Orbi wired backhaul performance

Which version of FW are you using?

Any switches your using in the mix between the Satellite and Router?

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epsilonkore wrote:

My house was pre wired with Cat6 so I awaited the stable release that enabled Orbi's wired backhaul. I can say, though the Orbi has an excellent wireless backhaul, it still doesnt beat its wired backhaul. After converting my RB50 3 piece system I noticed my maximum wireless speeds increased slightly everywhere. I have gigabit internet service so I can somewhat max out the Orbi and show its flaws (few) better than someone with less speed.

 

iPhone X with just the router running can hit 641Mbps and 6ms ping speeds to Speedtest.

iPhone X With both of the Orbi satellites in Wireless Backhaul mode, tested at satellite, the top speed drops to 385Mbps and ping rises to 10ms.

iPhone X With Both of the Orbi satellite in Wired Backhaul mode, tested at satellite, the top speed rises back to 425Mbps and ping drops down to 7ms.

Macbook Pro in wireless mode hits slightly faster throughput (maxing out 720Mbps with just the router) and similar ping results to my iPhone X.

My wired connections (windows 10 gaming rig) from the router did not change in performance under any scenerio, they all hit 940Mbps and 6ms ping.

My peak wired from satellite in wireless backhaul mode is somewhat inconsistent, but always hits in the 750-800Mbps range with 9ms ping.

My peak wired from satellite in wired backhaul mode is a consistent 940Mbps with 6ms ping (same as my previously existing netgear switch).

It seems ANY backhaul enabled (as in, any Orbi Satellite turned on) results in peak drop in wireless for my iPhone X, Macbook Pro and Microsoft Surface. I also didnt try to saturate the 1gigabit wired backhaul with additional LAN to LAN traffic competing with my Gig LAN to WAN request, which could happen if you have a media server/office type setup. But that is more for finding the limits of the system than a common at home usage scenerio.

 

I wonder, with the disabled backhaul radio, could Netgear add it as another stream for the AC wireless? Not sure if they used the same AC tech/chip, but would be interesting if you could also see significantly enhanced wireless with say a 3x3 or 4x4 device vs Orbi's current 2x2 max setup. 

 

If you are using your Satellites, a wired backhaul is definitely superior to wireless, though its not earthshatteringly better. The prime advantages are slightly improved thoughput, consistency, lower jitter and significantly lower ping. Of course it also gets rid of one or two extra wireless streams that could be slower in noisier wireless environments than what I have.

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