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Orbi -v- Eero
How would you approach that ? - does Orbi fare better in some way (speed etc) - as Eero, er, has the edge on aestetics (very small form factor) - but if Orbi was better by some margin then the increa...
Hello MikeSpragg
Other existing WiFi systems are dual band AC1200 systems. They have the same limitations that AC1200 range extenders have. Namely that they provide coverage, but not the speeds required for fast internet connections. Since they use the same radios to talk to clients and other nodes in their system, there’s a large system-wide loss in bandwidth to transmit data between the nodes. This is why when you add several devices to their network, the combined throughput of the entire network drops significantly.
Orbi uses tri-band mesh, with a combined speed of AC3000. This gives us a gigantic speed advantage over the other Wifi systems. We use one of the bands for a dedicated connection between the nodes in the system. (the kit we announced yesterday is two nodes, but we also allow for expansion if you need more coverage). This means that we don’t have to share time when listening for clients and other nodes in the system. Due to this, our own internal testing shows that we’re anywhere from two to ten times faster than the other wifi systems throughout a customer’s house.
Additionally, due to the strong connection between the units, device placement is not critical like other wireless systems. I believe other wireless systems recommend line of sight placement within 40 feet of each other. We recommend customers place one Orbi next to their modem or cable gateway, and the other somewhere centrally in their house. We don’t depend on line of sight. While we may be a bit larger than other wireless systems, this added flexibility means you don’t have to place networking devices awkwardly at the top and bottom of the stairs at your house, or in the middle of your hallway. We think this is much more realistic in modern houses than measuring out the feet between the nodes.
DarrenM
Hi Darren M.
I am interested in the inter box communications. You say that Orbi uses a 3 channel system one of which is used for inter Orbi communication.
"Orbi uses tri-band mesh, with a combined speed of AC3000. This gives us a gigantic speed advantage over the other Wifi systems. We use one of the bands for a dedicated connection between the nodes in the system. (the kit we announced yesterday is two nodes, but we also allow for expansion if you need more coverage). This means that we don’t have to share time when listening for clients and other nodes in the system. Due to this, our own internal testing shows that we’re anywhere from two to ten times faster than the other wifi systems throughout a customer’s house."
Therefore 2 bands are used for personal device connectivity - 2.4ghz and 5ghz? If this is correct are both of those bands (or whatever you transmit) available as separate entities to log onto at the satellite?
Do you run some sort of proprietary protocol between the Orbis? I am not interested in the specific mechanism, just the overview. You say that the Orbis are not line of sight dependent - thats great - but they must have to receive at least a minimum amount of signal to sync? If the sync is on the edge what are the resync times like? I live in a villa constricted of steel reinforced concrete and have been tearing my hair out trying t get signals where needed. Extenders are useless as they just share out the signal and reduce overall BW avaialble to users. This Orbi seems to hit most if not all my requirements. Are there plans to enable wired connectivity between the devices?
Hello Pylona
There is 2 bands for your devices but you can not pick which one to connect to it is 1 SSID and band steering picks the best connection for the device. As for the connection the base and satellite connect via a 5ghz back haul wifi channel so it would work like any other wifi connection where certain things can interfere with the signal. The orbi has lights on it to let you know if your satellite has good enough signal to be used when setting it up. As for the wired connection that is a request by the community right now but I have no info right now if that is coming at a later date.
DarrenM
Just a quick sanity check - if this uses a 5ghz signal then this is going to be subject to a fairly clear path, correct ? (as 5Ghz is more subject to interference and works much better in LoS ?)
So, in essence, if you put a unit next to your router (downstairs) and the satellite is upstairs *and* it can't connect - then the whole thing fails surely ?
Or, if you can get a connection between the two - then the position of the satellite is still going to affect the devices on the outer edge / outer reach on those upper floors.
Lastly, if you have a 3rd/4th satellite - this still needs to reach the original unit (e.g A -> B and A->C, rather than A->B->C)
A--(Router)---------------B (bottom of stairs)
A----------------------------------------C (top of stairs)
A----------------------------------------------------------------------------D (furthest reach, far corner of top floor)
In other words, the reliance is on always getting a 5Ghz signal back to Orbi A. In the crude example above - if Orbi D is located at the further reach of the house - then it's more likely than not a 5Ghz signal wouldn't reach back to A ? (how does the Orbi A display a connection if you had 3 satellites as per example above?). Seems that the idea is OK, provided the star network works and is unaffected by walls/brick etc. between floors and units. if you could connect them via Ethernet (kinda defeats the purpose) this would have been OK - but I get the feeling this would only work OK in a wooden house or dot-dab plasterboard stud walls. If D could communicate with C and C with B (ie mesh 5Ghz) then this would work great. I fear this isn't the case.... The original question was responded to (by Darren) as Mesh - but others have contributed that it's not - it's star (and your latest answer appears to confirm that as well) - can someone clarify please ...
hi
no need for line of sight
i have my orbi router at the back of my house and the sat in the middle with a wall and kitchen inbetween and the connection is still close to max throughput wise eg 60MB/s over the backhaul link ( tested via the ethernet ports )
however placement between floors is dependent on what the construction materials of the ceiling / floor inbetween them is
think of the transmission as a bubble around each device ( plus some extra with beamforming ) you just need to make sure the bubble of each device overlaps the other by about 20 - 30%
correct at this stage all sats have to connect back to the router only , this may change if netgear adopt mesh topology in the future
however mesh has its issues with throughput
what i would do is just go with 1 x orbi router and 1 x orbi sat and see how the coverage goes , if it doesnt get you close to full house coverage the orbi may not be for you ( that is unless you can place the orbi sat in the middle of the house and sat's around it )
you can however have to many transmissions so going out and buying 2 or 3 sat's many be counter to what you are trying to achieve
pete
Thanks. Sorry, I should clarify - I didn't mean line of sight as in visual but without incumbrance of (many) walls, floors etc that absorb/distort the 5ghz signal. Definitely plan to give it a go - just a little worried the marketing hype has overtaken technical reality :-))
