"zeebop" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> So it sounds like PC to PC transfer across wireless is approx half
> what you can do on a wired network?
Well, like Sam was getting at, it depends on which standard of wireless is
in use.
Found this:-
http://wireless.about.com/cs/wireles...elessspeed.htm
"The performance of Wi-Fi networks in practice never approaches the
theoretical maximum. 802.11b networks, for example, generally operate no
faster than about 50% of theoretical peak, or 5.5 Mbps. Likewise, 802.11a
and 802.11g networks generally run no faster than 20 Mbps. The disparity
between theoretical and practical performance comes from protocol overhead,
signal interference, and decreasing signal distance with distance. In
addition, the more devices communicating on a WLAN simultaneously, the
slower the network will appear."
I've got a friend with a Netgear wireless setup, think it's 802.11g+
(officially, it's 54Mbps, but, it uses channel bonding to get 108Mbps).
108Mbps sounds faster than the 100Mbps you would get from wired fast
ethernet. But, as the article from about.com (above) points out, this would
not be the case.
Mainly, it all depends on the network equipment in use.
Wireless is a *broadcast* form of communications.
If we take an example of 8 PCs on a wireless 54Mbps network, 4 of which are
simultaneously sending massive amounts of data to the other 4, then the
network will easily become flooded, because the entire network (in this
instance) only has 54Mbps to service all 8 clients.
The same example on a switched, wired network, and each pair of PCs (1
sending, 1 receiving) has 100Mbps of it's own, with no impact to the other 3
pairs of conversations. In this instance, the network is acheiving 400Mbps
(broken down into 4 seperate 100Mbps).
Of course, this is just a lay-mans example, there are many other points to
consider.
In reality, you would be unlikely to network 8 network-heavy PCs via
wireless, and transfer such large files concurrently.
Likewise, home users may connect their PCs via hubs, and not via full-duplex
switches.
Difference between hubs and switches:-
http://wireless.about.com/library/tips/blfaq011.htm
If you take the about.com example of 802.11g getting around 20Mbps - then
this should more than suffice for the average, small home network. Even for
streaming high quality video/audio.
Some wireless devices (and I'm thinking of the wireless modem/routers in
particular here) have built-in 10/100 hub/switches. So, I guess the thing to
do if you are thinking of going down the wireless route, and you want to
optimise your network for speed, is to only go wireless for the devices that
you *have* to have wireless. (Sounds a little obvious!)
So, if you can hard-wire your PCs into the hub/switch, then do it.
If your PS2/XBox are too far away, then let them go wireless.
HTH
Baz
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