Wi-Fi Alliance introduces Wi-Fi 6 • Hacker News Board

Re: Wi-Fi Alliance introduces Wi-Fi 6

#11

Post by colanderman » Wed, Oct 03, 2018, 4:45 PM UTC

kevin_b_er wrote: post #3

Wi-Fi Alliance is naming the not-yet-complete IEEE 802.11ax standard as Wi-Fi 6, with ac being 5, and n being 4. One can guess then a is supposed to 1, b as 2, and g as 3, but this isn't mentioned anywhere I can see. As far as I can tell, all of these numbers are new. At least this naming is a good deal clearer than HDMI's confusing version and feature mix or USB's Speed names. What isn't clear is how much control th…

Hm, I would expect 802.11-1997 to be 1. Is that 0? Or does it share a number with b, because they're the same technology? Or is it 1, and a and g share a number because they're the same technology? Or do a and b share a number because they were released simultaneously?

(This is, of course, a Very Important Question.)

Re: Wi-Fi Alliance introduces Wi-Fi 6

#12

Post by rythie » Wed, Oct 03, 2018, 4:48 PM UTC

kevin_b_er wrote: post #3

Wi-Fi Alliance is naming the not-yet-complete IEEE 802.11ax standard as Wi-Fi 6, with ac being 5, and n being 4. One can guess then a is supposed to 1, b as 2, and g as 3, but this isn't mentioned anywhere I can see. As far as I can tell, all of these numbers are new. At least this naming is a good deal clearer than HDMI's confusing version and feature mix or USB's Speed names. What isn't clear is how much control th…

> Wi-Fi Alliance is naming the not-yet-complete IEEE 802.11ax standard as Wi-Fi 6, with ac being 5, and n being 4. One can guess then a is supposed to 1, b as 2, and g as 3, but this isn't mentioned anywhere I can see.

Most 802.11b and 802.11g devices didn't support 802.11a (due to it requiring 5Ghz), so I'm guessing version 1 is 802.11 and 802.11a isn't part of the version numbers.

Re: Wi-Fi Alliance introduces Wi-Fi 6

#13

Post by wlesieutre » Wed, Oct 03, 2018, 4:48 PM UTC

chrisfinazzo wrote: post #6

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #5

This is just such a sensible change, it's amazing it took everyone this long to come up with it. Figuring out whether something is b, g, n, ac, etc. and then trying to remember which one comes next (ax) is just not going to filter down to the regular consumer like... ever. I can definitely see perks both in "hey, that's the newer network, it's got a higher version number", and "oh, I guess I do need to buy a new Wi-F…

At the same time, some version numbers are meaningless (because Chrome), so I'm ambivalent about the change. Still, this should make it easier for mere mortals to understand.

I don't know about "meaningless" as much as "not something normal people need to care about."

Re: Wi-Fi Alliance introduces Wi-Fi 6

#14

Post by garmaine » Wed, Oct 03, 2018, 4:53 PM UTC

mtgx wrote: post #4

802.11ax is 802.11n's true successor and I hope it will be adopted quickly by everyone. 802.11ac for the 5GHz band was a faux successor, in my opinion, as you couldn't use it in the same scenarios. It came with some higher performance, but with major compromises in reach for a typical home. Wi-Fi 6/802.11ax should last for a while, so I hope the Wi-Fi Alliance starts focusing on an actual long-range standard that's m…

WiMax?

Re: Wi-Fi Alliance introduces Wi-Fi 6

#15

Post by saagarjha » Wed, Oct 03, 2018, 4:55 PM UTC

Nullabillity wrote: post #9

kevin_b_er wrote: post #3

Wi-Fi Alliance is naming the not-yet-complete IEEE 802.11ax standard as Wi-Fi 6, with ac being 5, and n being 4. One can guess then a is supposed to 1, b as 2, and g as 3, but this isn't mentioned anywhere I can see. As far as I can tell, all of these numbers are new. At least this naming is a good deal clearer than HDMI's confusing version and feature mix or USB's Speed names. What isn't clear is how much control th…

When was the last time you saw a WiFi logo? The only time I can remember was as one of those stickers on a HP laptop in 2005.

Not a logo, but lots of cell phone manufacturers like to list which Wi-Fi standard they support because they can then advertise “gigabit” downloads and the like.

Re: Wi-Fi Alliance introduces Wi-Fi 6

#16

Post by Gaelan » Wed, Oct 03, 2018, 4:58 PM UTC

kbenson wrote: post #10

kevin_b_er wrote: post #3

Wi-Fi Alliance is naming the not-yet-complete IEEE 802.11ax standard as Wi-Fi 6, with ac being 5, and n being 4. One can guess then a is supposed to 1, b as 2, and g as 3, but this isn't mentioned anywhere I can see. As far as I can tell, all of these numbers are new. At least this naming is a good deal clearer than HDMI's confusing version and feature mix or USB's Speed names. What isn't clear is how much control th…

> Wi-Fi Alliance is naming the not-yet-complete IEEE 802.11ax standard as Wi-Fi 6, with ac being 5, and n being 4. One can guess then a is supposed to 1, b as 2, and g as 3, but this isn't mentioned anywhere I can see. Oh, I'm so happy it's a number that seems to correspond to something (as long as the next one is 7 or 8 or some integer slightly larger than 6). I look at wifi tech so rarely that I've mostly skipped a…

ac is later and presumably better. No idea if there are any trade offs

Re: Wi-Fi Alliance introduces Wi-Fi 6

#17

Post by cesarb » Wed, Oct 03, 2018, 5:00 PM UTC

rythie wrote: post #12

kevin_b_er wrote: post #3

Wi-Fi Alliance is naming the not-yet-complete IEEE 802.11ax standard as Wi-Fi 6, with ac being 5, and n being 4. One can guess then a is supposed to 1, b as 2, and g as 3, but this isn't mentioned anywhere I can see. As far as I can tell, all of these numbers are new. At least this naming is a good deal clearer than HDMI's confusing version and feature mix or USB's Speed names. What isn't clear is how much control th…

> Wi-Fi Alliance is naming the not-yet-complete IEEE 802.11ax standard as Wi-Fi 6, with ac being 5, and n being 4. One can guess then a is supposed to 1, b as 2, and g as 3, but this isn't mentioned anywhere I can see. Most 802.11b and 802.11g devices didn't support 802.11a (due to it requiring 5Ghz), so I'm guessing version 1 is 802.11 and 802.11a isn't part of the version numbers.

I would put 802.11a as 3 together with 802.11g, since they have the same rates (and are basically the same tech in a different band, 802.11g feels like 802.11a ported to 2.4GHz plus some extra compatibility stuff).

Re: Wi-Fi Alliance introduces Wi-Fi 6

#18

Post by shmerl » Wed, Oct 03, 2018, 5:01 PM UTC

Looks like penetration and range decrease with each new WiFi generation.

Re: Wi-Fi Alliance introduces Wi-Fi 6

#19

Post by gonzo » Wed, Oct 03, 2018, 5:03 PM UTC

colanderman wrote: post #11

kevin_b_er wrote: post #3

Wi-Fi Alliance is naming the not-yet-complete IEEE 802.11ax standard as Wi-Fi 6, with ac being 5, and n being 4. One can guess then a is supposed to 1, b as 2, and g as 3, but this isn't mentioned anywhere I can see. As far as I can tell, all of these numbers are new. At least this naming is a good deal clearer than HDMI's confusing version and feature mix or USB's Speed names. What isn't clear is how much control th…

Hm, I would expect 802.11-1997 to be 1. Is that 0? Or does it share a number with b, because they're the same technology? Or is it 1, and a and g share a number because they're the same technology? Or do a and b share a number because they were released simultaneously? (This is, of course, a Very Important Question.)

> Or does it share a number with b, because they're the same technology?

802.11b is part of 802.11-1999. 802.11-1997 describes the older Direct Spread (DS) and Frequency-Hopping (FS) standards in 2.4GHz.

802.11a and 802.11b were both ratified on 16 September 1999. 802.11g wasn't ratified until 12 June 2003.

http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11/Reports/802.11_Timelin...

Re: Wi-Fi Alliance introduces Wi-Fi 6

#20

Post by astrodust » Wed, Oct 03, 2018, 5:04 PM UTC

shmerl wrote: post #18

Looks like penetration and range decrease with each new WiFi generation.

It's not a bad thing. Base stations are cheap and it's better than having everyone's network clog everyone else's.

As someone who lives within reach of 30+ networks, this is a step up.