iTWire - Atheros foreshadows 'Vista-grade' 802.11n routers

Atheros foreshadows 'Vista-grade' 802.11n routers

by Stuart Corner
Thursday, 04 January 2007
Atheros' latest 802.11n chip technology for 802.11n wireless routers is able to simultaneously use up to 27 channels to give aggregated bandwidth up to a, claimed, 600Mbps and if required dedicate channels to particular applications - a requirement for routers to achieve Vista premium certification. Register now to win a Canon EOS 500D Routers built with the new Atheros chips will be able to use three channels in the 2.4GHz band and all 24 in the 5GHz band. Atheros says that this ability to run numerous WLAN applications simultaneously will avoid the interference which often plagues networks operating solely in the 2.4GHz band. According to Atheros, "With only three channels, the 2.4 GHz band is subject to high levels of congestion from legacy 802.11b/g products and interference from microwave ovens, cordless phones and Bluetooth devices." It argues that the 2.4GHz band is well-suited for applications less sensitive to bandwidth limitations and interference: Internet data traffic, streaming MP3s and wireless printing, while the 5GHz band with "24 channels, fewer legacy devices and virtually no interferers," is "ideal for high-bandwidth, latency-sensitive applications that require uninterrupted throughput: HD video streaming, VoIP calls and multi-player online gaming." The ability of routers to dedicate channels to different application will be in great demand as uptake of Vista increase. Atheros says that Microsoft "advocates use of dual-concurrent networks [with Vista] and the allocation of applications onto separate frequency bands based on throughput requirement, latency-sensitivity and interference in the network." And it notes that, for retail network routers to earn the Windows Vista Premium Certification logo, they must offer dual-concurrent operation. Atheros does not manufacture routers but says samples of its new chipset are now being provided to key suppliers. The Atheros AR5008AP-3NX2 chipset consists of dual AR5416 MAC/baseband ICs, the AR2133 and AR5133 radios and the AR7161 wireless network processor. They use Atheros' XSPAN with Signal-Sustain Technology, a 3x3 MIMO architecture that, Atheros claims, achieves significantly greater connection reliability and coverage. The AR7161 features dual 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet ports, dual USB 2.0 and additional interfaces for video, audio and voice applications. Atheros will showcase its complete line of 802.11n solutions at the 2007 International CES in Las Vegas next week at booth #36524. It has not indicated when commercial routers using the chipset will be available.{moscomment} Please enable JavaScript in your browser to post your comment! Tags See All Tags Add New Tag... Please Enter New Tags Separated By Comma's Or Close Microsoft Semiconductors Standards Stuart Corner Switching & Routing Wireless broadband wiFi Powered By Joomla Tags