Any WiFi 6 routers with a 10GBe port on the horizon?

Richdog · 25 Jan 2020 at 14:12

This year I want to upgrade my ageing router to something with WiFi 6 and ideally also a 10GBe port for when I next upgrade my NAS so that I can have extremely quick file throughput on my internal network.

Has anything like that been announced or is it too niche for manufacturers to put into mainstream routers?

WJA96 · 25 Jan 2020 at 15:15

ASUS has 5GbE and 2.5GbE LAN connections on some of their WLAN Routers out now, but nothing 10GbE that I’m aware of. Mikrotik have a 10GbE SFP+ port on the RB4011 models, but that’s not 802.11AX/WiFi6. The only 10GbE Access Point I’m aware of at the moment is the UniFi UAP-XG (and it’s outdoor brother the UAP-BaseStation XG) and that’s only capable of processing 3433Mbps maximum simultaneously across all its interfaces, so it doesn’t actually need all of its 10GbE connectivity.

Richdog · 26 Jan 2020 at 09:47

WJA96 said:
ASUS has 5GbE and 2.5GbE LAN connections on some of their WLAN Routers out now, but nothing 10GbE that I’m aware of. Mikrotik have a 10GbE SFP+ port on the RB4011 models, but that’s not 802.11AX/WiFi6. The only 10GbE Access Point I’m aware of at the moment is the UniFi UAP-XG (and it’s outdoor brother the UAP-BaseStation XG) and that’s only capable of processing 3433Mbps maximum simultaneously across all its interfaces, so it doesn’t actually need all of its 10GbE connectivity.

Ahh they have 5GBe ports? I didn't even know that was a thing, I just thought it was 1GB and 10GB (that's how long I haven't looked at this sector)... I don't think NAS have 5GBe though which may complicate things! Thanks for the advice and I will check my options

WJA96 · 26 Jan 2020 at 09:50

There is a standard for 1GbE, 2.5GbE, 5GbE, 10GbE, 40GbE and 100GbE.

I think based on my experience with UniFi switches, that they will run at the lower speeds so 10GbE will autonegotiate down to 1GbE, 2,5GbE or 5GbE. That may not be the case for other manufacturers using different 10GbE chipsets.

Richdog · 26 Jan 2020 at 10:32

WJA96 said:
There is a standard for 1GbE, 2.5GbE, 5GbE, 10GbE, 40GbE and 100GbE.

I think based on my experience with UniFi switches, that they will run at the lower speeds so 10GbE will autonegotiate down to 1GbE, 2,5GbE or 5GbE. That may not be the case for other manufacturers using different 10GbE chipsets.

Yeah I don't doubt any new standard is backward compatible, pretty much everything like this is, but I wouldn't want to (unless it's unavoidable, of course) buy a 10GBe NAS and then run it at 2 or 5GB for the next 5 years.

WJA96 · 26 Jan 2020 at 12:09

All the better NAS devices I’m aware of will all run as routers/DHCP servers. And they also come with 2 or 4 1GbE ports as well as the SFP+ or 10BaseT 10GbE connection(s) so you could plug your modem/router into one of the 1GbE ports and your 10GbE switch into the 10GbE on the NAS and have the NAS do all the routing for you. That way everything bar the internet will be at 10GbE and it’s very unlikely that a UK internet connection will exceed 1GbE for the next few years.

Would that work for you?

WJA96 · 26 Jan 2020 at 12:13

And there are also Untangle and PfSense devices that have built-in 10GbE connectivity. The new USG-Pro from Ubiquiti UniFi also has a 10GbE port on it. This stuff is coming, it’s just not coming especially quickly to a home/prosumer device. Most people won’t ever max out a 1GbE connection, let alone a 2.5GbE or 5GbE connection.

Caged · 26 Jan 2020 at 16:02

10GbE is a different standard to 2.5Gb and 5Gb over copper, though the Multigigabit standards (formalised as 802.3bz) are based on technology used to get 10Gb over copper.

Connecting two 10Gb copper ports to each other over a less than ideal link will most often result in them negotiating at 1Gb, not somewhere in between.

bledd · 26 Jan 2020 at 16:16

I really wish no one would bother with 2.5 and 5, been bouncing off the limit of 1gb for years, 10gb is the next logical step.

WJA96 · 26 Jan 2020 at 18:19

Caged said:
10GbE is a different standard to 2.5Gb and 5Gb over copper, though the Multigigabit standards (formalised as 802.3bz) are based on technology used to get 10Gb over copper.

Connecting two 10Gb copper ports to each other over a less than ideal link will most often result in them negotiating at 1Gb, not somewhere in between.

That’s not what I intended to be understood, so if I typed it badly, I apologise. The UniFi switches will autonegotiate the fastest speed available. If the detect a 10GbE client or device on the other end, they will connect at that speed. If they pick up a 5GbE, 2.5GbE or 1GbE device, they will switch to that protocol and use the fastest option available.

I’ve not had any issues connecting at 10GbE over CAT6 but I do see some folks having issues where they have installed marginal CAT5e connections.

CossackNoodle · 26 Jan 2020 at 18:22

https://www.asus.com/Networking/RT-AX89X/

Probably cost a bomb if it ever came to UK

Caged · 26 Jan 2020 at 18:23

I wasn't aware Ubiquiti were doing anything multigig, do you know which models that is on?

WJA96 · 26 Jan 2020 at 20:32

Caged said:
I wasn't aware Ubiquiti were doing anything multigig, do you know which models that is on?

US-16-XG from later revisions, US-XG-6 PoE and the UDM-Pro. I’ve sold my USG-XG now, so I’m not sure about that one, but it’s the same chipset as the UDM-Pro so it probably does it as well. And you can put anything you like into the Protect server because that’s just a Supermicro motherboard in silver Ubiquiti case.

Richdog · 27 Jan 2020 at 06:38

CossackNoodle said:
https://www.asus.com/Networking/RT-AX89X/

Probably cost a bomb if it ever came to UK

Holy crap that's what i'm talking about... I wonder if it will see EU release this year? I guess it will do at some point even though yeah you are right... it will cost a small fortune!

WJA96 said:
All the better NAS devices I’m aware of will all run as routers/DHCP servers. And they also come with 2 or 4 1GbE ports as well as the SFP+ or 10BaseT 10GbE connection(s) so you could plug your modem/router into one of the 1GbE ports and your 10GbE switch into the 10GbE on the NAS and have the NAS do all the routing for you. That way everything bar the internet will be at 10GbE and it’s very unlikely that a UK internet connection will exceed 1GbE for the next few years.

Would that work for you?

Thankfully I am not in the UK, 10GB fibre connections are not so far away from being mainstream where I live and anyway as I wrote I am looking for the fastest internal network data transfer speeds in combination with WiFi6 in a convenient router solution, not the fastest internet speeds.

DragonQ · 27 Jan 2020 at 08:06

bledd said:
I really wish no one would bother with 2.5 and 5, been bouncing off the limit of 1gb for years, 10gb is the next logical step.

It's for backwards compatibility with existing cabling infrastructure. Some of it may not be able to hit 10 Gb/s but it may hit 2.5 or 5 Gb/s, which is still much better than 1 Gb/s.

Ice Tea · 27 Jan 2020 at 08:15

The RT-AX89X has a fanny.

Richdog · 27 Jan 2020 at 08:33

Ice Tea said:
The RT-AX89X has a fanny.

I will assume you mean fan.

Richdog · 17 Mar 2020 at 14:39

So guys... any updates on this? Anyone heard of any new models with 10GBe?

CossackNoodle said:
https://www.asus.com/Networking/RT-AX89X/

Probably cost a bomb if it ever came to UK

A detailed review of the RT-AX89X is out.. this thing looks like a technospider beast and it has 2x 10GBe ports! https://dongknows.com/asus-rt-ax89x-review/ :eek:

Ice Tea · 17 Mar 2020 at 23:44

By the review it has a quiet fanny.

b00merang69 · 17 Mar 2020 at 23:48

Yes seen it weeks ago but 1 10Gb port is actually a ADSL type isn't it (so not for VM cable use to connect to VM HUB4 in modem mode for example) or am I reading it wrong and you simply use the other port then you can use the left over one for 10Gb/S LAN.

"The RT-AX89X comes with two 10G ports, one Base-T and SFP+ port, which means both fiber and copper 10G connections are supported. Capture ISP advertised speeds or use your own 10G LAN network between PCs and NAS."

Then the SFP+ port not compatible with 1Gb/s.