Wireless Performance
NOTES:
• No Link Quality or Strength readings were available
• Testing was done with a Linksys WPC54G card in AdHoc mode in a Dell Inspiron 4100 laptop running WinXP Home
Rather than lug around the WET connected to my laptop, I plugged one set to AdHoc mode into my LAN's switch and used a Linksys WPC54G card also set to AdHoc mode to do the testing. As both the table above and Chariot plot below show, performance was surprisingly poor.
Figure 5: Four-location throughput test results
(click on the image for a full-sized view)
Note that his pattern is similar, but worse than, the results I obtained when I tested the Linksys WRT54G and WPC54G (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Four Condition Throughput test - WRT54G and WPC54G
(click on the image for a full-sized view)
To test whether the WPC54G was the problem, I tried a few tests with a Belkin F5D7010 54g CardBus card and also tried forcing the Linksys card to 24, 11, and 5.5Mbps transmit rates while testing at my Condition 3 location. In each case, however, I obtained similar results, so I have to conclude that the WET's radio is the cause of the poor performance.
I also tried a few close-range (my test Condition 1) tests with 802.11b clients.
Figure 7: Condition 1 throughput - NETGEAR WAB501 and Linksys WPC11v3
(click on the image for a full-sized view)
Figure 7 shows that the Atheros-based NETGEAR WAB501 performed nicely, but that the Intersil-based Linksys WPC11v3 had some problems with maintaining a connection. I retried the Linksys card about three times, and each time experienced connection drops before my one-minute run had finished. The NETGEAR card, however, was solid as a rock, even during a 5 minute extended test.
I also did quick tests at my Condition 3 location for both cards and found they maintained the throughput you see above. I guess the WET54G's Intersil-based radio is a better performer for 11b CCK-based operation vs. 11g's OFDM.
802.11g Wireless Performance Test Results
| Test Conditions
| Firmware/Driver Versions AP f/w: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test Description | Signal Strength (%) | Transfer Rate (Mbps) | Response Time (msec) | UDP stream | |
| Throughput (kbps) | Lost data (%) | ||||
| Client to AP - Condition 1 | 0 | 21.1 [No WEP] 0 [w/ WEP] | 1 (avg) 2 (max) | 499 | 0 |
| Client to AP - Condition 2 | 0 | 21.6 | 1 (avg) 2 (max) | 335 | 7 |
| Client to AP - Condition 3 | 0 | 0.25 | 0 (avg) 0 (max) | 0 | 0 |
| Client to AP - Condition 4 | 0 | 1.4 | 495 (avg) 4807 (max) | 133 | 12 |