Now that 802.11n is ratified we are starting to see a rush of products come to market.  Of the the outdoor ones are the really interesting to me and probably to you since wireless IP cameras are mostly used outdoors where cabling is difficult.  Why is 802.11n so great for us IP camera installers?  Its the throughput!  802.11n has a datarate of 300Mbps as opposed to its predecessor 802.11g which caps out at 54Mbps.  So in real numbers manufacturers are boasting UDP throughput numbers of anywhere from 100 - 180 Mbps of actual usable throughput and TCP numbers are less than that but still far above 20 Mbps which is the average 802.11g max. More throughput means the following: - More IP cameras accommodated on one access-point...

I was looking at the latest public RFP for a wireless IP video surveillance solution and this RFP, like most, left me wondering why the protocol has remained as it has. Mainly: What was being asked for would require a small data center just to house the storage environment for all the recorded video. The throughput necessary to make this work is so large that a muni-mesh wireless network would require a huge supporting network of wired and wireless backhauls or throughput injection points (see my previous blog on building a mesh network), making it unfeasible under any reasonable circumstances. In principal I understand that public safety can't miss a beat and that the smallest bit of video can mean the difference between...