[SOLVED] RBK50-100NAS (1 Router/2 Satellites) vs Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Wifi6 (not 6e)?

[DCtx88]

Just wondering am I doing more harm than good switching from the Orbi setup to the Asus? In a 1 story home, 2k sqft. Since I have no other asus routers (except a tmobile asus1900) to mesh with. I was thinking of adding a unifi ac pro long range to cover wifi in the dead space areas.

Which of these routers are more powerful (the 3 pack of orbis, or the asus paired up with a unifi pro ac lr)?

 

[DCtx88]

IMO, you aren't "missing" anyting with the speeds you get on the Orbi.
The more you can distribute your devices across multiple radios (Orbi units) the better off all of them are.
I have never configured Orbi so I don't know what you can and can't do. For example, with wired backhaul, having the satellites on unique channels would be optimal. I don't know if that can be done with Orbi.

Just wanted to update the situation. I know this might be very crazy, but I upgraded the Orbi ax4200 (1 router 1 satellite), and decided to ditch the ax11000 and the wifi5 orbi. I ended up not losing any money either in the process with the wifi5 orbi.

 

[gggplaya]

Just wanted to update the situation. I know this might be very crazy, but I upgraded the Orbi ax4200 (1 router 1 satellite), and decided to ditch the ax11000 and the wifi5 orbi. I ended up not losing any money either in the process with the wifi5 orbi.

With 1 satellite and 1 main unit, the bandwidth loss isn't as bad since Orbi uses a separate radio for backhaul. Cheaper mesh systems use the same radio for backhaul and you lose alot of bandwith from the 2 way communication, since the same radio has to receive it, then transmit it back out.

With multiple satellites in a mesh system, bottlenecks can come when multiple satellites and clients are trying to hit the same node. So lets say you had 2 satellites, but the far satellite must communicate with the middle satellite to connect to he main router, since it can't make a direct connection due to distance. Several clients are hitting the far satellite because they live on the end of the house. Then you have 1 person connected to middle satellite trying to do a game console update. Well, everyone on the far satellite and the middle satellite would grind to a halt because all traffic has to go through that single backhaul channel. That's why mesh systems are frowned upon by most people. If you can avoid them and do some type of wired backahul to the main router, such as coax or powerline if you can. Wifi repeaters and mesh systems should be considered a last resort, unless all you have are people that just surf the internet an watch netflix. If you have any high bandwidth users, the system can grind to a halt.

 

[DCtx88]

With 1 satellite and 1 main unit, the bandwidth loss isn't as bad since Orbi uses a separate radio for backhaul. Cheaper mesh systems use the same radio for backhaul and you lose alot of bandwith from the 2 way communication, since the same radio has to receive it, then transmit it back out.

With multiple satellites in a mesh system, bottlenecks can come when multiple satellites and clients are trying to hit the same node. So lets say you had 2 satellites, but the far satellite must communicate with the middle satellite to connect to he main router, since it can't make a direct connection due to distance. Several clients are hitting the far satellite because they live on the end of the house. Then you have 1 person connected to middle satellite trying to do a game console update. Well, everyone on the far satellite and the middle satellite would grind to a halt because all traffic has to go through that single backhaul channel. That's why mesh systems are frowned upon by most people. If you can avoid them and do some type of wired backahul to the main router, such as coax or powerline if you can. Wifi repeaters and mesh systems should be considered a last resort, unless all you have are people that just surf the internet an watch netflix. If you have any high bandwidth users, the system can grind to a halt.

So you are saying that the orbi wifi5 with 2 satellites would be better than the ax4200 with 1 satellite, assuming I have about 20 devices connected? I honestly thought upgrading to them would slightly improve speeds and allow for more bandwidth, and give me the same amount of coverage even though I only have 1 satellite (the wifi 5 model claims 5k sqft with 2, the ax4200 claims the same with 1, or 7500 sqft with 2).

 

[gggplaya]

So you are saying that the orbi wifi5 with 2 satellites would be better than the ax4200 with 1 satellite, assuming I have about 20 devices connected? I honestly thought upgrading to them would slightly improve speeds and allow for more bandwidth, and give me the same amount of coverage even though I only have 1 satellite (the wifi 5 model claims 5k sqft with 2, the ax4200 claims the same with 1, or 7500 sqft with 2).

I don't think you're understanding how mesh topography works. More satellites would give you better "coverage" but would introduce instances of bandwidth bottlenecks depending on how the mesh nodes eventually find a route to the main hub.

 

[DCtx88]

I don't think you're understanding how mesh topography works. More satellites would give you better "coverage" but would introduce instances of bandwidth bottlenecks depending on how the mesh nodes eventually find a route to the main hub.

Ok, so I should be fine with what I have?

 

[gggplaya]

Until Wifi 6E comes out, yes.

But instead of spending so much money on wifi equipment. You're better off paying someone to run ethernet so several spots in your house. Then you can buy cheaper equipment that'll perform significantly better than overpriced mesh systems.