulation and encoding methods are used SNR(db) = Signal(dBm) – Noise(dBm)
that require a higher SNR to properly decode the signal. Modulation Wireless Minimum
and Encoding Data Rate Required
Using a 54 megabits per second signal requires 802.11a (Mbps) SNR (dB)
25 DB of SNR – which means the signal will not be BPSK 1/2 6 8
As the size of the cell increases, clients at the edge of the cell will be using lower data rates and therefore
consume more time on the wireless medium lowering the performance of all of the clients.
Directional antennas also help to alleviate the problems of cell capacity by focusing the RF energy in specific
sectors. In this way, greater distance can be attained along the defined sector without also associating with
stations outside the sector.
On the opposite end of the scale is the idea of shrinking cell sizes to increase capacity. First, shrinking the cell
size of an Access Point by lowering the transmit power does not lower the transmit power of the wireless stations
(clients) that are associated to it. Second, the client’s transmit power and receiver settings are not under the
control of the Access Point and do not change. By decreasing the transmit power of the Access Point, the overall
cell size shrinks only slightly so the real size of the Wi-Fi cell is not just the transmission range of the Access
Point. In fact, the real size of a Wi-Fi cell is the transmission range of the Access Point and the transmission
range of all the wireless clients in that cell.
Shrinking cells also creates additional interference issues and limits range. When two Access Points are placed
near each other on the same channel, they may not hear each other, but the clients that associate to those
Access Points may well interfere with stations on the adjacent cell and vice versa. Interfering stations are shown
in between the two Access Points.
Antenna 1 Signal
Spatial multiplexing transmits completely separate
data streams on different antennas (in the same
Attenuation
Antenna 2 Signal
Receiver
channel) that are recombined to produce new
802.11n data rates. Higher data rates are achieved
Antenna 3 Signal
by splitting the original data stream into separate
data streams. Each separate stream is transmitted Frequency Across Subcarriers
Setting up a large scale Wi-Fi network is very different than its wired cousin Ethernet. Given the fluid nature of
the wireless medium, coverage and performance can vary widely depending upon the environment. Most Access
Points use an omni-directional antenna to propagate their signals which limit their ability to adequately deliver
increased range.
To get the best range out of your Wi-Fi system are as follows:
Higher data antennas are obviously better with the exception being you don’t get the range of coverage
except with an array of antennas like in the Wi-Fi Array.
Spend as much time evaluating the Wi-Fi solutions in your notebooks, PDA’s, and other clients to look for
the best receivers, antennas, and radios.
Use 802.11a to reduce channel interference and to allow for more capacity.
Remember that repositioning your APs may make dramatic changes when you have multipath issues inside
complicated environments.
When mounting your Wi-Fi gear, the higher the location and the more obstruction and substances you get
out of the path of the radio waves the better off you are. Mounting it higher is better.
When you’re planning your solution be careful not to create cells that are so large that it covers too many
users, especially if they’re users with high demand. Range and capacity matters; be careful when you’re
designing your system; use simultaneous channels; using a Xirrus Array architecture that can deliver the
range and capacity needed for future needs.
Wi-Fi Sectored
Wi-Fi Controller
Wi-Fi
Radio
Sectored
Antenna
Radios Produce
Antenna
enhancements. Wi-Fi
Radio
Wi-Fi
Radio
With the Wi-Fi Array, Xirrus delivers the only ‘Power Sectored
Antenna
Wi-Fi
Radio Wi-Fi
Sectored
Antenna
Wi-Fi
Radio Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi Radio
High Gain
Sectored Antenna
Antenna
Directional
industry. Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays deliver up to 8x the Sectored
Antenna
Sectored
Antenna
Antennas
Redundant Gigabit Ethernet Uplinks Increase
bandwidth of a single access point and are compact, Range
easy-to-install, ceiling-mounted devices. No other
Ethernet
current-generation Wi-Fi technology can deliver the Switch
By integrating these key components: the Wi-Fi controller, Gigabit Ethernet Switch, Gigabit uplinks, multiple
access points, sectored antenna system, Wi-Fi stateful firewall and Wi-Fi threat sensor into a single device,
Xirrus Arrays are able to provide a centrally-managed platform that delivers unparalleled range, client capacity
and performance, along with better RF management and roaming for voice, video and data applications — all in
a single device that is fully upgradeable to 802.11n.
About Xirrus
Xirrus, Inc. is a privately held firm headquartered in Westlake Village, California. Founded by the same team that
created Xircom (acquired by Intel in 2001), Xirrus has developed the next generation in enterprise wireless LAN
architectures centered around the award-winning Array.
Backed by leading venture capital firms U.S. Venture Partners and August Capital, Xirrus brings a proven
management team and patented approach to delivering the performance, scalability and security needed to
deploy a true wireless extension of the wired Ethernet network capable of delivering Triple Play (voice, video,
data) enablement.
Across Down
1. Original band of frequencies 2. When the signal is scattered
9. When a signal changes direction 3. Splits one band into many
11. Type of antenna resembling 4. When the signal becomes bent
a flashlight 5. dB is the abreviation
12. Ratio of signal to noise 6. Manages addressing and protocol
14. Highest performing access device information
16. Total area of the radio 7. Receive/send radio signal
18. Contiguous frequencies 8. Occurs when signalls bounce
19. Maximum distance between 10. Opposite of transmitter
two radios 13. Speed of light
21. Rate at which a repeating event 15. Multiple antennas to improve rate
occurs and range
25. One-million cycles per second 17. Reduction in signal passing
26. Amount of data sent in a through objects
given time 20. 109 Hz
27. Pipe diameter 22. Opposite of receiver
31. An Isotropic antenna 23. Xirrus language
32. Path for signals 24. When the signal reflects back
33. Only Wi-Fi Power Play 25. To blend data into a carrier signal
35. Receive Signal Strength Indicator 28. Boost power, voltage or current
3 6. Antenna pattern resembling of a signal
a donut 29. Shperical radiation pattern
37. Institute of engineers 30. Conveys data between points
38. Circuitry to interpret and execute 34. Another word for amplification Xirrus, Inc.
www.xirrus.com
sales@xirrus.com
Copyright © 2008, Xirrus, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Xirrus and the Xirrus logo
are trademarks of Xirrus, Inc. All other trademarks belong to their respective
owners. Protected by patent #US D526,973 S. Other patents pending.