RBKE963 2.5ghz ports

[Kad2]

I am looking to buy the orbi 6e mesh system rbke963 and need to know if the 2.5ghz port can be used to link a switch at 2.5ghz speeds or can it only be used as a backhaul port to the satellites?  I currently have a nighthawk ax router with its 2.5ghz port connected to a high speed nighthawk switch and want to be able to keep that 2.5ghz connection with the orbi.  The manual I downloaded was not clear about it.

 

 

[Mikey94025]

I think your question boils down to this - Can the 2.5G ethernet port be used to connect LAN devices (or a switch) as well as for backhaul?  I had assumed it could, but when I read through the User Manual I notice the same thing you did... It only talks about using that 2.5G ethernet port to create a wired backhaul.  Connecting a "LAN device" is only mentioned for Gigabit Ethernet ports 1-3.

I assume that Netgear folks here will clarify that the 2.5G port can also be used to connect a LAN device.  The product page also shows this attached picture, annotating the 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Port "for higher-speed connections OR wired backhaul."  That would seem to indicate it can be used besides backhaul purposes, similar to prior Orbi model LAN ports.

[FURRYe38]

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@Kad2 wrote:

I am looking to buy the orbi 6e mesh system rbke963 and need to know if the 2.5ghz port can be used to link a switch at 2.5ghz speeds or can it only be used as a backhaul port to the satellites?  Yes. I currently have a nighthawk ax router with its 2.5ghz port connected to a high speed nighthawk switch and want to be able to keep that 2.5ghz connection with the orbi.  Yes. The manual I downloaded was not clear about it. There are 2.5Gb LAN port on each RBS and the RBR. There is not 2.5Ghz ports. 

 

 

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[TC_in_Montana]

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@Kad2 wrote:

I am looking to buy the orbi 6e mesh system rbke963 and need to know if the 2.5ghz port can be used to link a switch at 2.5ghz speeds or can it only be used as a backhaul port to the satellites?  I currently have a nighthawk ax router with its 2.5ghz port connected to a high speed nighthawk switch and want to be able to keep that 2.5ghz connection with the orbi.  The manual I downloaded was not clear about it.

 

 

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I don't like how the user manual describes it either.

However, with that being said, I have a switch connected to the 2.5G port on the router and it works with no issues.   It is not a 2.5G switch, but rather a 1Gbps switch (Netgear GS108Ev3) but having no issues.

I would think that if it is working with a 1Gbps switch, then it would work as well with a 2.5Gbps switch.

[FURRYe38]

It should be backwards compatible. However Having mine connected, I used the 1Gb ports with a 1Gb switch just for same rate operation. One or these days I'll get a 2.5 Gb switch system in...still kinda spendy.