Nitro from
Conexant
Conexant Systems, Inc. was an American-based software developer and fabless semiconductor company that developed technology for voice and audio processing, imaging and modems. The company began as a division of Rockwell International, before bei ...
(originally developed by
Intersil
Intersil is an American semiconductor company headquartered in Milpitas, California. As of February 24, 2017, Intersil is a subsidiary of Renesas. The previous Intersil was formed in August 1999 through the acquisition of the semiconductor busin ...
) is a proprietary
802.11g
IEEE 802.11g-2003 or 802.11g is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11 specification that operates in the 2.4 GHz microwave band. The standard has extended throughput to up to 54 Mbit/s using the same 20 MHz bandwidth as 802.11b uses to achieve 11 Mbit/ ...
performance enhancement
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
introduced in 2003 as part of the
PRISM chipset. The first implementation was designed to help compensate for the performance loss of higher-speed 802.11g devices when they share a
wireless network
A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes.
Wireless networking is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and business installations avoid the costly process of introducing c ...
with slower
802.11b
IEEE 802.11b-1999 or 802.11b is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11 wireless networking specification that extends throughput up to 11 Mbit/s using the same 2.4 GHz band. A related amendment was incorporated into the IEEE 802.11-2007 standard. ...
devices.
Later implementations are marketed as Nitro MX Xtreme which adds proprietary
frame
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
-
bursting
Bursting, or burst firing, is an extremely diverse general phenomenon of the activation patterns of neurons in the central nervous system and spinal cord where periods of rapid action potential spiking are followed by quiescent periods much longer ...
,
compression
Compression may refer to:
Physical science
*Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces
*Compression member, a structural element such as a column
*Compressibility, susceptibility to compression
*Gas compression
*Compression ratio, of a c ...
and
point-to-point side session technology for a claimed 140 Mbit/s
throughput
Network throughput (or just throughput, when in context) refers to the rate of message delivery over a communication channel, such as Ethernet or packet radio, in a communication network. The data that these messages contain may be delivered ov ...
transmission speed. The point-to-point side session technology, called DirectLink, creates a connection between clients or from a client to a media source, such as a media server, and avoids the
access point. It does this while staying in
802.11
IEEE 802.11 is part of the IEEE 802 set of local area network (LAN) technical standards, and specifies the set of media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) protocols for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN) computer commu ...
Infrastructure mode so the client can continue to utilize access point-based security and power-savings.
Alternatives
Nitro is one of several competing incompatible
proprietary extension approaches that were developed to increase performance of 802.11g wireless devices, such as
125 High Speed Mode from
Broadcom
Broadcom Inc. is an American designer, developer, manufacturer and global supplier of a wide range of semiconductor and infrastructure software products. Broadcom's product offerings serve the data center, networking, software, broadband, wirel ...
,
Super G (or "108 Mbit/s" technology) from
Atheros
Qualcomm Atheros is a developer of semiconductor chips for network communications, particularly wireless chipsets. Founded under the name T-Span Systems in 1998 by experts in signal processing and VLSI design from Stanford University, the Univer ...
,
and
MIMO
In radio, multiple-input and multiple-output, or MIMO (), is a method for multiplying the capacity of a radio link using multiple transmission and receiving antennas to exploit multipath propagation. MIMO has become an essential element of wir ...
-based extensions from
Airgo Networks
Airgo Networks (formerly Woodside Networks), is a Palo Alto, California-based company specializing in the development of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless technology
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allow ...
.
See also
*
Proprietary protocol
In telecommunications, a proprietary protocol is a communications protocol owned by a single organization or individual.
Intellectual property rights and enforcement
Ownership by a single organization gives the owner the ability to place restricti ...
*
Vendor lock-in
In economics, vendor lock-in, also known as proprietary lock-in or customer lock-in, makes a customer dependent on a vendor for products, unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs.
The use of open standards and alternative ...
References
External links
{{Wikibooks, Wifi
Press release announcing Nitro
IEEE 802.11
Proprietary hardware
Proprietary software