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Forum Discussion
RBR850 for separate IOT network
just wondering since the orbi 6E has an option for a separate IOT network, will you roll out the same function for orbi 6 as well? I have at the moment around 10 iot devices connected and total 20 de...
Orbi 6 doesn't have the HW for a separate IoT nework.
alvin1123 wrote:
just wondering since the orbi 6E has an option for a separate IOT network, will you roll out the same function for orbi 6 as well? I have at the moment around 10 iot devices connected and total 20 devices running at the same time and sometimes I see some switches being dropped. Not sure if it's bandwith related or just the app. Be great if I could try out a separate IOT network to compare.
FURRYe38 wrote:
Orbi 6 doesn't have the HW for a separate IoT nework.
I do not think that hardware has anything to do with it. Since the first Orbi Pro, which has exactly the same hardware as the original Orbi, Netgear has had products with multiple SSID's and "separate networks." That WiFi 6E chip added to the 960E product has nothing to do with the 2.4G WiFi band used by IoT devices. In that regard, the 960E has the same hardware as the original Orbi and the AX products. The difference lies in firmware.
In terms of network performance, adding more SSID's to an existing WiFi channel reduces capacity. Each SSID generates management overhead in the form of beacon frames announcing, "Here I am." The 2.4G bands where IoT devices live already have the lowest capacity and most interference of any WiFi system. If some IoT devices are "dropping out", adding a separate SSID for IoT will not improve the situation.
My take is that companies "move forward" to develop new products which will give customers incentives to purchase replacements for their current equipment. Part of the attraction is new features.
We on the forum, of course, are not employed by Netgear and never hear in advance of product developments.
I believe in this case HW is a factor. There are 4 separate radios on the 9 series, one of them is dedicated to the IoT or a 2.4Ghz only netowork. Some Orbi AX systems don't have.
I count four radios:
1 - 2.4G user facing (and redundancy for backhaul)
2 - 5G user facing
3 - 5G backhaul
4 - 6E user facing
One thing that surprised me was using 5G for backhaul when 6E has so many channels with higher capacity and less interference. The reviews I read seem to indicate that the reduced range of 6E is one factor that kept Netgear from using it for backhaul. (Plus, of course, that they already had backhaul working for the AX series on 5G. Why reinvent a wheel that works worse!)
Comparing the Netgear website Product Datasheets for the Orbi products is a good way to see the hardware radio differences and numbers:
- Orbi AC, e.g., RBK53
- Simultaneous Tri-band WiFi
- Radio 1: IEEE®
802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz -
256QAM support - Radio 2: IEEE®
802.11a/n/ac 5GHz -
256QAM support - Radio 3: IEEE®
802.11a/n/ac 5GHz -
256QAM support
- Orbi AX, e.g., RBK853
- Simultaneous Tri-band WiFi
- Radio 1: IEEE®
802.11b/g/n/ax
2.4GHz—1024-QAM support - Radio 2: IEEE®
802.11a/n/ac/ax
5GHz—1024-QAM support - Radio 3: IEEE®
802.11a/n/ac/ax
5GHz—1024-QAM support
- Orbi AXE, e.g., RBKE963
- Simultaneous quad-band WiFi
- Radio 1: IEEE®
802.11b/g/n/ax 2.4GHz —
1024-QAM support - Radio 2: IEEE®
802.11a/n/ac/ax 5GHz —
1024-QAM support - Radio 3: IEEE®
802.11a/n/ac/ax 5GHz —
1024-QAM support - Radio 4: IEEE®
802.11a/n/ac/ax 6GHz —
1024-QAM support
- Orbi AC, e.g., RBK53
