What is WiFi & Different IEEE 802.11 Wireless Standards
Wi-Fi is the term used to denote Wireless Local Area Networks which are using IEEE802.11 wireless standards. Now the term WiFi is representing all Wireless Local Area Networks. Wireless technologies used in WiFi are IEEE 802.11a, b, g, n, and ac. In this tutorial let us check what is WiFi and the major 802.11 standards. You can also see a list of WiFi devices which supports them. At the end of the tutorial, you can see a backward compatibility checker chart. Using this chart you can take decisions related to extending your WLAN networks. With the help of the chart, you can avoid situations of buying a device which is not compatible with existing devices (standards which are not backward compatible).
IEEE 802.11 Wireless Standards Available In Industry
Not all 802.11 technologies are backward compatible because of the different frequencies supported by different standards. So if you are planning to extend your current WLAN with new devices, you must make sure the new wireless devices you are going to buy are backward compatible with existing devices. So it is important to know the technologies supported by the existing equipment. Once you have noted down the technologies that are currently implemented, you may check which all 802.11 standards are compatible with them. You can see below a list of different WiFi standards which support each other. If you see 'Yes' in that chart, it shows the technologies those in the row and column are backward compatible. On the other hand, if you see 'No', it tells the standards listed ion row and column are not backward compatible.
Frequencies Supported
Frequency mode supported is the reason for the incompatibility between these IEEE technologies.
1. 11a ---5 GHz
2. 11b ---2.4 GHz
3. 11g ---2.4 GHz
4. 11n -- Supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz
5. 11ac -- Supports 5GHz
List Of 802.11 Wireless Devices
IEEE 802.11 Wireless Standards Available In Industry
- IEEE802.11a
- IEEE802.11b
- IEEE802.11g
- IEEE802.11n
- IEEE802.11ac
Not all 802.11 technologies are backward compatible because of the different frequencies supported by different standards. So if you are planning to extend your current WLAN with new devices, you must make sure the new wireless devices you are going to buy are backward compatible with existing devices. So it is important to know the technologies supported by the existing equipment. Once you have noted down the technologies that are currently implemented, you may check which all 802.11 standards are compatible with them. You can see below a list of different WiFi standards which support each other. If you see 'Yes' in that chart, it shows the technologies those in the row and column are backward compatible. On the other hand, if you see 'No', it tells the standards listed ion row and column are not backward compatible.
| WiFi Standard | IEEE802.11a | IEEE802.11b | IEEE802.11g | IEEE802.11n | IEEE802.11ac |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11a | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| 11b | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| 11g | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| 11n | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 11ac | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Frequencies Supported
Frequency mode supported is the reason for the incompatibility between these IEEE technologies.
1. 11a ---5 GHz
2. 11b ---2.4 GHz
3. 11g ---2.4 GHz
4. 11n -- Supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz
5. 11ac -- Supports 5GHz
List Of 802.11 Wireless Devices
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