Question for the real network specialsts

[DustyMiller]

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 ?

 

[DustyMiller]

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 ?

 

[DustyMiller]

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,

 

[DustyMiller]

So I'm looking at either the Aruba AP25 or the Zyxel NWA210, both around the £200 mark - anyone with any views ?

 

[DustyMiller]

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.

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.

 

[DustyMiller]

I'm stuck between the Aruba AP25, the Zyxel NWA220AX, and the TP-Link 683LR. Help.

 

[DustyMiller]

Have you considered UniFi?

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.

 

[DustyMiller]

Location of the company is not an issue for me, its not like I have any top secret stuff in my home network, i think my Steam account is the most valuable thing I have on my computer. I'm after the best device for WiFi for a Home / Work from home environment. with a decent range & at decent price. Now i've looked at the Unifi stuff, i love that 6Enterprise, and the 7Pro. Why is it so hard......

 

[DustyMiller]

Well, i've just order a Unifi 6E, god help my ban balance. Still no more AP for me for a few years.

 

[DustyMiller]

So far looks good, got the Unifi console plugin for my OPNSense router so its managed from there already. Just need to physically instal it to the ceiling - That's a tomorrow job. Its also connected to my 2.5Gbe switch with a Zyxel 2.5G POE+ injector. So all is looking good so far.