Professional association IEEE, US, has announced the publication of two IEEE 802.11 amendment standards. IEEE 802.11aa-20121 supports more robust audio and video streaming for IEEE 802.11 applications. IEEE 802.11ae-20122 improves network performance by prioritising management frames sent on an IEEE 802.11 wireless link.
IEEE 802.11aa contains several important new Quality of Service (QoS) features, including group-addressed transmission service, stream classification service, management of overlapping networks and support for the IEEE 802.1Q Stream Reservation Protocol.
The enhancements for the 802.11 MAC (Medium Access Control) layer are intended to deliver a host of benefits, including improved management of audio/video stream quality, link reliability and application performance in instances such as when channel capacity is insufficient or when WLANs overlap on the same radio channel.
IEEE 802.11ae defines a mechanism for prioritising management frames and a protocol for communicating prioritisation policy. IEEE 802.11ae enables a more sophisticated prioritisation capability that balances the need to move both network management information and data traffic and yields improved performance of IEEE 802.11 networks and the applications that use them. IEEE 802.11aa and IEEE 802.11ae are available for purchase at the IEEE Standards Store.
IEEE 802.113 defines the technology for premier wireless LAN products. IEEE 802.11-based products are often branded as "Wi-Fi" in the market. IEEE 802.11 standards underpin wireless networking applications around the world, such as wireless access to the Internet from offices, homes, airports, hotels, restaurants, trains and aircraft. IEEE 802.11's relevance continues to expand with the emergence of new applications, such as the smart grid and the "Internet of Things." For more information, visit the IEEE 802.11 working group web site.
