wifi5 ============ .. toctree:: :maxdepth: 1 :hidden: :includehidden: wifi5/802_11ac wifi5/802_11ae wifi5/802_11aq wifi5/802_11ak Wi-Fi protocols define wireless communication standards that govern speed, frequency, and range for devices on a wireless local area network (WLAN). .. list-table:: :widths: 20 60 20 :header-rows: 1 * - Protocol - Description - Use Case * - 802.11ac - Provides high-throughput WLANs in 5 GHz band with MU-MIMO and wider channels up to 1.3 Gbps. *Ideal for high-density environments with bandwidth-heavy applications.* - High-speed video streaming, dense Wi-Fi deployments * - 802.11ae - Prioritizes management frames with QoS enhancements for reliable control traffic delivery. *Enhances performance in dense networks with real-time apps.* - QoS for management frames, real-time apps, dense networks * - 802.11aq - Enhances discovery and querying of available services over Wi-Fi networks. *Improves user experience for service browsing and network selection.* - Service discovery, network information querying * - 802.11ak - Defines enhancements for bridging and management of Ethernet-based WLAN backhaul networks. *Improves support for enterprise and carrier-grade Wi-Fi deployments with seamless integration of WLAN and wired backhaul.* - Supports high-capacity WLAN backhaul, improved QoS, and advanced network management .. tab-set:: .. tab-item:: 802.11ac (High Throughput 5 GHz) **IEEE Standard:** IEEE 802.11ac-2013 **Main Features:** - Operates in 5 GHz band with channel widths up to 160 MHz - Uses MU-MIMO and beamforming for improved throughput and efficiency - Supports data rates up to several Gbps depending on configuration - Backward compatible with 802.11a/n devices on 5 GHz band - Widely adopted in consumer routers and enterprise APs **Use Cases:** - High-definition video streaming and online gaming - Dense Wi-Fi environments like offices and stadiums - Multi-user high-throughput scenarios **Alternative or Related Protocols:** - 802.11n – Previous generation with lower max throughput - 802.11ax – Next generation with OFDMA and better efficiency - 802.11ad – 60 GHz ultra-high-speed short range .. panels:: :container: container pb-4 :column: col-lg-12 p-2 :card: What You Will Learn in This Section **Let us learn more about 802.11ac:** .. button-link:: ./wifi5/802_11ac.html :color: primary :shadow: :expand: Jump to "802.11ac" .. tab-set:: .. tab-item:: 802.11ae (QoS Management Frames) **IEEE Standard:** IEEE 802.11ae-2012 **Main Features:** - Amendment to IEEE 802.11 for prioritizing management frames - Enhances Quality of Service (QoS) specifically for control and management traffic - Allows for differentiated handling of critical management frames (e.g., association, authentication) - Reduces contention and delays in dense network environments - Supports better performance in real-time applications - Integrates with existing Wi-Fi QoS mechanisms like WMM (Wi-Fi Multimedia) **Use Cases:** - Real-time applications requiring timely management frame delivery (e.g., VoIP, video conferencing) - Dense environments with many clients competing for airtime - Improved roaming performance with prioritized reassociation frames - Enterprise Wi-Fi networks with mission-critical wireless infrastructure **Alternative or Related Protocols:** - 802.11e – Adds general QoS support for data frames - 802.11k – For radio resource management and efficient roaming - 802.11r – Fast BSS transition for seamless roaming - WMM – Wi-Fi Multimedia, a QoS system based on 802.11e - 802.11ax – Includes improved QoS scheduling with OFDMA .. panels:: :container: container pb-4 :column: col-lg-12 p-2 :card: What You Will Learn in This Section **Let us learn more about 802.11ae:** .. button-link:: ./wifi5/802.11ae.html :color: primary :shadow: :expand: Jump to "802.11ae" .. tab-set:: .. tab-item:: 802.11aq (Pre-Association Service Discovery) **IEEE Standard:** IEEE 802.11aq-2018 **Main Features:** - Enhances Wi-Fi with pre-association service discovery capabilities - Allows devices to query networks about available services before association - Improves user experience by enabling better network selection - Supports advertisements of network capabilities and services **Use Cases:** - Public hotspots and enterprise networks offering differentiated services - Seamless connectivity and service discovery in heterogeneous networks - IoT environments requiring service awareness before connection **Alternative or Related Protocols:** - 802.11u – Network discovery and interworking - Hotspot 2.0 – Seamless roaming and service discovery - mDNS/DNS-SD – Service discovery protocols .. panels:: :container: container pb-4 :column: col-lg-12 p-2 :card: What You Will Learn in This Section **Let us learn more about 802.11aq:** .. button-link:: ./wifi5/802_11aq.html :color: primary :shadow: :expand: Jump to "802.11aq" .. tab-set:: .. tab-item:: 802.11ak (Bridging Enhancements and Backhaul Support) **IEEE Standard:** IEEE 802.11ak-2017 **Main Features:** - Defines enhancements for bridging and managing Ethernet-based WLAN backhaul networks - Supports seamless integration of WLAN with wired Ethernet backhaul - Improves Quality of Service (QoS) and network management for enterprise and carrier-grade deployments - Enables efficient handling of high-capacity WLAN backhaul traffic **Use Cases:** - Enterprise and carrier Wi-Fi deployments requiring robust wired backhaul integration - High-capacity WLAN backhaul networks in large venues or campus environments - Advanced QoS and management for seamless WLAN operations **Alternative or Related Protocols:** - 802.11az – Next generation positioning enhancements - 802.1Q – VLAN tagging for network traffic segmentation - 802.11r – Fast BSS transition for seamless roaming .. panels:: :container: container pb-4 :column: col-lg-12 p-2 :card: What You Will Learn in This Section **Let us learn more about 802.11ak:** .. button-link:: ./wifi5/802_11ak.html :color: primary :shadow: :expand: Jump to "802.11ak"