I recently bought an Orbi RBK753 system and set it up in a daisy chain configuration. I have my modem at one end of the house on the upper floor, therefore placed the router next to it, then kept one satellite in the middle of the house and the remaining satellite at the opposite end of the house on the lower floor.I have 3 PCs connected to each unit with ethernet cables. When I speed tested the LAN using OpenSpeedTest, I got around 910Mbps between the router and middle satellite and also between the middle satellite and the last satellite. But I can barely get 500Mbps between the router and the last satellite, which is a little disappointing. I expected to see at least 7~800Mbps between the router and the last satellite, after accounting for wireless interference and overheads, but I didn’t think the speed would be cut in half. The backhaul on these is rated for 2400Mbps, so technically, the middle satellite should be able to handle two 900Mbps streams, right?

a few issues to clear up. the 2400mbps is link speed, not actual throughput. throughput tends to be roughly 55-65% of link speed. another thing to keep in mind is that 5ghz speeds drops of quickly with distance. Plus it doesn't pass through materials as well as 2.4ghz. So if you're starting at the 2400mbps - 65/55% you get roughly 1300-1500mbps actual throughput speed. but thats going to be at close range. With distance/interference/obstructions, it can drop off quickly. Thats why there's multiple satellites, to account for distance/obstructions/interference.

plemans wrote:But if you limited in where you put the one satellite, then it limits how much testing you can do.Yes, I can’t really move the satellites or the router.But except for the link between the last satellite and the router, I’m currently happy with the overall speeds. I was looking to see if there are any configuration settings I can change to improve the last leg of the chain. I may revisit this when I get my new connection, but for now, the internet bandwidth at the last satellite is almost enough to max out my 500Mbps internet service, and I have a near ~1Gbps connection to the server closet, so all good.One last question: Can I link the router and the middle satellite over ethernet but have the last satellite daisy chain wirelessly to the middle one? Something I’d like to try once I upgrade my internet connection.If I can do that, then can I turn off the wireless backhaul channel on just the main router but leave it on in the two satellites? Right now, if there is a power interruption or if I have to restart the system, the last satellite always links to the router instead of the middle one. It won’t switch automatically (at least not in a timely manner, I’ve waited up to 30 mins once); the only way to get the daisy chain going again is to restart the last satellite physically. Guess that’s one of the drawbacks of having three units so close. But if I can turn off the wireless backhaul on the router, that may fix the issue and may also reduce a bit of wifi interference.

Thanks for clarifying the link speed and actual throughput, so I guess that means the best I can expect between the router and the last satellite is around 650~750Mbps i.e: (1300~1500) / 2 because the middle satellite has to communicate concurrently with both the router and the other satellite when daisy-chained.As I have indicated earlier I can get 900Mbps (actual OpenSpeedTest test result) between the router and the middle satellite (~25feet apart through a couple of walls) and also between the middle satellite and the last one (~25feet apart through a couple of walls and the floor). All speed tests were done with computers wired into each unit. So if the middle router can communicate with both ends at 900Mbps then shouldn’t it be able to pass the data from one end to the other end at the maximum throughput (i.e: 650~750Mbps) ? I guess 500Mbps is not too far off, but still..

You will see some performance loss with a daisy chain setup at the end of the chain. Not nearly as bad as you would using standard extenders because of the dedicated backhaul but it does cause a little loss of speed and increased latency. Its why so many places hardwire in their access points. But 500+mbps is still going to be more than most devices can use or even receive because the fronthaul is only a 1200mbps link speed fronthaul.

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft? What is the distance between the router and 📡 satellite(s) plemans wrote: You will see some performance loss with a daisy chain setup at the end of the chain. Not nearly as bad as you would using standard extenders because of the dedicated backhaul but it does cause a little loss of speed and increased latency. Its why so many places hardwire in their access points. But 500+mbps is still going to be more than most devices can use or even receive because the fronthaul is only a 1200mbps link speed fronthaul.

Daisy chain wireless backhaul performance (RBK753)

15 Replies

plemans
Guru - Experienced User
Jun 03, 2022
a few issues to clear up.

the 2400mbps is link speed, not actual throughput. throughput tends to be roughly 55-65% of link speed.

another thing to keep in mind is that 5ghz speeds drops of quickly with distance. Plus it doesn't pass through materials as well as 2.4ghz.

So if you're starting at the 2400mbps - 65/55% you get roughly 1300-1500mbps actual throughput speed. but thats going to be at close range. With distance/interference/obstructions, it can drop off quickly. Thats why there's multiple satellites, to account for distance/obstructions/interference.
- O_F
  Guide
  Jun 03, 2022
  Thanks for clarifying the link speed and actual throughput, so I guess that means the best I can expect between the router and the last satellite is around 650~750Mbps i.e: (1300~1500) / 2 because the middle satellite has to communicate concurrently with both the router and the other satellite when daisy-chained.
  As I have indicated earlier I can get 900Mbps (actual OpenSpeedTest test result) between the router and the middle satellite (~25feet apart through a couple of walls) and also between the middle satellite and the last one (~25feet apart through a couple of walls and the floor). All speed tests were done with computers wired into each unit. So if the middle router can communicate with both ends at 900Mbps then shouldn’t it be able to pass the data from one end to the other end at the maximum throughput (i.e: 650~750Mbps) ? I guess 500Mbps is not too far off, but still..
  - plemans
    Guru - Experienced User
    Jun 03, 2022
    You will see some performance loss with a daisy chain setup at the end of the chain. Not nearly as bad as you would using standard extenders because of the dedicated backhaul but it does cause a little loss of speed and increased latency. Its why so many places hardwire in their access points.
    
    But 500+mbps is still going to be more than most devices can use or even receive because the fronthaul is only a 1200mbps link speed fronthaul.

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Daisy chain wireless backhaul performance (RBK753)