Designing and Deploying 802.11 Wireless Networks: A Practical Guide to Implementing 802.11n and 802.11ac Wireless Networks, Second Edition

Introduction

The 802.11ac amendment to the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN (WLAN) standard was ratified in 2013, enabling 802.11 systems to provide significantly higher performance in the 5-GHz band. Network equipment manufacturers now offer 802.11ac-compliant equipment in addition to 802.11n (2.4 GHz) as their primary WLAN solutions. WLANs based on earlier versions of the standard (802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g) are considered “legacy,” and there is significant risk that these existing non-802.11n/ac systems will become obsolete. As a result, organizations deploying new WLANs should definitely implement 802.11ac and 802.11n-compliant equipment. In addition, organizations with existing non-802.11n/ac WLANs should begin planning the migration to 802.11ac ...