Best Practices

Today there are two primary 802.11 standards used in the enterprise:

• 802.11b/g operating in the 2.4GHz radio spectrum
• 802.11a operating in the 5GHz radio spectrum

Consider the following when deciding on deploying 5GHz, 2.4GHz, or both:

	5GHz	2.4GHz	Advantage Defined
Bandwidth	54/300Mbps	54/300Mbps	Both choices support up to 54Mbps of bandwidth with legacy protocols and up to 300Mbps when 802.11n.
Channels	24	3	Restrictions in the 2.4GHz band limit the number of simultaneously channels to 3, while the 5GHz band offers up to 24.
Capacity	3.6Gbps	450Mbps	The 24 channels available with 5GHz far exceed the capacity of 2.4GHz. 802.11a = 1.3Gbps / 802.11n = 3.6 Gbps (5GHz) 802.11g = 162Mbps / 802.11n = 450Mbps (2.4GHz)
Interference	Low	High	Wi-Fi in 2.4GHz competes with microwaves, Bluetooth, wireless phones, etc. resulting interference. The 5GHz band is considerably cleaner.
Channel Planning	Flexible	Restricted	With 8 times the number of channels to chose from in the 5GHz band, planning is far simpler than the 2.4GHz band.
Triple Play Support	Optimal	Limited	Only 5GHz supports the bandwidth, capacity, and throughput required for enterprise quality voice, video, and data applications.
802.11n	Optimal	Limited	Although 802.11n supports both bands, the available channels, bandwidth, and client capacity makes the 5GHz band the obvious choice.
Range	Good	Better	Even though the 2.4GHz band has greater range than 5GHz, products incorporating higher gain antennas eliminate any differences.