Why New Wireless Access Points are So Much Better at Handling More Users
All technology advances over time, and wireless access points are no exception. While wireless access points can easily last 5-10 years, they are one of those pieces of your network that is often placed and forgotten until you have issues. However, there are reasons for why you should upgrade to a newer wireless access point.
This post discusses why new wireless access points are so much better at handling more users.
Why New Wireless Access Points are So Much Better at Handling More Users
The most obvious answer is that you get more bandwidth/throughput out of newer access points, but there is more to this than simply comparing these numbers. It is important to understand some of the 'how' behind the numbers.
To understand why newer wireless access points are far better at handling larger numbers of users connected to them, you need to understand a few things. First, wireless access points can broadcast on two different broadcast frequencies:
- 2.4GHz - provides a more stable connection because it is better at traveling through objects.
- 5GHz - provides higher data transfer speeds.
Wireless access points have radios in them and these radios are what broadcast on the frequencies listed above. Each radio broadcasts on only one frequency at a time. The first reason newer access points can better handle more users is because they have multiple radios in a singular device. This allows each access point to broadcast on multiple frequencies from within a single access point.
Additionally, the radios in wireless access points can broadcast on multiple channels. Think of frequencies like a freeway and channels like the number of lanes. So if you're going a certain direction on a freeway (the frequency), there are only so many lanes available (the channels) and the more traffic there is, the greater the chance of a collision. More radios within a single wireless access point means there are more freeways to utilize and this leads to higher overall throughput for the end users.
The second reason why some newer access points can better handle more users is because they have a security radio that scans and optimizes channel selection based on all the traffic it detects as well as looking for rogue units. If any rogue units are found, the wireless access point can send out security alerts and block access to the rogue unit.
When wireless access points broadcast on several different channels, they are capable of handling more traffic without causing collisions. However, channel management is an important factor and this is where new access points excel. Channel selection can change based on what channels other neighboring access points are broadcasting on. If other access points that are not yours are broadcasting on the same channel, it makes sense to switch yours. Older access points handle channel switching passively, and those that could scan for better channels often disconnected all users while doing so, which causes network interruptions for users. In other words, newer access points are better able to detect less utilized channels and redistribute traffic without users even noticing.
In general, newer access points have more radios that can broadcast on multiple frequencies from within the same device. All access points can broadcast on multiple channels, but newer access points do so without interruption and are more proactive at redistributing traffic across channels based on nearby wireless access points and other outside interference.
As always, knowing why to get newer equipment can make all the difference in determining if the purchase is worth it!