Wireless Performance
NOTES:
• SNR readings were done with NetStumbler
• Testing was done with an ORiNOCO Gold Card in a Dell Inspiron 4100 laptop running WinXP Home
I ran my tests with the WET11 and ORiNOCO Gold card each in AdHoc mode... the first time I've done a test in AdHoc mode. The maximum throughput of around 4.7Mbps is similar to what I see when testing throughput using an Access Point instead of the WET11.
I was more impressed with the longer distance Condition 3 and 4 tests, however, which yielded a reliable throughput around 4Mbps... a very respectable showing. I double checked the results with a 30 Second Chariot run, which confirmed the 4.1Mbps average number but also showed a cyclical variation between 2.7 and 5.0Mbps as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Chariot throughput plot
(click on the image for a full-sized view)
The mixed news on WEP is that enabling it extracted about a throughput penalty, although it was a relatively low 10%, vs. the 30+% I've seen with other products.
In all, I'd say the WET11 has pretty decent radio performance!
802.11b Wireless Performance Test Results
| Test Conditions
| Firmware/Driver Versions AP f/w: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test Description | SNR (dB) | Transfer Rate (Mbps) | Response Time (msec) | UDP stream | |
| Throughput (kbps) | Lost data (%) | ||||
| Client to AP - Condition 1 | 67 | 4.7 [No WEP] 4.2 [w/ WEP] | 3 (avg) 4 (max) | 392 | 0 |
| Client to AP - Condition 2 | 40 | 4 [No WEP] [w/ WEP] | 3 (avg) 4 (max) | 391 | 0 |
| Client to AP - Condition 3 | 25 | 4.1 [No WEP] [w/ WEP] | 3 (avg) 6 (max) | 391 | 0 |
| Client to AP - Condition 4 | 24 | 4.1 [No WEP] [w/ WEP] | 3 (avg) 5 (max) | 391 | 0 |