These capacity estimation tables are for reference only. Actual capacity depends on environmental conditions, levels of co-channel interference (CCI) and adjacent channel interference (ACI), client behavior, and quality of wireless network design. You can use predictive survey tools to automate capacity planning. The capacity estimations presented in this section are for a hands-on approach to capacity planning.
These capacity tables only consider 5 GHz capacity. As most wireless LANs also include capacity in the 2.4 GHz band, this results in a built-in capacity buffer provided by the 2.4 GHz band that is typically a small fraction of the capacity in 5 GHz. The size of the 2.4 GHz capacity buffer depends on how clients are distributed across bands and the ratio of 5 GHz spectrum to 2.4 GHz spectrum in use.
|
Estimated Max Throughput Capacity - 60 % Max Data Rate |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 Client Active |
20 MHz |
40 MHz |
80 MHz |
160 MHz |
|
1 Spatial Stream |
52 Mbps |
120 Mbps |
260 Mbps |
520 Mbps |
|
2 Spatial Streams |
104 Mbps |
240 Mbps |
520 Mbps |
1.04 Gbps |
|
3 Spatial Streams |
173 Mbps |
360 Mbps |
798 Mbps |
1.40 Gbps |
|
4 Spatial Streams |
208 Mbps |
480 Mbps |
1.04 Gbps |
2.08 Gbps |
This table is for low-density use cases where there is minimal loss (~ 5%) due to contention and the loss caused by signal strength degradation and rate adaptation are estimated to be 20%.
|
Estimated Low Density Throughput Capacity - 35 % Max Data Rate |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 - 15 Clients Active |
20 MHz |
40 MHz |
80 MHz |
160 MHz |
|
1 Spatial Stream |
30 Mbps |
70 Mbps |
151 Mbps |
303 Mbps |
|
2 Spatial Streams |
61 Mbps |
140 Mbps |
303 Mbps |
607 Mbps |
|
3 Spatial Streams |
101 Mbps |
210 Mbps |
465 Mbps |
821 Mbps |
|
4 Spatial Streams |
121 Mbps |
280 Mbps |
607 Mbps |
1.21 Gbps |
This table is for moderate density use cases where there is moderate loss (~ 8%) due to contention and the loss caused by signal strength degradation and rate adaptation are estimated to be 20%.
|
Estimated Moderate Density Throughput Capacity - 32 % Max Data Rate |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
16 - 30 Clients Active |
20 MHz |
40 MHz |
80 MHz |
160 MHz |
|
1 Spatial Stream |
28 Mbps |
64 Mbps |
139 Mbps |
277 Mbps |
|
2 Spatial Streams |
55 Mbps |
128 Mbps |
277 Mbps |
555 Mbps |
|
3 Spatial Streams |
92 Mbps |
192 Mbps |
426 Mbps |
750 Mbps |
|
4 Spatial Streams |
111 Mbps |
256 Mbps |
555 Mbps |
1.11 Gbps |
This table is for high-density use cases where there is high loss (~ 13%) because of contention and the loss caused by signal strength degradation and rate adaptation is estimated to be 20%.
|
Estimated High Density Throughput Capacity - 27 % Max Data Rate |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
31 - 45 Clients Active |
20 MHz |
40 MHz |
80 MHz |
160 MHz |
|
1 Spatial Stream |
23 Mbps |
54 Mbps |
117 Mbps |
234 Mbps |
|
2 Spatial Streams |
47 Mbps |
108 Mbps |
234 Mbps |
468 Mbps |
|
3 Spatial Streams |
78 Mbps |
162 Mbps |
359 Mbps |
633 Mbps |
|
4 Spatial Streams |
94 Mbps |
216 Mbps |
468 Mbps |
938 Mbps |
This table is for very high-density use cases where there is very high loss (~20%) because of contention and the loss caused by signal strength degradation and rate adaptation is estimated to be 20%.
|
Estimated Very High Density Throughput Capacity - 20 % Max Data Rate |
|||||
|
46 - 60 Clients Active |
20 MHz |
40 MHz |
80 MHz |
160 MHz |
|
|
1 Spatial Stream |
17 Mbps |
40 Mbps |
87 Mbps |
173 Mbps |
|
|
2 Spatial Streams |
35 Mbps |
80 Mbps |
173 Mbps |
347 Mbps |
|
|
3 Spatial Streams |
58 Mbps |
120 Mbps |
266 Mbps |
469 Mbps |
|
|
4 Spatial Streams |
69 Mbps |
160 Mbps |
347 Mbps |
695 Mbps |
|