Upgrading WiFi Does Not Guarantee High Throughput

 
After upgrading a Wi-Fi network to new technologies that boast speeds in excess of 1Gpbs, network engineers are often frustrated to find that the performance of network applications and services still lags. After all, if the data rate promises 10x the speed, shouldn’t we see a similar improvement in end user experience? Well, not necessarily. By now, many of us have experienced that especially in the Wi-Fi space, 1Gbps does not really mean 1Gbps. There are many variables that go into delivering data over radio waves, and as network engineers we are tasked with the best performance possible.

Application Comparison/Baselining

When users complain that an application feels "slow," the first question should be: compared to what? That's where application baselining comes into play. Baselining is simply the process of capturing how an application behaves when everything is working properly. Think of it as taking a performance snapshot before things go sideways. Without a baseline, troubleshooting becomes a lot like trying to diagnose a car problem without ever knowing how the engine sounded when it was healthy.

Top 5 Causes of Wi-Fi Roaming Problems (And How to Fix Them)

You are standing in one area of the building, wirelessly connected, and application performance works great. But as you walk to another area, you notice your radio icon loses a signal strength line or two and things start to lag, or even drop completely.

Multitasking Is a Myth: Why Your Brain Can Only Focus on One Thing at a Time (Paul Smith)

 

Multi-Tasking is a fantasy. There are plenty of high-energy people out there who say they can Multi-Task, and many a job-seeker has laid claim to this skill in an interview. The truth is, they are lying. Humans can only do one thing at a time.

Anatomy of a Connection

When I analyze a trace file with a client, I always look for the beginning of the TCP connection or application.

The reason is quite simple, there are many items that you can only see at the beginning of the capture. Sure you can make assumptions if you don’t have the beginning captured, but life is so much easier if you had it.