Winning in Wi-Fi 6 with WaveTest 6

Introduction

Wi-Fi 6, or IEEE 802.11ax, is a standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs) that improves the conditions for Wi-Fi operation in dense environments. The standard builds on the strengths of earlier Wi-Fi standards while improving efficiency, flexibility, and scalability. These enhancements provide new and existing networks with greater speed and capacity for next-generation applications.

Wi-Fi 6 enables access points to support more clients in dense environments and provides a better experience for users of typical WLANs. It also offers a more predictable performance for advanced applications such as 4K or 8K video, high-density, high-definition collaboration applications, wireless offices, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

The Customer: Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd. (MKI)

Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd. (MKI) started in 1991. After a series of mergers, the company offers a wide range of information and communication technology (ICT) services. Its service portfolio focuses on system and network development and extends to data center and cloud services.

MKI developed its portfolio of capabilities in conjunction with clients and partners and now provides a wide range of solutions to service providers. These solutions include consulting and management services for Wi-Fi / 5G, enterprise resource planning (ERP), network solutions, server / storage, security measures, and cloud computing.

MKI created use cases for Wi-Fi based on its experience in Wi-Fi network development for schools, stadiums, and telecommunication carriers. Using state-of-the-art verification equipment in its laboratory, MKI conducts rigorous product evaluations in a noise-free environment and verifies issues when new technologies and standards emerge. MKI provides high-quality and reliable services across the network life cycle from design and deployment to operation and maintenance.

The Challenge: Evaluate a Wi-Fi 6 Access Point with MU-OFDMA

MKI wanted to be first to market with the Wi-Fi 6 standard. However, the company needed to overcome several challenges to evaluate new Wi-Fi 6 access points. For example, it needed to assess  the orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) waveform.

This required comparing multi-user and single-user mode waveforms (MU-OFDMA / SU-OFDMA). In addition, MU-OFDMA evaluation for Wi-Fi 6 access points is time-consuming because it is sensitive to the transfer mode and requires numerous test cases under various test conditions. MKI needed a test environment that would accelerate test times.

MKI wanted a test setup with the following key capabilities:

• test OFDMA waveform for multiple high-density devices concurrently

• visualize test results and analyze packet information from multiple client stations simultaneously

• evaluate MU-OFDMA waveform quickly

• clarify variances in OFDMA implementation for each access point with different

The Solution: A WaveTest 6-Based Test Environment

Keysight’s WaveTest 6 platform-based test solution for Wi-Fi 6 access point evaluation (Figures 1 and 2) can simulate large-scale and real-world Wi-Fi deployments for up to 500 client stations and 500 servers per port. The solution also performs end-to-end traffic simulation and measurement, assesses latency and throughput gains, and enables design engineers to dive deep into OFDMA packet captures.