802.11n Performance Test Plan September 2009 Overview This document outlines a three part 802.11n infrastructure test plan encompassing the following test cases: • Throughput vs Distance – An 802.11n performance test in different physical locations measuring downstream TCP throughput • Coverage – A site survey measuring the predictability and reliability of performance measuring 802.11n downstream data rate • Capacity – A high-density, high-client performance test assessing the aggregate downstream throughput of a dual-radio 802.11n Access Point Infrastructure Requirements • • • Dual-Radio 802.11n Access Point Wireless LAN Controller Enterprise-class Gigabit Ethernet switch Throughput vs Distance Test The Throughput vs Distance test is designed to measure the speed of downstream, TCP traffic between the access point and client In simple terms, think of this as how quickly a wireless client can download data from a server on the enterprise network, such as an FTP server With wireless, clients can theoretically be anywhere within a facility, so it is important to measure throughput not just when a client is next to an access point but when other obstacles such as distance and intervening walls are introduced as well Doing so challenges the design of a vendor’s access point including optimization of the radio and antennas The throughput vs distance test consists of a single 802.11n Access Point and a single 802.11n client Downstream TCP throughput should be tested at a minimum of four different physical locations where the client is placed iteratively further from the Access Point increasing the number of obstacles and multipath An example of a throughput vs distance test floor plan is shown below The client in this case was placed at 30, 70, 120, and 150ft away from the AP Requirements • • Traffic Generation hardware and software (Chariot or VeriWave WaveAgent) o If using VeriWave, a WT-20 or WT-90 chassis with an Ethernet blade will be required o If using Chariot, a Wired PC or Laptop for traffic generation (with a Gigabit Ethernet NIC) Wireless Laptop as a client (with an Intel 4965AGN or Intel 5300AGN WLAN chipset) o Use the latest driver version from Intel (12.4 currently) Configuration • • • Configure the 5GHz radio with a 40MHz channel size (via custom channel/power assignments) o Set power level to ‘1’ (maximum power) o Ensure that 5GHz UNII-2 Extended channels are not used for the test (Ch 100-140) as most clients not support them Configure the 2.4Ghz radio for a the 20MHz channel size o Set power level to ‘1’ (maximum power) Power the access point under test using the vendor’s recommended powering option Test Steps Connect the wired PC to the network switch Setup the traffic generation software for TCP traffic, pairs, and downstream traffic (AP to Client) Configure the WLAN client to associate to the 2.4GHz radio of the AP (a 144Mbps data rate should be shown) a This is possible on Intel drivers using the “Advanced Properties” configuration dialog Measure throughput vs distance for the 2.4GHz radio a Repeat steps B and C below for distances of 30ft, 70ft and up until the connection is weak b Place the WLAN client roughly XXft from the AP and plugged into AC power c Run the TCP test i Output metric: Average TCP performance in Mbps for the 2.4GHz radio at XXft for 60 seconds Configure the WLAN client to associate to the (a 300Mbps data rate should be shown) Measure throughput vs distance for the 5GHz radio a Repeat steps B and C below for distances of 30ft, 70ft and up until the connection is weak b Run the TCP test i Output metric: Average TCP performance in Mbps for the 5GHz radio at XXft for 60 seconds c Repeat steps A and B for distances of 30ft, 45ft, 60ft, 75ft and up until the connection is unusable Coverage Test While throughput may be focused on in many competitive bakeoffs, an equally important metric to consider is coverage The objective of the AP coverage test was to measure the consistency of RF coverage by an access point and the data rate a client connected at The quality of RF coverage is especially pertinent to voice and video applications as predictable and reliable coverage are essential to providing a wire-like user experience Requirements • • • Wired PC or Laptop for traffic generation (with a Gigabit Ethernet NIC) o This will act as the Iperf server during the site survey Wireless Laptop as a client AirMagnet Survey PRO software (only the PRO version supports Iperf mode surveys) Configuration • • • Configure the 5GHz radio with a 40MHz channel size (via custom channel/power assignments) o Set power level to ‘1’ (maximum power) o Ensure that 5GHz UNII-2 Extended channels are not used for the test (Ch 100-140) as most clients not support them Configure the 2.4Ghz radio for a the 20MHz channel size o Set power level to ‘1’ (maximum power) Power the access point under test using the vendor’s recommended powering option Test Steps Connect the wired PC to the network switch Start Iperf in server mode on the wired PC a Command - ‘Iperf –s’ Configure the WLAN client’s site survey software to associate to the 2.4GHz radio of the AP (a 144Mbps data rate should be shown) Measure coverage for the 2.4GHz radio i Walk about the facility performing the site survey, following the best practices of the survey software ii Ensure that roughly 50 different data points are taken, to get an accurate representation of the coverage pattern Configure the WLAN client’s site survey software to associate to the 5Ghz radio (a 300Mbps data rate should be shown) Measure throughput vs distance for the 5GHz radio i Walk about the facility performing the site survey, following the best practices of the survey software ii Ensure that roughly 50 different data points are taken, to get an accurate representation of the coverage pattern Capacity Test The capacity test is designed to determine how well an access point handles areas of high client density Such areas include classrooms, cafes and conference rooms where large numbers of people tend to congregate and use wireless For this test, clients should be deployed in cubicle, lecture hall or other real-world environment and split between the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies Requirements • • Twenty Wireless Laptop as a clients (utilizing either Intel 4965AGN or Intel 5300AGN WLAN chipsets) o Use the latest driver version from Intel (12.4 currently) Traffic Generation hardware and software (Chariot or VeriWave WaveAgent) o If using VeriWave, a WT-20 or WT-90 chassis with an Ethernet blade will be required o If using Chariot, a Wired PC or Laptop for traffic generation (with a Gigabit Ethernet NIC) Configuration • • • Configure the 5GHz radio with a 40MHz channel size (via custom channel/power assignments) o Set power level to ‘1’ (maximum power) o Ensure that 5GHz UNII-2 Extended channels are not used for the test (Ch 100-140) as most clients not support them Configure the 2.4Ghz radio for a the 20MHz channel size o Set power level to ‘1’ (maximum power) Power the access point under test using the vendor’s recommended powering option Test Steps Connect the wired PC to the network switch Setup the traffic generation software for TCP traffic, pair per client, and downstream traffic (AP to Client) Configure 40% of the WLAN clients to associate to the 2.4GHz radio of the AP (a 144Mbps data rate should be shown) a This is possible on Intel drivers using the “Advanced Properties” configuration dialog Configure 60% of the WLAN clients to associate to the 5GHz radio of the AP (a 300Mbps data rate should be shown) a This is possible on Intel drivers using the “Advanced Properties” configuration dialog Run the downstream throughput test for 60 seconds to all twenty client simultaneously Reconfigure the traffic generation software for UDP traffic instead of TCP and re-run the throughput test ... for the test (Ch 100-140) as most clients not support them Configure the 2.4Ghz radio for a the 20MHz channel size o Set power level to ‘1’ (maximum power) Power the access point under test using... the WLAN client roughly XXft from the AP and plugged into AC power c Run the TCP test i Output metric: Average TCP performance in Mbps for the 2.4GHz radio at XXft for 60 seconds Configure the WLAN... for distances of 30ft, 70ft and up until the connection is weak b Run the TCP test i Output metric: Average TCP performance in Mbps for the 5GHz radio at XXft for 60 seconds c Repeat steps A