Networks

Wireless Roaming Wi-Fi 802.11r Standard Beats 11n to Completion

The 802.11n standard for Wi-Fi may still be technically a draft specification, but the IEEE has now completed the 802.11r specs, making a new standard for Wi-Fi roaming. Why should you care about this? It’s designed for those moments when a Wi-Fi-connected device moves between hotspots, something the original 802.11 specs didn’t have in mind. Typically a transition between spots involves a drop and re-associate delay of around 0.1 seconds, which is enough to drop a VoIP call: 802.11r allows re-association with the new Wi-Fi source in less than 0.05 seconds, which should keep your call connected. The specs and also cover security associations and reservation of QoS resources for roaming Wi-Fi connections and have been under development for four years. [DailyWireless]


Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)

  • Marty

    This isnt for your average home consumer, but it addresses a lot of security issues I have with wireless in general at the moment.

    If you spoof a known SSID, users will automatically connect to you if they trust the network and, in most cases (as seen with the wall of sheep) send cleartext passwords.

Post Your Comments

Got something to say? There are two ways to comment:

1. Guests

Click here to comment instantly.

2. Facebook Users

Click below to comment using your Facebook account.

We're looking for comments that are interesting, substantial or highly amusing. If your comments are excessively self-promotional, obnoxious, or even worse, boring, you will be banned from commenting. All comments are moderated.