Ixia Black Book: 802.11ac Wi-Fi Benchmarking

Introduction to 802.11ac Performance Testingplans can start small but grow to encompass every combination of features desired.The usual progression is to establish baseline performance metrics in the areas of FrameLoss, Throughput, and Latency with different frame sizes (typically 64 bytes, 512 bytesand 1518 bytes) using one client. Then a Maximum Client Capacity test is performedusing 64 byte frame lengths. The logs and configuration settings recorded during thesetests can be used for duplicating and analyzing problems found.More exhaustive benchmarking is typically pursued after establishing initial baselines.Such tests include testing for:• Forwarding Rate and Frame Loss with one client at every frame length from 64 to1518 bytes, inclusive• Forwarding Rate and Frame Loss with one client at every PHY rate, using 64 byteframe lengths• Forwarding Rate and Frame Loss with multiple clients using eachsecurity/encryption type• Latency with multiple clients, measured with different frame lengths and securitymodes• Throughput with one client at every frame length from 64 to 1518 bytes, inclusive• Throughput with one client at every PHY rate, using 64 byte frame lengths• Throughput with multiple clients using each security/encryption type• TCP Goodput with multiple clients at different frame lengths and security modesPN 915-2634-01 Rev A December 2012 6