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Spirent TestCenter: For Wi-Fi clients, what is the maximum theoretical throughput that can be achieved?

Environment/Versions
  • Spirent TestCenter (STC)
    • Wi-Fi
    • v5.05 (and perhaps earlier releases as well)
Answer
The maximum theoretical throughput for a Wi-Fi client is determined by multiple parameters. These parameters are typically:
  • number of spatial streams
  • modulation (e.g., 1024-QAM)
  • coding (e.g, 5/6 ==> 5 out of 6 bits are data)
  • channel width (e.g., 80 MHz)
  • guard interval (e.g, 0.8 usec)
These can be tabulated in MCS (modulation and coding scheme) tables which show the throughput for each combination of these parameters and can easily be found on the Internet (e.g., try search string "802.11ax mcs index") . Each particular combination is referred to by a number called the MCS index and that number for the same combination of parameters can very depending on whether the index relates to HT (high throughput - 802.11n), VHT (very high throughput - 802.11ac), or HE (high efficiency - 802.11ax).

Having available an MCS table may not always be practical and so in STC, you can find the the maximum theoretical throughput for an associated Wi-Fi client's current MCS by refreshing the Wireless LAN -> IEEE 802.11 Client Results -> IEEE 802.11 Client Results -> Rx|Tx Phy Rate (bps) counter. 

Please note that it matters if traffic is running over the Wi-Fi connection or not. If it isn't, then the MCS index will be lower (because the AP and Wi-Fi client radios are conserving resources).

Product : WiFi,Spirent TestCenter,Wi-Fi