![](https://csdnimg.cn/release/download_crawler_static/14045148/bg4.jpg)
Technical white paper
Cisco public
© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
In the future, we can also envision an enterprise where users are virtually connected to colleagues, partners, and
customers through Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) or Mixed Reality (MR) technology. The benefits
of this form of collaboration are being discovered every day as researchers, engineers, and IT develop enterprise
solutions such as telemedicine, remote field support, retail visualizers, virtual training, and collaboration. What is clear
is that significant throughput (for example, 1 Gbps+) and low latency (for example, <10 ms) are required for these
applications and thus 802.11ax is well positioned with its advanced Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) (8 x 8) and
scheduling capabilities (Figure 3).
Figure 3. All the realities: Augmented, mixed, and virtual
Augmented reality
Mixed reality Virtual reality
These realities pose new demands on network quality and performance.
Satisfying bandwidth and latency requirements is critical for high QoE.
AR Trac will grow 7-fold during 2016-2021: from 3 to 20 Petabytes/month.
VR Trac will grow 11-fold during 2016-2021: from 13 to 140 Petabytes/month.
Augments real world w/ added
images, sound, video, or
graphics. E.g., AR tourism,
remote expert, retail visualizers...
Merges real + virtual, letting them
coexist and interact in real time.
E.g., Entertainment apps...
Immersive simulated environment
with which users interact.
E.g., Immersive gaming, virtual
training or collaboration...
3 What is 802.11ax?
First, 802.11ax is an evolution of 802.11ac. If you want to learn more about 802.11ac, visit: https://www.cisco.com/c/
dam/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/aironet-3600-series/white-paper-c11-713103.pdf. If you are already familiar
with the downlink (DL) multiuser (MU) MIMO, 256 QAM, and 160-MHz wide channels introduced by 802.11ac and
you don’t need a refresher, then proceed.
3.1 Drivers for 802.11ax
IEEE 802.11ax is an evolutionary improvement to 802.11ac. One of the goals of 802.11ax, also known as high-
efficiency wireless (HE), is to deliver higher levels of efficiency in existing Wi-Fi networks:
• Deliver high data rates more consistently in typical Wi-Fi environments
• Focus on Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that improve Quality of Experience (QoE)
In the traditional enterprise space, the challenges include:
• Ultra-High-Density (UHD) environments with scores of users each carrying or wearing three or four 802.11 clients, all
consuming network resources concurrently
• The increased adoption of real-time applications such as 4K video and augmented or virtual reality (AR/VR) placing
new demands on already pressured environments