NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Help: RBS350 WiFi forwarding performance issue
I am currently using an Orbi RBK352 mesh system, and I've noticed that the WiFi performance of the RBS350 satellite is exceptionally weak. I conducted network speed tests using iPerf3. My server is ...
I have a very silly hunch: it's possible that my client device, when connected via WiFi, is persistently connecting to the farther, weaker-signaled RBK350 (the main router). The Orbi mesh algorithm can sometimes be incredibly foolish. Even when I'm stationary near the RBS350 (satellite), the WiFi system automatically roams my device to the RBK350. Then, upon realizing the RBK350's signal strength is too weak, it roams back to the RBS350, causing my device to briefly lose connection periodically.
This is just utterly foolish.
Some observations:
My server is a desktop PC with an X870 motherboard, consistently connected to the RBS350 satellite via an Ethernet cable, with a reported port speed of 1200Mbps.
The 350 Product Data Sheet indicates that the RBR350 and RBS350 have gigabit Ethernet ports. A port speed of 1200Mbps is impossible. The maximum iPerf3 performance for two computers (server/client) connected with gigabit Ethernet is just a bit over 900Mbps. The connection could be a straight Ethernet cable, an Ethernet switch, or Ethernet ports on a router or satellite. This is what the Original Post describes:
When the client is connected to the RBS350 via Ethernet, iPerf3 tests show bidirectional average speeds of 900Mbps
Regarding the laptop:
an Intel Ultra9 185H laptop, which shows an aggregated wireless link speed of 1081/865 Mbps
Specs for such laptops indicate a WiFi7 (802.11be) capability which is irrelevant because the Orbi 350 system is a WiFi6 product with a maximum theoretical speed of 600Mbps on the 2.4G WiFi channel and 1200Mbps on the 5G WiFi channel. Unlike WiFi7 systems which claim to support simultaneous use of multiple WiFi frequencies, the Orbi 350 system supports only a single connection. My guess is that the laptop connects to the router WiFi on 5G.
The awkward part of the Orbi 350 system is that the 5G WiFi channel is used for two purposes:
- Communication between Orbi router or satellite and user devices, and
- Communication between Orbi router and satellite(s) (often referred to as the "backhaul" channel.
Thus, when any 5G WiFi device is sending or receiving to/from either the router or the satellite, the backhaul channel is not available for backhaul. When the 5G WiFi channel is being used to transmit between the router and satellite, it is not available to user devices. The more costly Orbi systems use separate 5G channels for user and backhaul communications. Netgear designed the 350 product to compete with other brands that also are "dual band" (and less costly).
That theoretical 1200Mbps Link Rate on the 5G WiFi channel is affected by distance and building construction. Netgear does not provide access to the actual Link Rate between router and satellite as it does for the Link rate between user devices and Orbis.
My impression is that the system probably offers enough performance for typical use.
The only obvious way to improve performance would be to connect the router and satellite with an Ethernet cable. I would do that myself except that installing cable in my 60 year old two story house is simply impractical.