Testing Locations<\/h4>\n
Performance tests were carried out from five different locations as indicated in the floor plan below. The WiFi icon on the bottom right marks the position of the Access Points. The dots show the locations where throughput was measured:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Best case:<\/strong>\u00a0right next to the AP;<\/li>\n
- Thin wall:\u00a0<\/strong>in the room next to the AP with only a thin wall in between;<\/li>\n
- Thick wall:<\/strong>\u00a0in the room next to the AP with a thick concrete wall in between;<\/li>\n
- Three walls:<\/strong>\u00a0a few rooms away from the AP with three thin walls in between;<\/li>\n
- Three walls plus:<\/strong>\u00a0a few rooms away from the AP with more than three thick concrete walls in between.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.plasma-cloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/floorplan-wifi6-performance-tests.png\")
Floor plan of office used for Plasma Cloud WiFi 6 performance tests.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Throughput graphs<\/h3>\n
The following graphs show the\u00a0up- and download throughput\u00a0<\/strong>from the perspective of a WiFi client connected to either the PA2200 or PAX1800 Access Point. The\u00a0orange color<\/strong>\u00a0represents the measured throughput obtained from the PA2200 (802.11ac \/ WiFi 5) Access Point, while the\u00a0blue color<\/strong>\u00a0represents the measured results using the PAX1800 (802.11ax \/ WiFi 6). The test setup was identical for both Access Points and WiFi bands. Since most users are interested in actual file transfer speeds, the Plasma Cloud team focused on exactly that. Any WiFi 6 client would be able to reproduce similar results using performance measurement tools like\u00a0https:\/\/speedtest.net<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0https:\/\/fast.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Throughput on 2.4GHz band<\/h3>\n
The following graph shows the\u00a0download throughput\u00a0<\/strong>from the perspective of a WiFi client connected to either the PA2200 or PAX1800 Access Point on the\u00a02.4GHz band<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.plasma-cloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/2.4ghz-download-throughput-1.png\")
<\/figure>\nThe test results clearly demonstrate that the PAX1800 throughput always exceeds the levels obtained with the PA2200 Access Point. The main driving factor is the upgrade of the 2.4GHz WiFi standard from 802.11n to 802.11ax (see our\u00a0previous article<\/a>\u00a0for details). This is the first major upgrade to WiFi on the 2.4GHz band since 2009. The physical properties of the 2.4GHz wave length allow WiFi signals to penetrate multiple concrete walls and still achieve decent throughput levels.<\/p>\n
The second graph depicts the\u00a0upload throughput<\/strong>\u00a0from the perspective of a WiFi client connected to either the PA2200 or PAX1800 on the\u00a02.4GHz band<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.plasma-cloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/2.4ghz-upload-throughput-1.png\")
<\/figure>\nOnce more, using the PAX1800 yields much higher throughput levels compared to the PA2200. Typically, the download performance is of greater concern for WiFi clients in most scenarios. Still, in times where video conferencing is more and more common, an upload performance boost is more than welcome.<\/p>\n
In summary: Whatever the WiFi client position, the PAX1800 delivers superior up- and download throughput compared to the PA2200 on the 2.4GHz band.<\/p>\n
Throughput on the 5GHz band<\/h3>\n
Similar to before, the graph below depicts the\u00a0download throughput<\/strong>\u00a0measured by the WiFi client when connected to either the PA2200 or PAX1800 on the\u00a05GHz band<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.plasma-cloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/5ghz-download-throughput-1.png\")
<\/figure>\nThe download throughput using the PAX1800 is a whopping 40% higher compared to the PA2200 when the WiFi client is in direct or almost direct line of sight to the Access Point. That is a significant increase considering that the PA2200, our best performing WiFi 5 model, already delivers up to 500MBit\/s throughput. With the PAX1800, you will be able to finally max out your Gigabit cable infrastructure!<\/p>\n
As 5GHz waves aren\u2019t able to penetrate obstacles such as concrete walls as well as 2.4GHz waves do, there is no significant difference between WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 on the obstructed positions. Depending on the use case, this 5GHz wave property can work in your favor as it allows for a denser 5GHz deployments.<\/p>\n
The graph below depicts the\u00a0upload throughput<\/strong>\u00a0measured by the WiFi client when connected to either the PA2200 or PAX1800 on the\u00a05GHz band<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.plasma-cloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/5ghz-upload-throughput-1.png\")
<\/figure>\nThe measured upload throughput follows the same pattern as the download throughput on the 5GHz band. The WiFi 6 model was able to deliver a significant boost in performance compared to the equivalent WiFi 5 model.<\/p>\n
Overall, the rest results show that, although the PA2200 already offers great performance, WiFi 6 is still able to bring it to the next level. The performance gain on the obstructed positions is again hampered by the ability of 5GHz waves to penetrate obstacles. The PAX1800 still has a slight edge due to the improved receive sensitivity.<\/p>\n
Test setup<\/h2>\n
Details of our throughput test setup can be found in the table below.<\/p>\n
- \n
- AP location: ceiling mounted<\/li>\n
- WiFi Client: laptop with 2\u00d72 WiFi 6\/11ax card<\/li>\n
- WiFi country code: USA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
- Thin wall:\u00a0<\/strong>in the room next to the AP with only a thin wall in between;<\/li>\n