I know this posting is different to what I normally do, but I felt compelled to write this article as I could not find anything to explain my situation and hardware combination on the internet.  In short, my wireless performance was poor, although magazine reviews stated I should be seeing far greater performance.  So after some time researching as much as possible, I have compiled this review.

I know this posting is different to what I normally do, but I felt compelled to write this article as I could not find anything to explain my situation and hardware combination on the internet.  In short, my wireless performance was poor, although magazine reviews stated I should be seeing far greater performance.  So after some time researching as much as possible, I have compiled this review.

My hardware configuration

My configuration as it pertains to this article is as follows:

The Router is connected to both the internet and the NAS, thus allowing any authenticated, remote computer to access the network storage and the internet.  Apart from my laptop, I have another test laptop which has only an 802.11g wireless adapter (Intel 3945).

What I've tested?

I have tested all the following combinations and shown typical performance achieved:

So, it appears that whatever configuration I choose, I cannot access via wireless any faster than 9Mbits/second!  Take note that my laptop is reporting that it is connected at "144Mbps" which is the typical for 802.11n - Hence, it is definitely negotiating at the right speeds.

My environment

It should be noted that there are about 8 other wireless networks visible in my area, so this should account for some performance hit, but not a factor of 15x!  I tested at various times of the day to determine if that would have an impact, but it did not.  Furthermore, I get these EXACT same results, when use the 802.11g laptop to access the same NAS.

Incompatibilities & Conclusion

The above testing led me to believe that although my laptop and router would "think" they're talking 802.11n-speak, they are in fact only communicating over 802.11g channels, so I did some further research.

Most testing and reviews on the web test devices from the same manufacturer or at least with the same chipset.  That is, Broadcom with Broadcom or Atheros with Atheros.  I wanted to learn more about the chipsets in my devices to see if there were known incompatibilities.  After digging around, it appears that my Buffalo router (WZR2-G300N) uses the "RALINK" chipset for Wireless-N, whereas the wireless card in my laptop (Intel 4965) uses the "BROADCOM" chipset.

As such, I'm forced to believe that the RALINK chipset and the BROADCOM chipset are actually a poor combination for 802.11n performance.  They will communicate together but only at 802.11g speeds.

I'd be keen to see what other people have found.

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