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Forum Discussion
cyberbiker
Jun 30, 2023Guide
What Does “6-Stream WiFi Router” Mean?
I want a WiFi router that can broadcast on at least 4 SSIDs. The lingo is a bit confusing. Does “6-Stream” in the Nighthawk® RAX50 AX6 6-Stream AX5400 WiFi Router mean it can have 6 SSIDs? https://...
- Jun 30, 2023
Stream means how many MIMO antennas are running 2.4 and 5Ghz at the same time. 6x6 would be what this means here.
The most you'll ever see out of a dual band is two SSID broadcasts. Tri band router you can get 3 SSID broadcasts. Broadcasts is the SSID name for the 2.4 and 5Ghz radio frequencies. Most of the time Smart Connect is a feature that combines the 2.4 and 5Ghz SSID names into one SSID Name broadcast for both 2.4 and 5Ghz frequencies.
Kitsap
Jun 30, 2023Master
cyberbiker wrote:
I want a WiFi router that can broadcast on at least 4 SSIDs. The lingo is a bit confusing.
Does “6-Stream” in the Nighthawk® RAX50 AX6 6-Stream AX5400 WiFi Router mean it can have 6 SSIDs? https://imgur.com/a/uu1o9LI
If not, what verbiage should I look for that indicates how many SDIDs a router has?
Do not become a victim of marketing hype, it is a moving target to avoid! Some background reading material here:
https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html
Scroll down to Appendix Q: What 'Stream' means.
Also, scroll down to Appendix N: Beware tri-band marketing hype.
Do you want all four SSIDs to be broadcasting on the same frequency band? (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) If yes, you are going to have a difficult time obtaining that in one single router. Recommend you rethink your requirements.
What are you actually trying to accomplish?
- michaelkenwardJul 01, 2023Guru - Experienced User
Kitsap wrote:
What are you actually trying to accomplish?
The all important question.
Answering that may be a revelation.
Many times people have turned up here asking for some capability or another only to find that there are much better ways of getting to their real destination than going off on some wild goose chase.
As to four SSIDs, no one has mentioned the Guest word.
But not knowing the ultimate goal, who knows where that could fit in?
- cyberbikerJul 01, 2023GuideI would want one SSID exclusively for my devices. Two others would be guest networks for 2.4 G and 5G. The fourth work would be for some other people for whom I’m providing service. The security protocols would vary.
- schumakuJul 01, 2023Guru - Experienced User
cyberbiker wrote:
I would want one SSID exclusively for my devices. Two others would be guest networks for 2.4 G and 5G. The fourth work would be for some other people for whom I’m providing service. The security protocols would vary.This is why I'm asking this all over. How do you want the segregation done? All four SSIDs should connect to the same network, same IP subnet, ...? The "guest" network term is yet another lazy marketing term, the capabilities are varying widely.
- cyberbikerJul 02, 2023Guide<< Some background reading material here: https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html >>
Kitsap, what an incredibly informative link! I plan to spend considerable time on it. Thanks- KitsapJul 02, 2023Master
cyberbiker wrote:
<< Some background reading material here: https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html >>
Kitsap, what an incredibly informative link! I plan to spend considerable time on it. ThanksIt is referenced here on a regular basis and it gets updated frequently!