Associate
Why do AP's which are Wi-Fi 6/6E capable have 1Gbe uplinks, if in theory the Wi-Fi can handles up to 2.9Gb/s traffic is the uplink limited to 1Gbe, or am i missing something fundamental about Wi-Fi ?
Question for the real network specialsts
- Thread starter DustyMiller
- Start date
Caporegime
I’m certainly not a WiFi “expert” (my network qualifications are routing, switching and firewalling), but I’d imagine that a combination of PHY speed not equating actual throughput (due to protocol overheads et al), AND the fact that WiFi is only half duplex (outside of some niche applications) would mean that your theoretical speed is soon approaching the top end of what 1GbE can actually achieve.
Most decent 6E APs will have 2.5GbE interfaces though.
Most decent 6E APs will have 2.5GbE interfaces though.
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It likely comes down to demand and cost at the lower end of the market (which are the devices that don’t have 2.5G for the most part)
WiFi 6/6E has benefits other than headline speeds and an AP or router/AP combo that is 2.5G capable would cost more. Big purchasers like national ISPs for example who’s customers likely don’t have 2.5G capable equipment or a WAN link that can get over 1G, are unlikely to spend money on more capable kit for no benefit
Cheaper devices with 2.5G are definitely starting to appear though
WiFi 6/6E has benefits other than headline speeds and an AP or router/AP combo that is 2.5G capable would cost more. Big purchasers like national ISPs for example who’s customers likely don’t have 2.5G capable equipment or a WAN link that can get over 1G, are unlikely to spend money on more capable kit for no benefit
Cheaper devices with 2.5G are definitely starting to appear though
1GbE is full duplex
Wifi is half duplex
This means that on a speed test, the GbE will hit near enough the full 1GbE.
However, on a 1Gb Wifi PHY connection you'll not even hit 500Mbps.
So, in real terms, a 2Gb Wifi connection is equivalent to 1Gb Ethernet connection.
The other reason is that you might not even hit the ethernet on the AP if the communication is Wifi to Wifi.
For example in a mesh setup some tri-band routers use the bloody fast radio for the back-haul which allows for a slower but steady signal over a very much increased range.
That being said, with the advent of MLO and 3 bands of networking in Wifi7, a single client could easily pull >1GbE over wireless so the 2.5GbE port makes sense.
I myself have just taken a U7 Pro and am looking forward to Ubiquiti making more affordable switches and routers that have >1GbE ports.
OK, hadn't realised that Wi-Fi is half duplex, but even then on 6E thats upto 4800Mbps or 2.4Gb full duplex, and even if shared with a few devices that is more than the 1Gbe uplink can handle. or even at that speed will they not be able top saturate the 1Gbe link ?
Caporegime
But as said above, I’m going to assume that you are talking about some cheap consumer device that is marketing itself on the headline WiFi figures without needing (or wanting) to be a decent device.
ok, I get it. Wi-Fi 6e device with a 1Gbe wired uplink are devices to avoid,
Associate
Imo its mainly this, most people are not able to have the optimal wifi setup so simply having it faster benefits their performance because the 1gb link wasn't the bottleneck to begin with. With an optimal setup however you would want faster LAN/WAN - my PC for instance can push 990Mbps on WiFi 5.
So I'm looking at either the Aruba AP25 or the Zyxel NWA210, both around the £200 mark - anyone with any views ?
Soldato
Personally go with Aruba, good quality kit. Not really sure how Zyxel kit performs these days.
If you're willing to put other models in the mix, I personally went for the TP-Link Omada EAP670 last year. Works brilliantly.
If you're willing to put other models in the mix, I personally went for the TP-Link Omada EAP670 last year. Works brilliantly.
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How do you manage the AP, from what I can see they need the Omada cloud service, or onsite controller. It looks like the 673 has replaced the 670, so im looking at the 683 for its extra spatial streams, and the longer range.
Soldato
Soldato
I have x2 zyxel nwa220ax-6e APs. Had them for about 5 months now. Been rock solid. Really pleased with them. I control them through Nebula in the cloud.
I'm stuck between the Aruba AP25, the Zyxel NWA220AX, and the TP-Link 683LR. Help.
yes, but the only one that has 2.5Gbe uplink is the 6E or the 7Pro, and they are a fair bit dearer that the ones I've singled out.
Soldato
It is tough, I was just perusing the spec's and all very similar. I assume you meant to say NWA210AX not 220? Does where the company is based worry you, like TP-Link being China, Zyxel is Taiwan and Aruba is America. I think I'm right in saying. Or whichever is the cheapest? Or does one have a longer warranty than another? Two people here said Aruba was good so perhaps that is enough endorsement?
