The universality of Wi-Fi and the fact that it can complement other wireless technologies brings the promise of connecting everyone and everything. Enterprises and customers are dependent on Wi-Fi, and it now has to cater to densely populated conditions. Each generation of the Wi-Fi standard evolves fast including features that support new requirements.
Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, promises 4x performance gain in dense environments and ensures latency improvement using OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access) and multi-user MIMO technologies. It enables access points (APs) to support more clients in dense environments.
Wi-Fi 6E- an advancement over Wi-Fi 6, takes Wi-Fi into a new realm that enjoys the benefit of a much larger 6GHz spectrum capacity. The expanded capacity also means a bigger role for Wi-Fi testing to play. Wi-Fi testing is now an integral and critical part of the quality assurance process for device vendors and service providers. For example, internet service providers depend on delivering robust Wi-Fi service to remain profitable.
Testing the Wi-Fi network before rolling it out to customers will improve the customer experience and help with customer retention. Both are important to the service provider’s brand. Another reason for pre-deployment testing is a lack of vendor-initiated testing for specific scenarios.
Here are a few more reasons why service providers must test their Wi-Fi networks before launching them to customers:
• validate design and new features
• test functional performance
• determine if the network can address the planned density
• lower support costs and reduce truck rolls
So, what is the best approach to testing Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E-enabled APs?
On one hand, there are traditional test methods using real clients or commercial chipset-based test tools. On the other, you can have a carefully designed pre-deployment testing framework. A purpose-built, scalable, multi-user test system has many benefits.
We take an objective peek into some of the differences between traditional testing methods and pre-deployment testing with a purpose-built solution:
In conclusion, in-lab pre-deployment testing of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E services under real-world loading conditions is key for service providers to realize the full potential of the new technology and new band. As the topic of testing becomes more important in the industry, Keysight’s new eBook adds to the dialogue with helpful insights into the why and how of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E testing.