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Changing from 2.4G to 5G wireless network

I have a Linux box networked wireless to my LAN. As seen below, it is using 2.4G. I will be getting a new router (http://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RTAC68U/), and I have heard rumors that it might have issues on 2.4G, but works great on 5G. Am I able to configure the Linux machine to use 5G? Thanks

Code:

[Michael@devserver ~][Michael@devserver ~]$ iwconfig

lo        no wireless extensions.



wlan0    IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"wired"

          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.457 GHz  Access Point: E4:E4:D5:4C:3A:A1

          Bit Rate=52 Mb/s  Tx-Power=27 dBm

          Retry  long limit:7  RTS thr:off  Fragment thr:off

          Power Management:off

          Link Quality=51/70  Signal level=-59 dBm

          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0

          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:4  Missed beacon:0



eth0      no wireless extensions.



[Michael@devserver ~]$ iwlist wlan0 scanning

wlan0    Scan completed :

          Cell 01 - Address: E4:E4:D5:4C:3A:A1

                    Channel:10

                    Frequency:2.457 GHz (Channel 10)

                    Quality=59/70  Signal level=-51 dBm

                    Encryption key:on

                    ESSID:"wired"

                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s

                              24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s

                    Bit Rates:6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s

                    Mode:Master

                    Extra:tsf=000000000049edd7

                    Extra: Last beacon: 507805ms ago

                    bka bka bka



[Michael@devserver ~]$ iwlist wlan0 channel

wlan0    11 channels in total; available frequencies :

          Channel 01 : 2.412 GHz

          Channel 02 : 2.417 GHz

          Channel 03 : 2.422 GHz

          Channel 04 : 2.427 GHz

          Channel 05 : 2.432 GHz

          Channel 06 : 2.437 GHz

          Channel 07 : 2.442 GHz

          Channel 08 : 2.447 GHz

          Channel 09 : 2.452 GHz

          Channel 10 : 2.457 GHz

          Channel 11 : 2.462 GHz

          Current Frequency:2.457 GHz (Channel 10)



[root@devserver ~]# ethtool -i wlan0

driver: rt2800pci

version: 2.6.32-431.11.2.el6.x86_64

firmware-version: 0.34

bus-info: 0000:03:00.0

supports-statistics: yes

supports-test: no

supports-eeprom-access: no

supports-register-dump: no

supports-priv-flags: no

[root@devserver ~]#

$

Probably not - not all 802.11n devices can communicate on the 5GHz band. The channel list above tells us that this wireless chipset won't do 5GHZ, sorry.

The router should do both 2.4 and 5. I have a Netgear that does both, automatically. Some of my devices can't do 5, but connect fine to the 2.4 network.

Thanks gents (or ladies if I presumed wrong).

Router will do both, but not sure of the recipients.

If on the off chance 2.4 is sketchy, and the Linux machine can't handle, I assume I can fall back to a cheap Wi-Fi to CAT-5 device.

I have the AC68 - it's a great unit, with no issues on 2.4 or 5 GHz. The 5 GHz works great on my Thinkpad laptop running openSUSE 13.1, but its wifi adapter is 5 GHz capable. Honestly though I usually stick to 2.4 GHz so I can move about the house without the speed plummeting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by suicidaleggroll (Post 5258553)

Thanks suicidaleggroll, Just unwrapped it and fired it up, and seems like a great router. Maybe a silly question, but do/can clients automatically switch between the two?

If you give both networks the EXACT same SSID and the EXACT same key, then yes your systems will be able to seamlessly switch between the two. As far as I know there's no way to control which one a device connects to though, it will probably just connect to the strongest signal, whichever that might be. For that reason I gave my 2.4G and 5G signals different SSIDs, so I know and can control which one my device is using.

On the same note, this is also a good way to expand your wifi coverage. Set up multiple Wireless Access Points around the house, all on the same network with the same DHCP server (so the rest are just functioning in Access Point mode), all with the exact same SSID and key, and your devices will jump between them as necessary. In addition my AC68, I also have an N16 on the other corner of the house broadcasting a 2.4 GHz signal with the same SSID and key as the 2.4 GHz broadcast on my AC68, so it covers the entire house.