why I am no longer interested in 802.11n Home WLAN networks

Recently i installed a file server (NAS) at my home. This was FreeNAS 9.1.1 based. And immediately I ran into a performance issue with a test network. The test network is 802.11n Wifi spun by a Linksys WRT 320N router. Its not MIMO and runs at around 150 Mbps (theoretically max.)

To my shock the data transfer speeds to my FreeNAS server (which is amply powered in CPU and RAM) was just 6 MB/s write. I checked up that the client desktop was hardly loaded while doing transfer and the server was hardly using 1% CPU. The suspicion went to the network and I checked that my WiFI link on client machine (the file server was wired with a 100 Mbps cable to the router) is just 104 Mbps. The throughput of WiFI link was just 6X8 = 48 MBPs.

I got a couple of CAT6 ethernet cables and wired both the client and file server to the router. And sure enough my throughput jumped to more than 100 MB/s.  16+ times faster. Around 130 MB/s is my SATA disk to another SATA disk transfer speed in client machine. So I assume that if remote disks on my FreeNAS server are mounted and used for storage and data, then their would hardly be a performance penalty observed. Personal cloud may just work beautifully and reliably

I was planning to buy a 802.11n MIMO router which can give me 300-450 Mbps, but I don't think its going to suffice my needs with multiple TVs, smartphones and PCs accessing the common storage area. Definitely I want to offload all my fixed devices to GbE whereas mobile devices will be attached to WiFI (the best I can get). My conclusion is that WiFI is slow and unstable. The 2.4 GHz band also seems to be unstable in the sense that there are frequent changes in link speed which makes the WiFi links unstable for streaming video. i can occasionally observe choppiness of frames.  Heard that the 5 GHz band is less crowded and 802.11ac is using only the 5 GHZ band. 1080p has gone to 4K and I think I need all the speed I can get to reasonably future proof my network from content bloat. Though they would go cheap now, it may not be prudent to invest in 802.11n anymore. The new 802.11ac (5G Wifi) devices to be released in 2014 are expected to reach speeds of 1.3 Gbps and I think that's what I would want now.

And yah, FreeNAS seems to be damn cool for NAS applications. Glad I ditched embedded fixed bay nas vendors and chose freeNAS instead. Superior in every way once the initial pain of selcting hardware and installation is through.

What I think my new home network should be like

I live in India. Homes are just getting smart, but only in the super premium housing sector. I haven't arrived as yet (and possibly won't in atleast the near future) and therefore i am stuck with an apartment where I have to be the DIY guy again ;-)). And I before i go ahead and buy gear, I need to decide what's best to buy.

The first part is that today all devices and appliances one keeps at home are getting WiFi (or in some cases Ethernet) enabled. The application is usually to exchange some information with other devices/appliances or services in the Home LAN (for eg, smartphone beaming to the HDTV, IP Camera streaming to a PC or file server, etc) or the Internet (Refrigerators ordering groceries in future, water purifier placing a service request for filer change once it detects its life is over, Pc browsing or downloading, set-top ox streaming videos from internet or downloading titles etc). And do that we need a very decent, high performing network to start out with.

So how do we do this ? We have gigabit Ethernet  today as well as 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and which of these we use ? Ethernet is faster, more stable, but requires a lot of cabling at fixed points making it inflexible. WiFi is also fast these with MIMO technology but still throughput is expected to be less, is prone to interference and signal attenuation by walls and household objects. so how do we call the dice ?

I establish two  principles for my case:

(1) We use Gigabit Ethernet for devices and appliances that are fixed in location within the house (TV, PC, File Server, Consumer appliances, IP cameras, etc)
(2) We use WiFi for devices that need mobility within the house (like smartphones, tablets, Laptops, etc). And this would also cover appliances that may not support Gigabit Ethernet but only WiFi (A very likely scenario for consumer appliances of the future)

Clean. Since I have the flexibility of deciding my LAN ports, I can go for this type of setup. People who do not have this option may have to install WiFi Routers and repeaters (maybe more than one)

And to achieve some flexibility I decide that every room (living, dining, Bedrooms, Kitchen, utility, toilets and servant quarters will have atleast one LAN port, sometimes more based on what appliances I want to place. This also ensure that the highly bandwidth intensive streaming inside house i.e. file server to TV, and IP camera to file server PC stays on the Wired network and doesn't load the wifi. I hope this will make these applications jitter free. So for me Ethernet is not dead. Infact it is the preferred network and I stay fixed AFAP.

Equipment wise, I will go for

1. An 802.11 n MIMO router (Asus RT-N66U)  or even an ac router (RT-AC66U). Basically whatever is the fastest on the market and one that matches my wifi Client. Additionally some range extenders if required (unlikely for my case)
2. Possibly a 16/32 port LAN switch or router. Required to support so vast number of Ethernet  ports. I suspect their is none available for consumer market and this has to be a SOHO or Enterprise gear. Maybe this would be multiple 4/8 port ones (consumer oriented) based on what type of networks I want to isolate.

More on this later.