Help Me Choose: WiFi Wireless Cards

Many Dell OptiPlex systems support options for internal wireless cards that have advanced security functionality and WiFi with certified 802.11n & 802.11ac compatibility.

Supporting enterprise-grade security, compatibility and profile management, these options provides the simplicity of cable-free connectivity to wirelessly access the Internet, home and office networks or network-connected devices such as printers, storage, peripherals and other computers.

Our available internal WLAN solutions offer the secure connectivity required by enterprise customers. WiFi certified for interoperability, our cards continue to support the latest industry standard security protocols, including WPA, WPA2, CKIP, TKIP and built-in hardware support, for the highly secure Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-CCMP).

Comprehensive 802.1X authentication is supplied with support for common EAP methods including LEAP, EAP-FAST, TLS, TTLS, PEAP and smart cards, including Single Sign-On for the ease of use.

Wireless Terminology

  Single Band (2.4 GHz)

• Single band supports only the 2.4GHz band
• Lots of wireless devices (phones, computers, appliances, etc) use this band – therefore, it’s very “congested” or “noisy” and can inhibit performance
  

   Dual Band (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz) 

• Dual band supports both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz band 
• 5GHz band is much less congested, therefore providing a better wireless experience especially for things like wireless display (Miracast) 
• There are more & wider channels in the 5GHz band compared to 2.4GHz

  Antenna Configurations

• 1x1 = 1 send antenna and 1 receive antenna (150Mbps throughput for 802.11n / 433Mbps for 802.11ac) 
• 2x2 = 2 send antennas and 2 receive antennas (300Mbps throughput for 802.11n / 866Mbps for 802.11ac)