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Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

HKSoft
Aspirant

Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

1. If I have 2 of NETGEAR RAX120, one for the AP mode and another one for the bridge mode on the 5Ghz band. Can it benefit from 8 streams and Beamforming from 8 of its antennas on both routers?

2. If it has 8 streams on a single 5Ghz band, why it can't reach the speed of 9.6Gbps?

 

Model: RAX120|Nighthawk AX12 12-Stream WiFi Router
Message 1 of 16
plemans
Guru

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.


@HKSoft wrote:

1. If I have 2 of NETGEAR RAX120, one for the AP mode and another one for the bridge mode on the 5Ghz band. Can it benefit from 8 streams and Beamforming from 8 of its antennas on both routers?

2. If it has 8 streams on a single 5Ghz band, why it can't reach the speed of 9.6Gbps?

 


8 streams: 4x-2.4ghz streams (1.2gbps)  and 4x 5ghz streams (4.8gbps). Equals 6gbps. AX6000

 

Not sure what you mean by 2x rax120s with one for ap mode and one for bridge mode. Is one of them running in router mode or are you using a different device for that. 

Not sure why you want to use bridge mode. you'd be much better off hardwired together.  

Message 2 of 16
HKSoft
Aspirant

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

Sorry to make you confused but NETGEAR RAX120 has 12 streams in total, 4 on 2.4Ghz and 8 on a single 5Ghz band.

All questions I asked here focus on the 8 streams on the single 5Ghz band.

 

Wire not an option for me, if I can wire my network I won't ask, obviously.

Message 3 of 16
plemans
Guru

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

sorry, it is 5ghz 8x8 but its still 4800mbps (4.8gbps)

Message 4 of 16
HKSoft
Aspirant

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

That the question right? Why it had 8 streams but can't get 9.6Gbps and what the benefit from it? Why not using 8 streams for tri-band.

Message 5 of 16
plemans
Guru

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

Reason why comes down to they way it implements 160hz channels. 160hz wide channels can run 1.2ghz. But they RAX can only run 160hz wide channels in a 4x4 arrangement. 

when its running in 8x8 mode its using 80hz wide channels. (600mbps speed x8=4800mbps)

When you run it in 160 hz, it has to run in a 80hz+80hz setup. It doesn't have the option of a single antenna running 160hz like the RAX200.  

so regardless of running it in 80hz or 160hz, you still max out at the 4800 mbps. 

Message 6 of 16
HKSoft
Aspirant

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

So, this means if I run it on 80Mhz bandwidth using all of 8 antennae I should get more signal strength than router with 4 streams using 160Mhz, right?

 

If Beamforming still working if I use 8 streams mode?

Message 7 of 16
plemans
Guru

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.


@HKSoft wrote:

So, this means if I run it on 80Mhz bandwidth using all of 8 antennae I should get more signal strength than router with 4 streams using 160Mhz, right?

 

If Beamforming still working if I use 8 streams mode?


No. The broadcast strength is the same. Its the channel width that's different. 

Try it both ways and speedtest it. Maybe one setup works better in your area due to channel interference. 

 

Beamforming should still work. 

Message 8 of 16
HKSoft
Aspirant

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

I look deeper into the FCC document it seems like 80Mhz + 80Mhz that we talking about not support Beamforming. 

 

So, in my usage case, I shouldn't get this router. It seems like this router better suits for public space with lots of clients.

Message 9 of 16
plemans
Guru

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

so you're trying to go RAX120------wireless bridge------RAX120. 

Is that correct?

How much bandwidth are you trying to push through it? 

From the sounds of it you're trying to maximize as much as possible. 

Maybe explaining what your trying to achieve would be better 

Message 10 of 16
HKSoft
Aspirant

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

Currently, I using 2 ASUS RT-AC68U, one as AP mode and another one as a bridge mode. RT-AC68U has a maximum speed of 1,300 Mbps on 5Ghz AC. Due to the obstacle and range, I can only max out 360 Mbps.

 

So, I can only get a speed ratio of 0.2769. If on the 4,804 Mbps AX I should get around 1,330 Mbps. And this doesn't count the fact that it has 1 more antenna that should help get the signal strength a little bit higher from Beamforming.

 

I aim to get 1Gbps on the WIFI bridge.

Message 11 of 16
plemans
Guru

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

What obstacle and how far are you going?

Is the 360mbps your actual throughput or is that your link speed? 

there's several options you could try. buying 2x RAX120's is a bit expensive of an option.

have you tried powerline/moca adapters/ or a point to point system? 

 

Message 12 of 16
HKSoft
Aspirant

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

1. My obstacle is 2 concert walls, 1 glass door, and 1 closet. The range is around 10 meters. It's between the same floor, indoor usage.

 

2. Now that you point it out, 360 Mbps its actual speed. Let me correct my mistake. On my current setup, I have connection speed between the router about 702 Mbps. So, the ratio should be 0.54. If I apply this to 4.8Gbps AX it should be 2,592 Mbps, the actual speed would be 1,296 Mbps. I aim to get the actual speed at least 1Gbps or more as a buffer.

 

3. I use powerline a few years ago before I move to the WIFI bridge. At first, it was fine but we change some of the electrical grid in our home after that it doesn't work anymore. Plus, I just get a gigabit connection that why I aim at 1 Gbps connection, which powerline can't deliver.

 

MoCA can't get 1 Gbps as far as I know.

 

Point to Point (I assume it an outdoor system?) required too much setup (drilling for the antenna) and besides that, I use it indoor across the 2 rooms on the same floor. And the speed of Point to Point is slow, and it expensive.

Message 13 of 16
plemans
Guru

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

Theoretically you'll see in improvement. 

In usage? I'm not sure if it'll be that benefical. The concrete walls are the issue and 5ghz is sensitive to concrete as you've found out. With as fast as 5ghz AX speeds drop off, I'm not sure you'll see the same ration that you're seeing with the AC devices. 

If you're not renting, it might be worth investing the time/energy/cost to find a way to run an ethernet cable. Otherwise it'll be a constant battle. 

Not that I'm trying to stop you from buying a router but an RAX120 is currently $400 on amazon so $800 total for 2. I'd be willing to bet someone in your area would be willing to do the work for cheaper than that. Plus then you could just hardwire in your current devices 

Message 14 of 16
HKSoft
Aspirant

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.

I wish I could wire... you could say my case is one of a kind. That why I struggle to find information. Back then when I plan to get the current WIFI bridge setup I bet the outcome but it worth it because the internet speed it uses to be like 200 Mbps.

 

But now I have a baseline for the WIFI bridge and I get 701 Mbps out of 1300 Mbps on my current router (3 streams). In theory, I should get the same or better ratio if I move to 4 streams AX with Beamforming, 160 Mhz bandwidth, QAM 1024, right? 😅

 

Hopefully, when the router gets sales, I'll grab 2 of Nighthawk AX8 or ASUS RT-AX88U.

 

Which one do you think it the best between Nighthawk AX8 or ASUS RT-AX88U?

Message 15 of 16
plemans
Guru

Re: Question about NETGEAR RAX120, need an expert for this question.


 

Which one do you think it the best between Nighthawk AX8 or ASUS RT-AX88U?


I don't have either one so can't attest to how well either one runs

Message 16 of 16
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