We have talked a few times on this blog about wireless networks and some of the ways to make you network more secure. But I thought I would write yet another post on wireless as I was recently asked by a very confused friend, what was the difference between all the different flavours of WiFi that you see on the market. What is all this 11b, 11g and 11n and what does it all mean, and what should I look out for when buying an access point? Well it is a good question and I will give it a go. All these refer to various standards that have been agreed for WiFi equipment. In fact the original standard was 802.11a, but this was soon replaced by the other standards each one following on from the other. The changes essentially relate to a changes in the provided bandwidth or range of the wireless signal.

802.11b

Created in 1999 802.11b can be considered to be the lowest or a base standard nowadays and supports bandwidth up to 11 Mbps. The majority of access devices on the market will still support this standard.

802.11g

In 2003 the newer standard 802.11g appeared which increases the bandwidth of the signal to 54 Mbps, with similar or only slightly less of a range.

802.11n

802.11n is the newest standard (although still in draft and not finalised) and is now fairly common in newer devices. It provides significant increases in signal range and bandwidth. The signal is also more resistant to interference from other devices. The standard is backward compatible with both 802.11g and 802.11b though you will be limited to the bandwidth of the earlier standards.

What to look for when buying

When buying an access device, due to generally good backward compatibility you should generally look for a device that supports the newer 802.11n standard. Something like the Buffalo AirStation Nfiniti WZR-G300N Wireless-N Router. All your existing devices should be able to connect even if they are based on earlier standards and newer devices will be able to take full advantage of the new standard’s benefits.