Comparison of Theoretical and Practical Performances with 802.11n and 802.11ac Wireless Networking

This work explores the theoretical and practical performances of the two most recent IEEE standards, 802.11n and 802.11ac. Experiments were conducted to measure data rates to characterize performance effects of distance and interference between different channels. We conclude that the majority of test cases show 802.11ac achieved higher data rates than its predecessor, as expected. However, performance of 802.11ac decreased at a significantly faster rate with increasing distance from client to AP when compared to the decreasing performance experienced with 802.11n. Furthermore, 802.11n consistently achieved real data rates much closer to the theoretical data rate than did 802.11ac.