ASUS WL-566gM
Tests
We have now sorted out with the router's capabilities and now
move on to testing the performance. To this end, we'll be testing the
following hardware: a computer on the base of CPU AMD Athlon 64 3000+
(Venice) with 1 GB RAM and integrated Gigabit network controller on the
Marvell chipset, powered by Windows XP Professional SP2, a notebook PC
based on CPU Intel Pentium M 1.7 with 512 MB RAM (used for connection
of the wireline segment in the routing tests, and to test the wireless
segment with the adapter ASUS WL-106gM), also powered by Windows XP
Professional SP2. To test transmission rate, we used the NetIQ Chariot
system.
Routing rate
We could not pass by the tests of the routing speed
capabilities of this device. In these tests, we used solely the
wireline interfaces WL-566gM and connected our stationary PC to the WAN
port (on that PC we also launched the test console Chariot), and a
notebook PC to one of the LAN ports. In the end, we produced high
enough transmission rates shown on the diagram.
It is absolutely evident that this device will no be a
bottleneck in your network and will provide you with routing at the
rate of the interface.
Wireless network data rate
As usual, we divided the tests of the wireless network into
two stages. At the first stage, we measured the operation speed of the
adapters at the same distance, as well as the effect of encryption on
the transmission rate. We intentionally did not change the settings of
the equipment thus verifying the operability under default settings. To
produce a more precise result of the operation speed of the wireless
segment, we connected the wireline segment to the LAN port and avoided
the effect of the routing rate. The distance between the router and the
adapter was about two meters, there were no obstacles, therefore the
conditions for transmission can be regarded as ideal. In running the
tests, we detected no foreign wireless networks. In so doing, we
produce four average values of transmission rate (for various traffic
directions with the use of encryption taken into account). As the
encryption method, we used the most reliable of those available to the
user – WPA2-PSK (AES). Having sorted out with the test
methodology, we move on to the test results.
|
Test
|
Average rate, Mbit/s
|
Maximum rate, Mbit/s
|
Minimum rate, Mbit/s
|
|
Incoming flow, without encryption
|
64,032
|
78,432
|
38,835
|
|
Outgoing flow, without encryption
|
78,919
|
90,909
|
32,258
|
|
Incoming flow, WPA2-PSK (AES) encryption
|
63,646
|
80,000
|
33,058
|
|
Incoming flow, WPA2-PSK (AES) encryption
|
78,027
|
88,889
|
45,977
|
As you can see, the results have proved quite interesting, and
we have never come across such a high performance of wireless network
equipment before. There has come the time when the real transmission
rate available to the user over the wireless network has reached almost
100 Mbit/s.
At the second stage, we tested the performance of the wireless
network at a distance from the router. At the same time, one of the LAN
ports of the router was connected to the stationary PC, and the
wireless adapter was installed on the test notebook. Here we did not
use encryption, and all the settings of the router and clients were
left unchanged. Of course, use of encryption in fact did not affect the
rate of wireless connection, but for the purity of experiment...
Finally, we ran tests of the equipment in three locations:
- at 7 meter distance from the access point, without
obstacles;
- at 12 meter distance to the access point, with an internal
brick wall between the adapter and the access point;
- at 15 meter distance from the access point + two main brick
walls in between.
At each of the location, we measured the data transmission rate in the
direction from the client to the access point.
Here are the results of testing the bandwidth using the
adapter.
|
Test
|
Average rate, Mbit/s
|
Maximum rate, Mbit/s
|
Minimum rate, Mbit/s
|
|
Location 1
|
75,403
|
88,889
|
36,697
|
|
Location 2
|
53,121
|
75,472
|
29,412
|
|
Location 3
|
36,477
|
53,333
|
19,608
|
These tests have also shown quite good results, including
those at complex locations. And, along with average rate, the channel
stability also proved on par. Although the wireline network shows
better stability, the results for wireless network are also good enough.
Final words
The router showed superb performance of the wireless network
which has finally reached the level of Fast Ethernet. We can state that
the rate of the wireless connection using this equipment will be
comparable to that of a 100-Mbit wireline connection. Of course, only
on condition the channel is used exclusively and the signal is minimum.
In other words, the router has proved that the MIMO mode is
not just a new abbreviation which is aimed at attracting the buyers,
but a technology that allows increasing the real data transmission rate
noticeable to the user. Certainly, the available rate has not reached
240 Mbit/s, which is no wonder, but let's recall the 802.11b and
802.11g standards. That time, the rate did not reach neither 11 nor 54
Mbit/s, respectively.
As regards the functionality, the router also proved quite
good as well. There are all the features required for the common user,
and some settings will also be handy for professionals.
Somehow or other, we have got a router which allows operating
both in the wireline and wireless networks, without taking care of
which connection type to use – the rate will be almost the
same. At the same time, use of encryption of the wireless traffic does
not at all degrade the operation speed of the network.
In view of the above, we award the router ASUS WL-566gM with
our supreme reward – «the Editor's
Choice».
 |
Top Stories: |
 |
 |
|
MoBo:
| |
|
|
VGA Card:
|
|
|
|
CPU & Memory:
|
|
