Wireless Connectivity and High Throughput WLAN Modulation Analysis 89600 VSA Software

• Perform measurements on the latest IEEE 802.11be, 802.11ax, 802.11ac and 802.11n formats

(Option 89601BHXC), and legacy IEEE 802.11a/b/g/j/p formats (Option 89601B7RC)

• Demodulate all operating modes of 802.11be: EHT MU PPDU with single user and multiple users,

EHT Trigger Based (TB) PPDU, up to 320 MHz bandwidth, and modulation format up to 4096QAM

• Demodulate all operating modes of 802.11ax: High efficiency (HE) single user, HE multi-user, HE

extended range, HE trigger-based, HE NDP and Non-HT

• Analyze multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) and up to 8 spatial streams of 802.11ax and 802.11be signals

• Verify and troubleshoot PHY layer performance and errors down to the bit level

WLAN Technology Overview

WLAN products and systems started with 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11a standard amendments, all of which provided throughput enhancements over the original 802.11 standard introduced in 1997. To meet the requirements of new applications and the need for higher data rates, WLAN technology continues to evolve by integrating the latest technologies. The goal is clear: to continuously improve spectrum utilization, throughput and user experience. 802.11n, the High Throughput (HT) amendment to the 802.11 standard, improved throughput through the adoption of Single-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (SU[1]MIMO) with up to 4 spatial streams and wider bandwidth (40 MHz). This improvement was further extended in 802.11ac, the Very High Throughput (VHT) amendment to the 802.11 standard, with new and enhanced technologies including up to 8x8 SU-MIMO, wider channel bandwidth (up to 160 MHz), new downlink Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO) technology, and up to 1024-QAM modulation. The current WLAN standard, 802.11ax or High Efficiency (HE) WLAN, is an evolutionary improvement to 802.11ac. It adds a significantly higher efficiency, capacity and coverage for a better user experience, especially for dense deployment scenarios in both indoor and outdoor environments (e.g., stadiums, airports and shopping malls). Unlike 802.11ac, 802.11ax operates in 2.4, 5 and 6-GHz bands and employs technology building blocks like Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) for high efficiency, 8x8 MU-MIMO for high capacity, and uplink scheduling for increased capacity, efficiency and better user experience. Other technologies, such as 1024-QAM modulation, are used to improve throughput. While in the early development stage, the next generation 802.11 standard, 802.11be or Extremely High Throughput (EHT) WLAN holds great promises. A lot of new features are being defined that will significantly increase throughput and provide support for real-time applications. These features include 320 MHz transmission bandwidth, use of 4096-QAM modulation, and enhancements to MIMO with more spatial streams. Similar to 802.11ax, 802.11be will also operate in 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz frequency bands. New WLAN devices will be required to be backward compatible and coexist with legacy IEEE 802.11 devices operating in the same band. Table 1 compares key physical layer (PHY) technologies of 802.11n, ac, ax, and be.

WLAN Modulation Analysis

Designers can now gain greater insight into the latest wireless LAN signals with the 89600 VSA software for 802.11n/ac/ax, and 802.11be modulation analysis. 89600 VSA software provides spectrum, time and modulation quality measurements for WLAN 802.11n/ac/ax/be with option 89601BHXC and for WLAN 802.11a/b/g/j signals with option 89601B7RC. WLAN options provide an advanced troubleshooting and evaluation toolset specifically designed to handle the challenge of analyzing legacy and new WLAN signals, covering technologies such as MU[1]MIMO and OFDMA used in the latest standards. 802.11 WLAN standards are among over 75 signal standards and modulation types supported by the 89600 VSA software. The 89600 VSA software is a comprehensive set of tools for demodulation and vector signal analysis. These tools enable you to explore virtually every facet of a signal and optimize even the most advanced designs. Just as critically, the software helps you cut through the complexity as you assess your design tradeoffs.

Analysis and Troubleshooting Analyze a wide range of WLAN formats 89600 VSA software option 89601BHXC provides the tools necessary to measure and troubleshoot IEEE 802.11n/ac/ax/be signals, and option 89601B7RC provides the tools to measure and troubleshoot IEEE 802.11a/b/g/j/p signals.

IEEE 802.11a/b/g/j/p

• Support standards defined in IEEE 802.11a/g OFDM, 802.11g DSSS-OFDM, 802.11a/g turbo mode,

802.11p DSRC, 802.11j 10 MHz and HiperLAN2

• Channel bandwidth 10 MHz, 20 MHz, and 40 MHz

• Modulation format of BPSK to 64 QAM

IEEE 802.11b/g DSSS/CCK/PBCC

• Support standard defined DSSS, CCK or PBCC

• Support modulation format of Barker1/Barker2CCK5.5/CCK11PBCC5.5/PBCC11/PBCC22/PBCC33

IEEE 802.11n

• All operating modes: legacy, mixed and greenfield

• Channel bandwidth of 20 MHz and 40 MHz

• Up to four spatial streams

IEEE 802.11ac

• VHT operating mode

• Channel bandwidth of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 80 + 80 MHz and 160 MHz

• Modulation format of BPSK up to 256QAM

• Up to eight spatial streams

• Downlink MU-MIMO with up to four simultaneous users

IEEE 802.11ax

• All operating modes: HE SU, HE extended range, HE MU, and HE trigger-based

• Channel bandwidth of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 80 + 80 MHz and 160 MHz

• Modulation formats of BPSK up to 1024QAM

• OFDMA in uplink and downlink

• MU-MIMO in uplink and downlink with up to eight simultaneous users

• Up to 8 spatial streams

• Color coded measurement results by RU and user