Will Your 802.11n Products Have Next-Generation Performance?

Comprehensive testing of 802.11n products will include specification conformance, basic functionality, interoperability, and performance characterization. Most of the conformance, functionality, and interoperability testing can be done without an impaired channel on the type of scalable system platform testers that exist today. Because of the complexities of MIMO environments, however, performance characterization requires the use of a channel emulator to simulate real-world channel impairments.

Channel emulation is critical to ensuring repeatable testing of MIMO technology because it submits RF signals to real-world multipath conditions. An effective channelemulation device can accurately create multipath behavior and measure its effect on system performance.

Vendors and design engineers looking to perform comprehensive tests on their next-generation products will need both a scalable system platform without multipath capability and a channel emulator that emulates multipath. These tools and a comprehensive test plan will enable the delivery of high-performance, interoperable MIMO products in the shortest possible timeframe.