Alan Stevens

Like it or not, standards are what enable the IT industry, and networking in particular, to flourish. But it takes time to agree standards and there will always be vendors wanting to bring products to market ahead of those agreements, as is happening now with the 802.11n wireless specification.

The 802.11n standard, which will effectively double wireless bandwidth to 100Mbit/s, isn't expected to be finalised until the end of next year, but that hasn't stopped some vendors announcing interim or pre-standard products.

Of course this has happened before - there were many early releases of 802.11g products launched ahead of the final specification. No real harm resulted, and most firms easily upgraded to the official standard when it was eventually ratified.

This time round, however, there are several reasons why pre-standard solutions may not be such a good idea. One of the most significant is the massive take-up of wireless networking both in homes and businesses. As a result compatibility is now a lot more important, if not the most important consideration. Added to which you need to be sure that any new technology won't impair the performance of existing networks - your own, or those of the company on the floor above or in the building next door.

The only guarantee we have that a wireless product will work with others from different vendors is standards compliance.

That compliance also tells us that kit won't adversely affect network performance. Which is why the body that tests wireless products for standards compliance and compatibility, the Wi-Fi Alliance, is warning against pre-standard 802.11n solutions.

There are other concerns too, such as the need to upgrade early 802.11n products to the full standard. With over a year to go, the final specification could require fundamental changes beyond the scope of a mere software upgrade.

Also, it's worth pointing out that the vendor landscape has changed a lot since the days of the 802.11g pioneers. With 802.11g it was vendors with proven wireless expertise, such as Buffalo, D-Link, Proxim and others, which led the way. Those companies are mostly holding back on 802.11n, offering instead proprietary 802.11g enhancements as a stopgap measure. Indeed, the pre-802.11n charge appears to be led by the mass marketers - companies which normally only jump onto bandwagons once they're well and truly rolling.

Now I'm more than happy to recommend and buy products from these vendors once all the bugs have been shaken out. I'm not so keen when it comes to unproven leading-edge technology that may or may not conform to a standard that has yet to be ratified.

I'm not saying the products won't work. Neither am I saying that they will interfere with other networks. They'll probably be fine and may even deliver untold wealth and happiness. But without a standard there's no guarantee.

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