Wireless Data Acquisition: Range versus Throughput

NI Wi-Fi data acquisition (DAQ) devices use IEEE 802.11b/g to stream continuous waveform data over a wireless network. The same NI-DAQmx driver software used to program hundreds of other NI PCI, PXI, USB, and Ethernet devices abstracts this wireless data transfer from the user, so incorporating an NI WiFi DAQ device into a new or existing application is easy. Unlike a cabled or plug-in architecture, however, IEEE 802.11 does not have a dedicated physical medium by which to transmit data. Rather, it transmits RF signals through the same space as every other wireless device, including laptops, smart phones, and cordless phones. Understanding how this affects the transmission range and throughput performance of a wireless data acquisition device is important when designing your application.

IEEE 802.11 as a Bus for Wireless Data Acquisition

IEEE 802.11 is an ideal choice for a wireless data acquisition bus for several reasons. First, IEEE 802.11 (or Wi-Fi) is easy to use and has withstood the test of time. The technology has been used in the IT sector for more than 10 years, enabling enterprise and home networks alike. The concept of a Wi-Fi hot spot is as familiar to most as plugging in a USB cable. Wi-Fi is also secure. NI Wi-Fi DAQ hardware uses the IEEE 802.11i security standard, the highest commercially available wireless security protocol to date. IEEE 802.11i uses 128-bit AES encryption, which is endorsed by NIST and the U.S. government. It also implements IEEE 802.1X, which is used for network authentication in almost all corporate IT environments. Finally, IEEE 802.11 provides more bandwidth for streaming dynamic waveform signals than other wireless technologies, such as ZigBee or Bluetooth. Because of its long history, the IEEE 802.11 standard is available in several varieties. Most of these are differentiated by their bandwidths and ranges. NI Wi-Fi DAQ supports IEEE 802.11b and IEEE 802.11g standards.

National Instruments. All rights reserved. LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, ni.com, the National Instruments corporate logo, and the Eagle logo are trademarks of National Instruments. See ni.com/trademarks for other NI trademarks. Other product and company names are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. For patents covering National Instruments products, refer to the appropriate location: Help>>patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your CD, or ni.com/patents.

Page 1 of 6

Version

Released

Frequency

Theoretical PHY Rate 2 Mbps 11 Mbps 54 Mbps 54 Mbps ~540 Mb/s

Practical Rate

802.11 802.11b 802.11a 802.11g 802.11n

1997 1999 1999 2003 Unratified

2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz 5 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz

1 Mbps 14.4 Mbps 24.4 Mbps 24.4 Mbps ~100 Mbps

Table 1. IEEE 802.11 standards vary in frequency spectrum and throughput. Most off-the-shelf wireless routers and access points specify the maximum theoretical rate of IEEE 802.11, such as 54 Mbps for 802.11g. The reality is, however, much different. A practical, real-world implementation of IEEE 802.11g yields a maximum throughput of around 24 Mbps. The amount of bandwidth available ultimately impacts the number of channels and the acquisition rate at which you can acquire data with your data acquisition device. For example, the NI WLS-9234 is capable of streaming 24-bit data up to 51.2 kS/s on each of its four channels simultaneously: 4 51.2 32 = 6.55

Therefore, each WLS-9234 may require up to a maximum bandwidth of 6.55 Mbps. In an ideal RF environment, three WLS-9234 devices streaming at the full rate on all channels occupy approximately 20 Mbps, maxing out the available bandwidth. The question then becomes what makes an RF environment ideal or nonideal?

Factors that Affect Performance

Several factors can degrade the theoretical performance of a Wi-Fi network and potentially affect a wireless data acquisition application. First, it is important to note that 2.4 GHz is an unlicensed frequency band. This means you do not have to pay a licensing fee to a government agency (the FCC) to use it. What this also means, however, is that your Wi-Fi data acquisition device is potentially competing with other devices, such as cordless phones, Bluetooth devices, existing Wi-Fi hot spots, and even microwaves, that use the same frequency. Identifying and eliminating these sources of RF interference is the first (and easiest) step in improving your wireless network performance. Something else to consider is that Wi-Fi is essentially a low-power radio. And radio wave power attenuates proportional to 1 over the radius squared as the waves propagate spherically in free space. In

Page 2 of 6

other words, the farther away a wireless data acquisition device is, the weaker the signal and the slower the maximum sustainable sampling rate. An equally important phenomenon that impacts performance that may not be as intuitive is scattering and multipath reflections. Wirelessly transmitted data bounces off walls, doors, buildings, and other objects, reaching a receiving antenna multiple times via different routes and at slightly different times. These multiple paths and reflections can distort the original signal, making it more difficult to decipher a degrading Wi-Fi performance. A sometimes unexpected result of this is that a wireless device may actually perform worse at a location closer to the transmitter than farther away.

Figure 1. Scattering and multipath reflections can have a significant impact on the performance of a wireless network. You can work around these sources of interference to optimize your wireless data acquisition application along one of two vectors: throughput or range. The maximum throughput of a wireless link affects how fast you can sample and how many devices you can have connected to the same wireless access point. For some applications, such as those with a high-channel count, optimizing for throughput is the primary concern. However, other wireless data acquisition applications need to take measurements over a long distance or wide area.

Figure 2. Most wireless data acquisition applications require either high throughput or long transmission ranges. Page 3 of 6

Throughput and range are not mutually exclusive one impacts the other. You can choose to optimize your Wi-Fi data acquisition application for the best throughput by sacrificing range or vice versa. Or you can strike a balance between the two, depending on your application needs.

Maximizing Throughput
The easiest and best means of increasing throughput for a weak Wi-Fi connection is to change the channel on which you transmit and receive data. IEEE 802.11 defines several different channels on which a wireless device can broadcast. When one channel is overloaded with data, another channel may be completely clear. IEEE 802.11 channels for wireless networks are defined by the wireless router or access point and are usually configured through a Web-based utility.

Figure 3. The IEEE 802.11 standard defines several overlapping channels to accommodate multiple data streams within the same physical area. Depending on the region where you deploy your application, you may be able to use up to 14 channels. The first 11 are available in the U.S. only; in Europe and Asia, up to 13 or 14 are available. Note from Figure 3 that each channel is a band of frequencies in the 2.4 GHz range, and that many channels overlap with each other. In the U.S., channels one, six, and 11 are nonoverlapping; for this reason, most wireless router and access points broadcast on one of these three channels. In Europe, channels one, five, nine, and 13 are nonoverlapping due to different government regulations. For a wireless data acquisition application, you need to choose a channel that does not have a lot of traffic or interference so that your data acquisition device has the maximum bandwidth available for your data. Channel six is the default channel for most routers on the market and, therefore, the most crowded. The easiest way of determining which channels are open is by using an RSSI (received signal strength indication) scanner or monitor. Many wireless network interface card (NIC) configuration utilities have a built-in function for this purpose. Figure 4 shows an example of such a tool.

Page 4 of 6

Figure 4. An RSSI monitoring utility can help you select a clear IEEE 802.11 channel. In this example, channels two and six show access points or routers with very strong signals. While this may not always be an indication of high network traffic, there is usually a correlation. Selecting a higherfrequency channel such as nine or 11 is a good choice for a wireless data acquisition application in this environment. The channel for most wireless access points and routers is typically configured through a Web-based interface.

Maximizing Range
When your wireless data acquisition application requires a longer transmission range, you have two options: high-gain antennas and/or wireless repeaters. Generally speaking, there are two types of antennas: omnidirectional and unidirectional. An omnidirectional antenna broadcasts energy equally in all directions within a 2D plan perpendicular to the antenna. Most IEEE 802.11 devices, including NI WiFi DAQ devices, use an omnidirectional antenna because it provides the broadest area of coverage. A unidirectional antenna, on the other hand, focuses its energy in one direction with higher gain and wider vertical coverage. Unidirectional antennas are best for long distance transmissions. When you are selecting a high-gain antenna for your wireless router or access point, you need to consider the government regulations that specify which actions are legal and which are not. In the U.S., the FCC enforces these regulations. Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 15, states: The marketing or use of a system configuration that employs an antenna of a different type, or that operates at a higher gain, than the antenna authorized with the intentional radiator is not permitted ... The NI WLS-9163 Wi-Fi DAQ carrier is certified for use with a 2 dBi omnidirectional antenna. That means you can use any omnidirectional antenna that has a gain of 2 dBi or less. Therefore, to increase your range, you must use a wireless access point or router that is certified for use with a higher gain or directional antenna. Most wireless router manufacturers offer high-gain antennas as accessories. Page 5 of 6

Another option for increasing the effective range of a Wi-Fi data acquisition device is a Wireless Distribution System (WDS). This concept relies on the use of signal repeaters. Wireless repeaters extend wireless network range by rebroadcasting every packet of data it receives. A wireless repeater placed halfway between a wireless access point and a Wi-Fi data acquisition device boosts the wireless signal strength. In effect, WDS doubles the range of an IEEE 802.11 network.

Figure 5. Many wireless access points can serve as repeaters to extend the range of a wireless network. The NI WAP-3711 and WAP-3701 can both function as repeaters with as many as six devices repeating signals to each other. WDS is attractive because it is cost-effective (it just requires another access point), it is flexible (you can extend your network without any additional cabling), and it can provide for roaming coverage for mobile applications. The trade-off is that for each additional repeater you incorporate into the network, you cut your available bandwidth in half because you are broadcasting every packet twice. For long-distance applications with low sampling rates, however, this is an acceptable solution.

Summary
IEEE 802.11 is an ideal bus for wireless data acquisition because it is universally accepted and secure, and it provides high bandwidth. Because IEEE 802.11 uses RF to transmit data, a Wi-Fi data acquisition device shares its physical medium with every other wireless transmitter. Understanding how to work within an RF environment to maximize throughput and range for your wireless data acquisition application is important. Applications with high data rates or high-channel counts need to optimize for throughput, while long-distance applications need to focus on range. To optimize for throughput, find an open IEEE 802.11 channel on which to broadcast your data. To optimize for range, try WDS or a highgain antenna certified for use on your wireless access point or router.

Additional Resources
Learn More about Wireless Data Acquisition Explore NI Wi-Fi DAQ Streaming Technology

Page 6 of 6