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We can do better than that - beamforming. Better 802.11ac routers use a phased antenna array to change their radiation pattern, steering the RF energy in the de

We can do better than that - beamforming. Better 802.11ac routers use a phased antenna array to change their radiation pattern, steering the RF energy in the desired direction. https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/80211ac-a-survival/9781449357702/ch04.html https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/80211ac-a-survival/9781...

nerdbaggy 8y ago
Doesn’t work in high density though
- shaklee3 8y ago
  It does if your multipath is good enough. Enough antennas on either or both sides help.
fulafel 8y ago
Heh, eventually the tech changes enough that the "wifi router" misnomer might become correct.
- whatshisface 8y ago
  "Wifi router" seems reasonable to me because the box in my living room that does the wifi also routes.
- zitterbewegung 8y ago
  Then someone builds a new router called a smart router and the cycle repeats itself .
- jdietrich 8y ago
  With MU-MIMO, it technically changes from a hub to a switch - MU-MIMO prevents spatial collisions, allowing the router to transmit to multiple stations simultaneously. As whatshisface alludes to, a wireless router acts as both an access point and a router.
- penagwin 8y ago
  To be fair a lot of people only have a cable box (one ethernet port) and plug everything into their wifi router, which is also the DHCP server, firewall, etc. I'd guess this is the most common setup for residences, it requires next to no technical skill other then plugging in the cables. Should definitely count as a router here no?
  - fulafel 8y ago
    Mostly they have a box that does NAT, firewalling and dhcp, but not routing. Well, it might do ipv6 routing.
  - progval 8y ago
    That's also what I do. Not that I lack the technical skills to do otherwise, but my ISP's router works remarkably well (biband 802.11ac, IPv6, no packet loss, 4 ethernet ports, ...), so it's all I need. And if I have a weird issue, that's a single device that I need to reboot (and I can even do it remotely).
    - penagwin 8y ago
      Same situation for me too. I've done a bunch of networking stuff before with pfsense and plan to again, but I just moved and wanted something working. And it works great! To be honest it's all most residences need, even if you're a technical person. Half of common home devices (xbox, printers, laptops, etc) have wifi, so for most people 4 ethernet ports is all you need(if any). It's almost 0 setup other then changing the passwords, and it works. The only reason why it wouldn't work for you is if you have many wired devices, or want to get into the networking stuff.
      - frosted-flakes 8y ago
        I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most people don't need any ethernet ports. Most people just have a phone and maybe a laptop, tablet, printer, or smart television, all of which function perfectly adequately over wireless. Even I don't bother with ethernet. There's no point; with <10 Mbps Internet speeds, too slow is too slow. The only thing plugged into the router is a second router for the detached garage/shop. Occasionally, there's need to transfer large files between two computers (games which can take multiple days to download), but temporarily stringing an ethernet cable directly between them does the trick.

nerdbaggy 8y ago

Doesn’t work in high density though

shaklee3 8y ago
It does if your multipath is good enough. Enough antennas on either or both sides help.

fulafel 8y ago

Heh, eventually the tech changes enough that the "wifi router" misnomer might become correct.

whatshisface 8y ago
"Wifi router" seems reasonable to me because the box in my living room that does the wifi also routes.
zitterbewegung 8y ago
Then someone builds a new router called a smart router and the cycle repeats itself .
jdietrich 8y ago
With MU-MIMO, it technically changes from a hub to a switch - MU-MIMO prevents spatial collisions, allowing the router to transmit to multiple stations simultaneously. As whatshisface alludes to, a wireless router acts as both an access point and a router.
penagwin 8y ago
To be fair a lot of people only have a cable box (one ethernet port) and plug everything into their wifi router, which is also the DHCP server, firewall, etc. I'd guess this is the most common setup for residences, it requires next to no technical skill other then plugging in the cables. Should definitely count as a router here no?
- fulafel 8y ago
  Mostly they have a box that does NAT, firewalling and dhcp, but not routing. Well, it might do ipv6 routing.
- progval 8y ago
  That's also what I do. Not that I lack the technical skills to do otherwise, but my ISP's router works remarkably well (biband 802.11ac, IPv6, no packet loss, 4 ethernet ports, ...), so it's all I need. And if I have a weird issue, that's a single device that I need to reboot (and I can even do it remotely).
  - penagwin 8y ago
    Same situation for me too. I've done a bunch of networking stuff before with pfsense and plan to again, but I just moved and wanted something working. And it works great! To be honest it's all most residences need, even if you're a technical person. Half of common home devices (xbox, printers, laptops, etc) have wifi, so for most people 4 ethernet ports is all you need(if any). It's almost 0 setup other then changing the passwords, and it works. The only reason why it wouldn't work for you is if you have many wired devices, or want to get into the networking stuff.
    - frosted-flakes 8y ago
      I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most people don't need any ethernet ports. Most people just have a phone and maybe a laptop, tablet, printer, or smart television, all of which function perfectly adequately over wireless. Even I don't bother with ethernet. There's no point; with <10 Mbps Internet speeds, too slow is too slow. The only thing plugged into the router is a second router for the detached garage/shop. Occasionally, there's need to transfer large files between two computers (games which can take multiple days to download), but temporarily stringing an ethernet cable directly between them does the trick.