NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.

Forum Discussion

posey_mvp's avatar
posey_mvp
Follower
Jan 01, 2022

Netgear Orbi wifi 6e Ethernet backhaul?

I just purchased the 3 pack AXE11000 WiFi Mesh System (RBKE963). Is it possible to connect only one of the Satellite using Ethernet backhaul? The other satellite in corner of house doesn’t support Ethernet. Or would it be better just leave both satellites using wireless backhaul?

9 Replies

  • CrimpOn's avatar
    CrimpOn
    Guru
    Jan 01, 2022
    posey_mvp wrote:
    I just purchased the 3 pack AXE11000 WiFi Mesh System (RBKE963). Is it possible to connect only one of the Satellite using Ethernet backhaul? The other satellite in corner of house doesn’t support Ethernet. Or would it be better just leave both satellites using wireless backhaul?

    This should not be a problem.  Every other Orbi model supports a mix of wired and WiFi connected satellites.

    Although the "super duper AX 5G backhaul" promises enormous speed, the single WiFi channel is shared between every Orbi unit on the system: 1 router plus 2 satellites. Whenever one unit broadcasts, the others must wait. Placing one satellite on wireless backhaul should improve the speed of the remaining satellite. (although in practical terms most people might not notice any difference.)

     

    What do you have to lose by giving it a try?

    • 306Orbi's avatar
      306Orbi
      Star
      Jan 03, 2022

      With speeds of Wifi Exceeding my wired 5E Cat Cabling... do you think it is advisable to use wireless backhaul (for better speeds) than wired backhaul?

      • CrimpOn's avatar
        CrimpOn
        Guru
        Jan 03, 2022
        306Orbi wrote:

        With speeds of Wifi Exceeding my wired 5E Cat Cabling... do you think it is advisable to use wireless backhaul (for better speeds) than wired backhaul?

        This question is an unfortunate consequence of the marketing hype based on the theoretical maximum link rate of WiFi radios.

         

        Ethernet connections are (a) full duplex, traffic flows both directions at the same time, and (b) low overhead, a 1gb ethernet link can routinely pass over 900mb of data in both directions. 

         

        WiFi connections are:

        • less than half duplex. Each radio must wait for the others to stop broadcasting before it can broadcast.  If there are only two WiFi radios on the same channel, then they can 'take turns'.  If there are three radios on the same channel (1 router + 2 satellites), then each radio may get 1/3 of the air time.  If neaby radios are also on the same channel, then each gets less.
        • More affected by overhead. Each WiFi packet has more 'bits' than an ethernet packet and WiFi also has a multitude of 'management' packets(beacon frames every 1/10th of a second for example).
        • Affected by distance and building materials.  Notice the footnote in tiny type, which is basically a variation on the phrase "your milage may differ."  My (older) Orbi claims a backhaul link of 1,733mb/s, yet the actual "link rates" are 780 for one satellite and 866 for the other.  The farther away the satellites are and the more material in the pathway, the lower the actual rate will be.

        Does this "matter" in terms of most usage?  No. With most customers have Internet connections under 400mb and most customers not using even a fraction of that bandwidth most of the time, they will not notice any serious performance issues.  And, with the Orbi using a separate radio link for backhaul, then Orbi's performance will certainly be better than dual band systems that make the backhaul link share radios with user devices.

         

        Ethernet backhaul will always be superior to WiFi backhaul (for those who are lucky enough to be able to install the cabling).