7. The Tests - 32 STA Mixed Application

Hitting the APs with 32 STAs going full blast was too much for some to handle, and to be fair, isn't really indicative of the type of load likely to be seen in actual use. So I devised a test intended to be more realistic that used a mix of applications with random delays used between script executions.

I mixed six different IxChariot scripts that emulated multiple wireless clients performing the following web-based activities: HTTP graphics download (5), POP3 mail download (5), SMTP mail send (5), FTP upload (7), FTP download (5)and Realaudio audio-video stream (5). The number in parentheses is the number of clients running each script. Details of the scripts can be found at the bottom of this page.

I had the scripts use random delays (with Normal distribution) of between 1 and 1000ms between each execution. All scripts sent or received data as fast as they could except for the Realaudio streaming test, which used a 300kbps rate.

The resulting test was intended to still represent a very heavily loaded AP, but using traffic more representative of what might be found in actual use.

Figure 13: STA to AP Test Duration - 32 STA Mixed Application test

Figure 13 shows that all APs except the Linksys WAP54G managed to survive the test for at least some time. And, once again, the Buffalo Tech WLA-G54C and Gigabyte GN-A17GU were the only products to complete all four hours.

I also ran this test in the AP to STA direction and the results are shown in Figure 14. With my deadline looming, however, I had to abbreviate these runs to 2.5 Hours (150 minutes) each.

Figure 14: AP to STA Test Duration - 32 STA Mixed Application test

The results show that all the APs completed the test, with both the Linksys WAP54G and ASUS WL300g moving up in the relative standings.