Beamforming Using All the Tools You Can

User demands on Wi-Fi networks continue to rise quickly across every segment of the industry, and as a direct result, great radio performance matters more than ever. Achieving that high performance is no small challenge in the face of high AP density, high client counts, and interference — requiring the use of every technology tool available to better control and improve radio behavior in the environment. The latest generation of Wi-Fi chipsets are bringing a potentially useful new addition to the toolkit: transmit beamforming with explicit feedback (commonly referred to as “TxBF”). TxBF can offer gains under the right circumstances, but it has some inherent limitations that mean it cannot solve the performance challenge all by itself, despite some vigorous vendor marketing claims to the contrary.

Used in combination with adaptive antennas, though, TxBF can become an essential tool in a comprehensive approach to achieving maximum radio performance in today’s challenging environments. This paper provides a thorough introduction to these smart antenna technologies, how they can be used together, and the results their combination makes possible in real-world WLAN networks This paper provides a thorough introduction to these smart antenna technologies, how they can be used together, and the results their combination makes possible in real-world WLAN networks.