WMM include: what does it mean? Setting up a Wi-Fi router ZyXel

More and more widespread are the technologies of the Wi-Fi network, which are now used on almost all computers and mobile devices, with the most popular among all standards is IEEE 802.11n. True, it provides the ability to limit the speed of the Internet used. However, given the fact that most people surf the net in search of multimedia files, an additional standard, Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM), was developed. What it is and what it is for, and will be told in this article. Internet users should be aware of this standard and make sure that there is a tick in the modem settings near the "WMM Enable" function.

Speed of connection and data transfer

What does it mean to enable WMM? Let's figure this out.

First of all, it should be noted that the speed of connection and transmission of information is completely different concepts, and many users are trying to erroneously focus on the first option, expressed in the value of Mb / s. In fact, it does not show the actual bandwidth of the network connection you are using. And it is shown by the network adapter driver in order to see what kind of speed you are currently using within the chosen standard.

In other words, your operating system provides information about what maximum connection speed is possible on this equipment. But in this case, in fact, it can be much slower. The actual speed may depend on a number of factors, including the settings for the 802.11n access point , and in particular for the "WMM Enable" function. Activate it should be if you want to use the Internet without restrictions, and this is provided by your tariff.

How to know the speed?

If you want to get a reliable value of the speed you have through the wireless network, you can use one of the following methods:

• Run the procedure for copying a large file in your operating system, then try to roughly determine the speed with which this file was transferred. It is worth noting that in Windows 7 and beyond, if the copy is long enough, you can go to the additional information of the window, where there will be information about the reliable speed.
• Use specialized utilities like NetMeter or NetStress, which are designed specifically to determine your bandwidth. It is recommended to configure the device in advance and activate WMM. Enabling this feature is very important before starting the tests.
• If you are the administrator of the whole network, then in this case you will also be approached by the lperf and Jperf programs.

How does this standard work?

The standard 802.11n in the course of its work uses a large number of technologies, and one of them is the WMM function. Enable its user can in order to remove various restrictions and provide higher bandwidth. It should be noted that any such technology will show really noticeable results only if they work with devices that support 802.11n specifications.

Turn off everything during testing

Do not forget that before the testing of the network should include WMM, as well as completely turn off any other devices, except those that you will experience. In a wireless network that is based on the 802.11n point, an option is provided for using devices of previous standards. At the same time, it should be noted that 802.11n provides mechanisms to support older standards. As a result, the speed with 802.11n can drop by 50% or even 80% in the event that a slower device is receiving or transmitting data.

In order to ensure the maximum possible performance of this standard, many experts highly recommend using the network exclusively by customers with its support.

We remove the limit of 54 Mbit / s

In most cases, users forget to enable WMM, and also do not know that if you use legacy WPA / TKIP security methods or WEP, then the provided speed will decrease by approximately 80%. In 802.11n, there is an initial setting that the performance of more than 54 Mbit / s can not be fully implemented using one of the above standards, the only exception can be unless the devices are not certified for 802.11n.

It is for this reason, if you do not want to face the problem of reducing your speed, it is recommended to use only WPA2 network security methods using the AES algorithm, however, do not forget that the use of open networks is in itself unsafe.

View settings

It happens that in some situations, when using an 802.11n adapter, as well as installing a wireless access point of this standard, it is possible to connect exclusively through 802.11g, and the user can not even turn on the WMM Zyxel. What is this problem? In most cases, this indicates that the security settings of the access point you are using apply WPA2 technology with the TKIP protocol. In this case, do not forget that in the settings of WPA2 it is recommended to use only the AES algorithm instead of TKIP, which will allow you to significantly improve the work with the device.

Also, many can not turn on WMM APSD because the access point settings use the automatic detection mode. Experts say that it is recommended to manually change the single standard to 802.11n instead of leaving the automatic detection function.

WMM mode

Wi-Fi Multimedia defines 4 types of access categories:

1. WMM-priority of voice traffic (highest priority). Allows you to perform multiple parallel VoIP connections with low latency.
2. WMM-priority video traffic. Sets the priority of video over normal traffic.
3. WMM-priority of non-guaranteed delivery. Traffic from devices that do not have a QoS mechanism
4. WMM low priority. Low-priority traffic, which has no requirement for latency and performance in transmission.

In order to provide the ability to access the Internet at a speed of more than 54 Mbps, you will need to enable the Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) mode. The 802.11n specification calls for the support of 802.11e devices, which makes it possible to use a mode with a sufficiently high bandwidth.

You need to enable WMM mode if your device is certified for use with 802.11n. It should be noted that it is recommended to automatically activate this mode in each certified Wi-Fi device. In other words, it's always better to make sure that WMM mode is enabled, regardless of whether you are using an adapter, an access point, or a router.

Pay attention to the fact that this mode should be activated not only on your access point, but also on the wireless adapter.

It is worth noting that, depending on your device, you can even change the procedure for making such settings. And also in different adapters there may be different names of functions. So if you did not find the function "enable WMM" in the menu of your device, do not despair. Carefully read the instructions, maybe the manufacturer simply called it differently.

Among other things, some developers also write that it is possible to provide a faster connection speed if the user has enabled WMM in AD HOC QOS mode.

Disable the use of the 40 MHz channel

In accordance with the 802.11n standard, it is possible to use 40 MHz broadband channels, which provide increased bandwidth. However, in fact, if the channel width changes from 20 to 40 MHz, ultimately, even a noticeable decrease in speed characteristics may occur, instead of the expected growth.

Why not use it?

Using a 40 MHz channel can provide the potential for a potential increase in the bandwidth of your network from 10 to 20 Mbps, but in the majority of cases, such growth can be observed only if there is a sufficiently strong signal. If the signal power decreases, eventually the use of such a channel width becomes much less efficient and does not allow increasing the bandwidth. Thus, if 40 MHz is used in the presence of a weak signal level, this can reduce the bandwidth by 80%.

If you decide to use such a channel, but at the same time notice a significant drop in speed, it's enough just to re-configure your device to work with a 20 MHz channel. Thus, you can achieve a noticeable increase in the bandwidth of the connection.

Use only up-to-date drivers

In order to configure the Zyxel router for the normal connection speed, you should only use the current wireless adapter drivers. Often, there are situations when after installing a more recent version of the driver from the manufacturer, a significant increase in connection speed was achieved.

Thus, we have considered only the most accessible and effective ways of how you can configure Zyxel devices to provide a higher connection speed, as well as more stable operation of the Wi-Fi network. But do not forget that there are many other factors that also affect the operation of wireless Wi-Fi networks:

• Other Wi-Fi devices are located at a short distance.
• Bluetooth-enabled devices that function somewhere in the coverage area of your Wi-Fi network.
• The distance between the Wi-Fi devices used is too long.
• All kinds of obstacles, such as furniture, walls and ceilings, which constantly absorb the radiated radio signal.
• A variety of home appliances, working directly in the coverage area of your network.
• Devices that work through the USB 3.0 standard.

The last point may surprise many users, but it's true, USB 3.0 devices create certain interference for a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network.

If you eventually adjust everything correctly, you can safely expect that you will be guaranteed to raise the overall speed of the Internet. Many users do not even know about these features using the default settings, although in fact the potential for their connection allows you to provide much higher speed.