An 802.11n upgrade could make a big difference

If you're working within a budget, the first thing to ask about any new technology is "Do I really need this?" When it comes to using the new 802.11n equipment for your home Wi-Fi network, the answer — with a few exceptions (which I'll get to shortly) — is an enthusiastic "yes."

After all, there aren't many technology upgrades that deliver more than twice the performance at little or no increase in cost. That's just what 802.11n does. And products that support the standard — which was approved in September after years of deliberation and refinement — are on the shelves now. You can expect to pay about $75 to $175 for an 802.11n router and $30 to $80 for 802.11n client adapters.

On paper, 802.11n delivers many times the performance of its predecessor, 802.11g. It has a range of about 600 feet, about twice that of the earlier technology, and it handles a maximum of 300 megabits per second of data, compared with the latter's 54 Mbps. The performance boost largely results from two new technologies. First, MIMO — multiple input, multiple output — employs several antennas to move data in and out of the router simultaneously; 802.11g supports only a single stream of data. Second, many 802.11n routers support channel bonding, which allows data to be sent over two non-overlapping channels.

Of course, the actual performance you get depends upon a number of factors. But whatever conditions you face, you can figure you'll get significantly better results than with 802.11g equipment.

So why such a price range in the 802.11n routers? The more-expensive units generally offer extras, such as dual-band transmissions, extra Ethernet ports, built-in firewall capability, Gigabit Ethernet support and USB connections for attaching external backup drives.

The rubber on the road: For my testing, I obtained a Cisco Linksys WRT400 router, a Cisco Linksys Wireless N Dual Band USB adapter for a desktop computer, and a laptop equipped with an onboard Intel 802.11n adapter.

The WRT400 has a street price of just over $100, and the WUSB600N client adapter has a street price of $60 to $80. The router offers some extras, including dual-band transmissions and firewall tools. It lacks features of more-costly units, including Gigabit Ethernet support and USB connections.

The big surprise for me was how much easier it was to set up Cisco's wireless 802.11n network than it had been to set up my 802.11g network several years ago. That isn't a function of the 802.11n standard, but how much friendlier the process of installing a home network has become. In my case, not only did the provided Network Magic software make it a snap to set up multiple clients on the network, configure security and connect clients, but additional tools allowed me to share printers and data folders among the computers on the network. While Windows can help you configure such resource sharing, I found the job much easier using Network Magic.

What's more, there are also tools to test your connection speed and determine whether detected bottlenecks are on your local network or with your Internet service provider. On the downside, if you want to keep using these tools past a very short seven-day trial period you'll have to shell out $39.99 for a license to Network Magic Pro.

I was also very pleased with the way the new equipment boosted the performance of my wireless network. My client devices maxed out at 130 Mbps when sitting right next to the 802.11n router. But that's several times the rate I was getting with my 802.11g router, which makes a big difference when you're streaming media across the network.

Installation checklist: There are a few things to consider in setting up a wireless network to maximize performance and security.

First and foremost, you'll want to make sure others can't join your network without your OK. Even though it might take a few extra steps, you should switch off your router's broadcast station identifier so that your network's presence isn't constantly announced to everyone in the neighborhood. Yes, that means you'll have to manually set up new clients that want to connect to your network.

Next, you should enable the router's encryption feature and configure it to use the more secure WPA encryption if your client adapters support it. Finally, if your router supports extra features, such as intruder blocks, enable them.

As for performance, if possible, locate your router in a position central to your clients. Also, do your best to make certain that there's nothing blocking signals. At first, for example, I found a metal chair was blocking the signal to one client. Mounting the router on a wall may help lift it above obstacles.

The bottom line: If you're setting up a wireless network for the first time, choosing 802.11n is a no-brainer. But what if you already have an 802.11g wireless network? Is it worth tossing that equipment and forking out close to $200 to upgrade to 802.11n (for a router and a single client).

Simple question: Are you currently experiencing problems with performance? If not, why spend more? But if you're encountering pauses when playing media over the wireless connection, or if you find you're often roaming out of range of your router, 802.11n could fix things right up.

If you're just browsing the Internet and moving small files across your wireless network, you may not notice much difference. But if you're moving large files and especially if you're streaming media, you'll want to consider upgrading.

Finally, if you've already purchased equipment that boasted of 802.11n (draft) compliance, you probably don't need to replace it. Virtually all such equipment can be upgraded to the final standard via a firmware update from the vendor.

Patrick Marshall writes the weekly Q&A column in Personal Technology.