But if this abuse of the duration value and virtual carrier sense part of the access mechanism provides improvements in throughput, why not allow it? The answer is that putting two different devices together that abuse the duration value in the same way results in an even larger denial of access to any of the standard-abiding devices in the area. This only leads to the necessity of all the devices to abuse the standard, simply to re-level the access to the channel. It is the antimissile escalation of the Cold War brought to the modern battlefield of networking.
Industry standards give vendors plenty of room for innovation, but it's critical that vendors responsibly differentiate themselves in ways that maintain interoperability and, more important, do no harm to the internetworked community.
Doing harm is precisely what inflating the duration field in 802.11 frames beyond the specification does. It's the WLAN analog to that device that lets you act like a fire truck in traffic. It artificially gives one WLAN unfair access to the radio medium at the expense of other WLAN networks. Cisco feels Network Computing's real-world testing data prove precisely this point.
There is a much better way to go. Cisco maximizes performance in the WLAN environment in ways that are responsible, compliant with industry standards and innovative. First, good WLAN design is vital, so Cisco has developed (highly utilized) planning tools embedded within our Wireless Control System software. These tools help network designers figure out the best locations for placing access points based on environmental variables that affect RF propagation. More important, these tools make access point placement recommendations based on planned applications, for example voice and location-based-services, for the WLAN.
Second, Cisco's patented, dynamic Radio Resource Management (RRM) technology constantly samples the radio environment for sources of 802.11 contention and non-802.11 interference. With these data, the RRM algorithms can adjust the AP radios systemwide to channel and transmit power settings that provide the best service to the network's client devices and without punishing other neighboring WLAN networks. In fact, these algorithms could make the Cisco WLAN network a better neighbor because our systems try to avoid being an interferer to other networks.
The new HPE Aruba 730 series Wi-Fi 7 access points tout high performance, enhanced security, location tracking capabilities, and more.
Verizon is demoing crowd analytics technology that uses 5G along with AI and mobile edge computing to give stadium operators insights into the flow of fans throughout a venue.
As we move closer to fully realizing the potential of Wi-Fi 7, it becomes evident that the RF, signaling, and throughput tests are not merely procedural checkpoints but the pillars of excellence in wireless communication.
