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Nighthawk ad7200, X6S mesh extender, specs for ethernet ports please
I am about to network my new Nighthawk ad7200 router and X6S mesh extender. They will have considerable obstacles in between them that may cause interference in the wifi signal. I am considering to ha...
The 7700 is set for the following:
Maximum Wireless Speed: 2200 Mbps (1733ac+450n) WiFi standards supported: 802.11a (54 Mbps)
802.11b (11 Mbps)
802.11g (54 Mbps)
802.11n
802.11acAC2200† WiFi - Band 1: 400Mbps @2.4GHz - 256QAM - Band 2: 866Mbps 5Ghz - 256QAM - Band 3: 866Mbps 5Ghz - 256QAM • IEEE® 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz • IEEE 802.11 a/n/ac 5GHz • IEEE 802.11 k • Two (2) 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports with autosensing technology
So it doesn't support AD modes like the AD7200 does
Maximum Wireless Speed: 7200 Mbps (4600ad+1733ac+800n) WiFi standards supported: 802.11a (54 Mbps)
802.11b (11 Mbps)
802.11g (54 Mbps)
802.11n
802.11ac
802.11ad• AD7200† WiFi - Band 1: 800 Mbps @2.4GHz – 256QAM - Band 2: 1733 Mbps @5GHz – 256QAM - Band 3: 4600 Mbps @60GHz – SC • Powerful Quad-Core 1.7GHz processor • Memory: 512MB NAND flash and 1GB DDR3 SDRAM • Enhanced Active Antennas with high powered amplifiers • Explicit Beamforming for 2.4 & 5GHz bands • Seven (7) 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet ports - 1 WAN & 6 LAN - Dual Gigabit Ethernet Port Aggregation
Ethernet ports are CAT5/6 rated. All ports are up to 1000Mb speed rated. I presume CAT7 since thats just an update to CAT6. CAT6A is inwall cable cabing and Not a inter connect cabling between devices. I have CAT6a in my walls and use CAT6 patch cabling from the walls to devices and switches. You don't necessarily have to use CAT7. CAT6 has been working great for me over the years. ZERO issues.I've used the EX7700 has an extender and wired AP. Work well with my XR450/R7800 routers.
I've tested my EX7700 at a 40 feet range inbetween with the EX at one end of the house and the main host router at the opposite end. Good range and coverage and performance for my home. Of course this is all based on building materials and having concrete walls and such will impact signal and coverage since 5Ghz is effected by buiding materials due to it's high frequency and nature. Wood and dry wall not so much.
What is the Mfr and model of the ISP modem?
Jfosterjrod58 wrote:
My isp speed is 400 Mbps up, 20 Mbps down. Turns out that purchasing a modem would give me no break on my bill; rental is free. My ISP says gigabit speed is available in my area for a 1 time $200 install fee.
I think you must have the two speeds backwards. With cable modems, the downlink is almost always faster than than the uplink. In almost all cases home users are downloading much more than they are uploading.
Jfosterjrod58 wrote:
My ISP says gigabit speed is available in my area for a 1 time $200 install fee. 😁
The Arris modem can handle 640 mbits on the cable link. So part of the installation would be to upgrade the Arris to something faster.
Jfosterjrod58 wrote:
You asked about continuing to use the Arris modem instead of the Nighthawk... It can also be my Spectrum modem?
No. Netgear would classify your Arris as a "gateway" - that is a combination of modem+router. The Nighthawk can be your router, but you would still need a modem. Most Nighthawk owners would at least turn the wifi in the Arris off. It is also possible to disable the router function in the Arris, and only use it as a modem. That is called "bridge mode", more on that below.
The C7000 Nighthawk is also a gateway that supports modem speeds of 960 mbits. There is also an Orbi gateway (CBK40) which would be a better choice (even faster modem and it would give you better wifi than the C7000). But your existing Nighthawk is an excellent router with excellent wifi, so if you want to go with your own modem you probably are better off getting a pure modem like the CM1000.
In all cases, if you have a Spectrum landline phone you will almost certainly have to use one of their gateways or modems. You might find they will give you a "free" gateway for the landline if you buy your own modem (connecting both modems to the cable feed). But if there is no price break for using your own modem, it's less hassle just to use the one they provide.
FWIW, I am somewhat confused about your VPN comment. My original question was trying to sort out what you have in mind there. Common uses of VPN are
- provide secure remote access to your home network when you are away from home
- increase privacy by routing all your internet traffic through a VPN server that is usually in a different country.
- provide some level of privacy by routing some of your internet traffic through a VPN server
Perhaps you can explain what you are wanting to accomplish on this, so we know how it fits into your network.
Jfosterjrod58 wrote:
If so, eliminating an additional IP address should, in theory, boost pass thru speed a little
No.
Guessing a bit on what you mean - I am thinking you likely are wondering if double routing (cable-network-> Arris Gateway -> Nighthawk) would be slower than
- cable-network -> cable modem -> Nighthawk
- cable network -> Arris Gateway -> Nighthawk in AP mode
- cable network -> Arris Gateway in Bridge mode -> Nighthawk in Router mode.
If you use features like port forwarding, they are a bit harder to set up if you double-route than they are with the other three possibilities. But the speed is the same. Personally I double-route (Fios gateway -> Orbi Router). I do that because there are some services in the Orbi (VPN in particular) that the Fios gateway doesn't have. Circle parental controls is another feature that likely isn't in the Arris.
My intentions for the VPN at this point, is for secure, remote access to the family network. After this is set up, the next step is a 2-drive NAS for file storage. My daughter just started college; I want her to have access from school and work.
As early retirement approaches for me, I want 802.11ad speed VR with 7.1 DTS surround sound. 😜
As early retirement approaches for me, I want 802.11ad speed VR with 7.1 DTS surround sound. 😜
Jfosterjrod58 wrote:
My intentions for the VPN at this point, is for secure, remote access to the family network.Ok. So you want to use the OpenVPN server that is built into the Nighthawk. That requires you to use it in router mode. You'll also need to use the DDNS service (also built in) so you can access via a name instead of an ever-changing IP address.
And since the Nighthawk has better wifi than the Arris, you should at least turn off the wifi on the Arris. Basically all it does is add potential wifi interference for the Nighthawk.
Jfosterjrod58 wrote:
I want 802.11ad speedI'm sorry to burst your bubble here, but you probably won't get any use from your 802.11ad feature. 802.11ad uses a 60 ghz radio (not the 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz used by normal WiFi). It does have high speed, but extremely short range (same room as the router). So far there has been no market uptake on 802.11ad - one (perhaps two) laptops supported it when it first came out a couple of years ago, but I haven't seen anything since. The WiFi folks are trying to improve it with 802.11ay, but I don't think that will change the market dynamics. It will remain a niche (useful for a wireless laptop docking station for example).
Instead the market is moving to 802.11ax (now re-branded as WiFi 6). That uses 5 ghz and 2.4 ghz spectrum, and will add some new channels (1 ghz and 7 ghz bands) as they become available in various countries. The link data rates are only 37% faster than 802.11ac, but the overall capacity is 4x greater because it is designed for dense deployments and uses spectrum more efficiently.
802.11ac is fast enough for almost all purposes - the issue consumers are already starting to face is that they have more and more wifi clients. Triband routers and mesh routers help, but the internet of things will overwhelm those approaches too. So the manufacturers (and the WiFi Alliance) are focussed on increasing the total capacity (the "dense deployments" bit ) not so much on increasing the peak speed of a single client.