Enterprise IoT Insights – How 802.11ax is driving the 100-gigabit campus (Reader Forum)

The proliferation of connected devices is placing unprecedented demands on campus networks. With over 30 billion connected “things” expected by 2020, ensuring quality of experience for users in ultra-high-density locations is becoming more challenging than ever. Indeed, applications such as 4K video streaming are expected to drive internet traffic to 278,108 petabytes per month by 2021, with users generating a staggering 163 zettabytes of data on an annual basis by 2025.

IEEE 802.11ax – which is specifically designed for high-density connectivity – features multiple enhancements that allow access points (APs) to handle increased Wi-Fi bandwidth and ensure high quality of service. More specifically, 802.11ax supports the goal to achieve up to a four-fold capacity increase over its 802.11ac Wave 2 predecessor in dense scenarios. 802.11ax, which is slated to roll out this year in Wi-Fi and consumer devices, will undoubtedly go a long way in helping campuses address the exponential increase of both connected devices and data.

The installation of 802.11ax APs will prompt campuses to embark on a comprehensive infrastructure refresh. More specifically, the transition to multi-gigabit in the radio spectrum will require the link between the AP and switch to move from 1GbE to multi-gigabit (IEEE 802.3bz) to support the peak bandwidth of approximately 5 gigabits per second on 802.11ax. The increasing bandwidth on the switch downlink from 1GbE to 2.5Gbe/5Gbe/10Gbe (multigigabit) will drive corresponding increases in uplinks from 10GbE to either multiple 10GbE connections or 40GbE or even 100GbE at the aggregation and core of the network. Read more here.