Wifi Router vs Wifi Access Point

The wireless access point and the wireless router are two devices with different main role in wireless networking.

Before you buy a device to build a wifi network at home then make sure you choose the right device, either you have to buy a wifi router or wifi access point. Today, you may find that mesh wifi router is getting more popular than wifi router in general, one of most popular products is asus zenwifi et12 mesh wifi 6e axe11000 with the addition 6ghz radio band instead of 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands.

What is the main difference

Some people make mistake in buying the correct wireless devices for building the wifi network in home or small offices. They frequently make mistake by purchasing the wireless access point instead of the wireless router to share the internet connection in home. You cannot share the internet by connecting the wireless access point to the native modem. Why? 

The main difference between the wireless access point and wireless router lies on the NAT feature (besides many security features the routers have). Typically the wireless access points do not have the NAT or firewall feature, but the wireless routers do. What is NAT? 

NAT 

First thing you need to understand is the basic concept of network address translation (NAT). NAT is a feature that must exist on all types of routers. NAT is the primary method to translate the unregistered IP addresses behind the firewall to a single (or more) registered IP address to access the internet. NAT functions as an intermediary between a client computer on an unregistered network (private network) and the public Internet network.

The figure 1 shows a conceptual diagram how the computers with the unregistered IP address behind the firewall (in your internal / private network) access the internet via firewall. The outside interface of the firewall must use the registered / public IP address. Generally the registered IP address can be obtained from your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

The figure 1 shows a conceptual diagram how the computers with the unregistered IP address behind the firewall (in your internal / private network) access the internet via firewall. The outside interface of the firewall must use the registered / public IP address. Generally the registered IP address can be obtained from your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Private and public IP addresses

Unregistered IP addresses are typically the private IP addresses which cannot be routed to the internet. The registered IP addresses are the public IP addresses that are used for Internet communication. So when you design your internal or private network (network behind the firewall) you must use the private IP addresses instead of using the public IP addresses.

On the other hand, you must use the public IP addresses on the interface of the firewall that faces the internet. All the computers that share the same internet connection behind the firewall will use a single public IP address to communicate with other computers in the wild internet. And other computers on the internet will only be able to reach you via a single public address on the external interface of the firewall. See more detail about IP NAT here.

The table below shows the range of the private IP addresses you can use for your internal networks (the network behind the firewall / router).

Class Type	Start Address	End Address
Class A	10.0.0.0	10.255.255.254
Class B	172.16.0.0	172.31.255.254
Class C	192.168.0.0	192.168.255.254

Home wireless routers

Mostly all the wireless routers configure their default IP addressees using Class C private IP addresses. The following table shows some of the wireless routers with their default IP addresses that use Class C private addresses.

Router	Address	Username	Password
Belkin	http://192.168.2.1	Login	(leave blank)
D-Link	http://192.168.0.1	admin	(leave blank)
Linksys	http://192.168.1.1	admin	admin
NETGEAR	http://192.168.0.1	admin	password
TP-link	http://192.168.1.1	admin	admin

The wireless routers have the firewall (NAT) function to translate many computers behind the router to a single registered IP address to enable the internet communication. While the wireless access points do not have the NAT function, so they cannot share a single registered IP address from the ISP with many computers behind the access points (when the Access point is connected directly to the native modem).

Before you purchase either the wireless router or the wireless access point, you should examine if your existing modem is a native modem (which does not have the firewall function or NAT feature such as DOCSIS 3.0 SB6190 Cable modem) or a gateway – a compact router / firewall with built-in modem such as Motorola mg8725 ax6000 with built-in docsis 3.1 cable modem. 

However, some types of wireless routers can also be configured to function as the wireless access point, for example Asus RT-ax89u router and other Asus router series, Netgear high end routers such as Nighthawk raxe500 axe11000 etc. You need to connect the wifi router to the existing network and configure your router to act as the wireless access point.

If you setup the wireless access point by connecting it to the native modem, there will only be one computer that can connect to the internet in a time. You should connect the wireless router to the native modem to share the internet.

See also : Linksys Velop mesh wifi system or Orbi Pro for businesses.

Cheers, Ali H

Linksys velop vs Google mesh wifi system

Following its success with Linksys Velop three band mesh wifi system, Linksys introduces more economical model with Linksys Velop two band version. We’ll see how good this product is compared with Google mesh wifi system.

What this product does

Unlike the first generation of Linksys Velop that comes with three band, Linksys introduces Velop two band based on wireless AC1200 network segment speeds of up to 867Mbps @5Ghz and up to 400Mbps @2.4Ghz.

Linksys Velop 3 band

MU-MIMO

Same as the first three band model, Linksys Velop two band supports MU-MIMO technology to allow system to deliver to multiple MU-MIMO based clients concurrently, not one by one like traditional non MU-MIMO clients. This will eliminate lagging in video streaming or online gaming.

Wifi speeds

With the absence of one of the two 5Ghz bands as applied to the three band model, Velop two-bands offers speeds of up to 867Mbps @5Ghz band plus up to 400Mbps @2.4Ghz band for total of 1200Mbps instead of 2200Mbps @three band model.

This configuration is almost the same as those two band model mesh wifi system such as TP-link Deco, Eero and Google mesh or new model of Asus Lyra trio mesh system, or any other two band in top 10 mesh wireless routers.

Except the number of concurrent radio bands both Velop mesh routers can support, all other features are the same between the models of Linksys Velop.

The price of the two band model is cheaper, that’s fair right, the less bandwidth the less number of band the less bucks to spend.

Highlights

• Wireless AC1200 dual band mesh wifi router
• Speed up to 867Mbps @5Ghz plus 400Mbps @2.4Ghz
• Intelligent Mesh technology for self organize, self optimize and self healing
• MU-MIMO and 256 QAM technologies
• 3x internal antennas and high powered amplifiers
• Single SSID network name
• Auto firmware update
• Spot finder mesh system for best placement
• Support Alexa

Linksys Velop two band provides you good network coverage up to 4500 sq ft area to blanket all home sizes with the same SSID name roaming seamlessly within rooms of your home.

Linksys Velop two band is to compete with those mesh wifi routers that are tagged with more economical price in the market, however you might find that the first generation of Eero whole home wifi system is tagged higher price than others.

Linksys Velop vs Google

When you compare Linksys Velop two band with Google mesh wifi router you may find that both products have nearly the same features. See the following spec comparison table as a reference for head to head spec comparison between the two models.

Google mesh wifi

Wave 2

Google mesh wifi system is already designed based on wave 2 wireless technology which is ready for gigabit wifi speeds. Few mesh wifi models have been ready for the wave 2 wifi technology including new version of Eero three band mesh system and Tenda MW6 Nova (try this cheaper model of mesh wifi router so far).

Many people think that wave 2 is not a matter since your network speed is only up to 867Mbps @5Ghz band. That makes sense, however with the same opinion you might think that DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem such as Surfboard SB8200 DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem is useless when you only subscribe 300Mbps service plan while your modem can speed up to 1.4Gbps. in the real world the performance of the modem is better than standard 8×4 DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem.

Having ready with the future of technology is better than similar product with today’s technology.

Table 1 Linksys Velop vs Google mesh

Model	Linksys Velop Two band	Google Mesh
Wifi network segment	AC1200	AC1200 2×2 wave 2
Wifi speeds	~867Mbps @5Ghz band plus ~400Mbps @2.4Ghz band	~867Mbps @5Ghz band plus ~400Mbps @2.4Ghz band
Antenna design	3x internal antennas and high powered amplifiers	Internal antennas
Coverage (3 pack)	~ 4500 sq ft	~4500 sq ft
Operation modes	Wireless router, bridge and wireless bridge	Mesh wireless router
Ethernet ports	1x Gigabit WAN port, 1x Gigabit LAN port	1x Gigabit WAN port, 1x Gigabit LAN port
Protection	Standard parental control with firmware auto update	Standard parental control, guest network
Other features	MU-MIMO, 256 QAM, guest network,  spot finder, auto wifi channel, Amazon Alexa supports	MU-MIMO, beamforming, QoS by device/ application, location assistant, Alexa
Price (three pack – Jul 2018 in Amazon)	$280.00	$256.00

To learn more spec, manufacturer description, current price and rating for Google mesh in Amazon click the link below:

See also previous article Netgear Orbi for business

Orbi Pro for Business

Netgear introduces Orbi Pro SR60 wireless mesh access point for businesses – AC3000 three band wireless ac access point replaces your wireless access point.

Orbi for business

Like original Orbi for homes where each Orbi units connects each other without wire replacing your wireless router and range extender, Orbi Pro for business is meant for replacing your business wireless ac access point.

Orbi Pro for business 

High speed backhaul

Normally you require UTP network cable to connect each of the POE wireless ac access point to the network such as EnGenius EAP1300ext AC AP and EnGenius ENH1750ext AC AP. With Orbi Pro each unit connects without wire, no wire connection between unit but using high speed 1,750Mbps wireless AC backhaul. It is assuring that there will no network saturation or network bottleneck with high bandwidth backhaul.

Actually this technology is similar one with what Asus apply to Asus Lyra mesh home with dedicated band for each unit connection. See also comparison between Asus Lyra Orbi and eero Pro.

Up to 40 clients

The other two 5Ghz band and 2.4Ghz band are used for user clients connection, up to 40 wifi clients can connect to the system with speeds of up to 867Mbps @5Ghz band and up to 400Mbps @2.4Ghz band covering up to 5,000 sq ft. so that’s why Orbi Pro wireless ac access point is ideal to support your small business.

Replacing wifi AP

With Orbi Pro wireless mesh access point, it is naturally a wireless mesh access point model like those introduced by Ubiquiti UAP-AC-M mesh wifi AP. Add each Orbi Pro to cover up to 2,500 sq ft, no wire connection but power cable to each unit. The first router unit should connect to your existing modem or gateway such as Linksys CG7500 wireless AC1900 wifi gateway.

Please note that EnGenius also introduces new model of mesh wireless access point that is integrated with dome surveillance camera – the EnGenius EWS1025CAM wireless AC AP mesh cam. But only the 2.4Ghz band can be meshed like Orbi Pro.

Highlights

1. Three band mesh wifi system replacing your business wireless Access point
2. Netgear patented fastlane3 technology
3. 1.7Gbps dedicated backhaul for each Orbi unit 
4. 3.0Gbps combined bandwidth – three band (1,750Gbps + 867Mbps + 400Mbps)
5. Covering up to 5,000 sq ft and connect up to 40 clients
6. 6x high performance high power internal antennas
7. Ready with Beamforming and MU-MIMO technologies
8. 4x Gigabit Ethernet ports
9. LAN ports can be used for printer, IP phone, digital billboard and more
10. Up to 3 distinct wifi networks

Like other wireless ac access point products, the Ethernet port (LAN ports) can be used for wired-based devices like printer, IP phone and more Ethernet based devices.

To learn more thorough insights about this Orbi Pro wireless mesh access point including spec details, manufacturer’s description, current rating more click the link below.

See also new best wifi6 ax6000 routers the new model of high speed of wifi 6^th generation (aka wifi6) – See also one of best mesh wifi system

Best Whole Home Mesh Wifi Routers Part 2

The next two best mesh wifi system products available in the market are Eero Pro and Linksys Velop three band mesh wifi systems like Orbi three band system. Google mesh wifi system is two band model like TP-link Deco 1^st generation.

1.       3. Eero Pro

Many people believe that the first generation of Eero is the first model of mesh home wifi system in the market. It is a two band mesh whole home wifi system and today Eero offers the new Pro Eero which is the three band mesh router technology.

Unlike the first model which is standard design this 2^nd G of eero pro supports and works with Alexa with TrueMesh software. With this easy to use app you can setup parental control, Alexa integration and other networking management task.

Eero Pro Three Band Whole Home System

Highlights

• Twice as fast as the 1^st generation of eero with TrueMesh technology
• Simultaneous three band technology (2.4Ghz; 5.2Ghz; 5.8Ghz) with 2x2 MU-MIMO each band
• Speeds of up to 240Mbps @2.4Ghz; and 2x 600Mbps @5Ghz
• Blanket your home with solid wifi up to 1,000 sq ft each unit
• 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports and BLE 4.2 Bluetooth
• Auto update firmware
• Works and supports Alexa for voice command
• Powered by 700Mbps Quad core processor and 512MB RAM and 4GB flash 

You may find that this Eero pro product with three packs is tagged with higher price than the other similar products available in the market today.

4.  Linksys Velop Tri-band

Linksys introduces various models of mesh wifi system and one of them is Linksys Velop WHW0302. It is a three band whole home wifi system with AC4400 wifi network segment, one of best mesh wifi router products in the market so far.

Like other mesh system which is modular system, with Linksys Velop you can scale up to extend the coverage. With two pack system you can cover up to 4,000 sq ft, each unit covers up to 2,000 sq ft area.

You can easily setup the products easily using Linksys app, it’s quick process for setting including parental control, guest network, and is auto-fix node to recover the fault unit to re-establish the network by using another node.

Linksys Velop Three Band Mesh Wifi ystem

Highlights

• Three band mesh wifi system, 2.4GHz + 5GHz + 5GHz
• Speeds of up to 867Mbps + 867Mbps + 400Mbps (AC2,200)
• 6x internal antennas with high powered amplifiers
• Supports MU-MIMO technology
• 2x Gigabit WAN/LAN with auto-sensing Ethernet ports
• 716MHz quad core processor with 4GB flash and 512MB RAM

Linksys Velop is rated excellent in Amazon nearly 4.5 average rated and is tagged with slightly more expensive than Google or TP-link Deco and Linkys Velop.

Continued

Best Wifi 6 Wireless AX6000 Routers

Have you already upgraded your aging wireless g/n router with wifi ac (5^th generation of wifi technology) router lately? If you haven’t done it yet then you’re lucky since it is now coming new wifi 6 (6^th generation of wifi technology) with boosting wifi speeds up to 6,000Mbps dual band. See also best home mesh wifi systems.

Netgear, Asus and TP-link have come into the market with this wifi 6 technology when others are still competing with their wireless ac products.

What this wifi 6 does

Wifi 6 technology is the next generation of 6^th G wireless technology with blazing wifi speeds of up to 4.8Gbps @5GHz band and blazing speeds of up to 1.2Gbps @2.4Ghz band, or as known as ax6000 since the total bandwidth speed is up to 6,000Mbps concurrently.

Wifi Comparison

To have a brief knowledge what this wifi 6 is compared with the previous wifi technology take a look at the following wifi 6 chart.

See that wifi 6 provides faster speed, increase network capacity, more devices to connect, ideal for homes with more than 20 devices on the network. With wifi 6 you can simultaneously play online game, stream video, and other heavy duty networking tasks efficiently.

 What are` those products that adopt this wifi 6 technology? The following products are few models with ax6000 based routers you may consider to upgrade your aging wireless g/n or wireless ac router.

Netgear RAX80

Netgear introduces this wifi 6 product namely Nighthawk ax8 (Netgear RAX80) with really awesome design, flat with two left and right wings like stealth air fighter. Powered by high performance 1.8GHz quad core processor, this wifi 6 router provides you decent performance.

Netgear RAX80 / Nighthawk AX8 wifi 6 router

Highlights

• Awesome design wifi 6 router (802.11ax)
• Dual band high speed up to 1.2Gbps @2.4GHz band and up to 4.8Gbps @5Ghz band
• MU-MIMO with uplink and downlink OFDMA (orthogonal frequency-division multiple access)
• Supports 160MHz channel
• High performance 4pcs pre-optimized internal antennas
• More interfaces: 1x Gigabit WAN, 5x Gigabit LANs with Gigabit Ethernet port aggregation
• 2x USB 3.0 port
• Powered by Quad core 1.8Ghz processor
• Can handle up to 20 devices without wifi drops, no buffering, no stuttering
• Can create a single SSID which can handle both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz clients seamlessly

This wifi 6 Netgear RAX80 is a good product when connect to similar matching ax clients for optimum data throughput. This product is still pricey around $390 (April, 2019 in Amazon).

Asus RT-AX88U

Another model of wifi 6 router you may also consider is the one introduced by Asus – RT-AX88U ax6000 router. it’s almost similar product as Netgear RAX80 except couple of features. The design is almost the same as previous Asus RT-AC89U wireless ac2900 gaming router.

Asus -RT-AX88U wifi 6 router

It comes with external antennas instead of internal like Nighthawk. The good thing is that this product (Asus RT-AX88U) comes with lifetime free commercial grade network security – the Asus AiProtection powered by Trend Micro with regular security signature updated.

Asus RT-AX88U also comes with built-in wtfast to secure shortest possible path between your gaming and the game server to minimize ping and lag.

By KG

Best Whole Home Mesh Wifi Routers

With the emerging of mesh wifi system products, folks are busy switching and upgrading their aging wireless routers to using this trend – the mesh wifi system or mesh whole home wifi system. All the networking vendors introduce their flagship products, some are successful in the market become best mesh wifi system and some are not.

Why mesh wifi system

Mesh wifi system or whole home wifi system is easy to setup and deploy within small to large homes. Typically it comes in two or three packs for most home size. One unit connects to the modem to act as the mesh wifi router, the other units work as its satellite something like the wireless range extender. Mesh wifi system replaces the wireless router and the range extender..

With wireless extender, the router talks to the extender head to head while in mesh wifi system each unit talks one to another in a mesh connection so data can find the best route from node to node to destination point efficiently. Communication between nodes typically uses wifi backhaul either using dedicated radio band @5GHz band or shared radio band with connected clients. And today with latest mesh wifi 6e system; generally the dedicated backhaul uses 6ghz radio band or share with other compliant 6ghz band devices.

One network name

One of most important features with mesh wifi system is that it creates a single wifi / network name (aka one SSID name) so you can move with your mobile device roaming from one room to the other rooms seamlessly. With wifi range extender when you roam from one network name to wifi range extender you need switching from one SSID to another SSID name.

Mesh wifi system is also applied to wireless access point such as Unifi uap- Flex HD mesh wifi access point.

Now which one is best whole home wifi system (many people call it a mesh wifi system) suitable to meet your home need?

Best mesh wifi system

Not all vendors are successful with their mesh wifi system products they offer either two or three band models. Some of them cannot compete with the others. Now, here are top 3 best mesh wifi system products with either dual or three band you can find in the market. again, when it comes to which one is best you need to assess your home requirement, so choose the one that is best to suit your home.

1. Amazon eero 6

The first generation of eero whole home wifi system is claimed to be the first mesh wifi system in the market, it was a startup project that becomes very popular and got the best rated in the market at the first time released.

At the end of 2019, eero was acquired by Amazon and modified to work with Amazon Alexa and becomes compliant with Amazon smart home environment. Then the body is modified so that it looks more elegant and stylist than the original model which is only a flat square box with smooth curved edges.

And today, with the emerging of wifi 6 technology products, amazon released its eero 6 series including the standard eero 6, eero pro 6 series and the latest one is eero 6e pro.

For small to medium home, amazon eero 6 is suitable and adequate.

Highlights

1.          Simultaneous dual band with 2x2 MU-MIMO technology with ax1800 mesh wifi 6 whole home system
2. ·         Typically sold in three pack to form whole home wifi system covering up to 5,000 sq ft replacing your wireless router and extenders
3. ·         Comes with two auto sensing Gigabit Ethernet ports (WAN / LAN ports), you can start from one unit Amazon eero and add more to cover larger area
4. ·         Automatic firmware update, no hassle of downloading and manually updating the firmware
5. ·        You upgrade to subscribe for eero Secure service gives you essential tools like threat scans, content warnings, and ad-blocking and the eero Secure + add top-rated security apps — Encrypt.me, 1Password, and Malwarebytes.
6. ·         Works with Alexa, Amazon WiFi simple setup, Bluetooth LE 5.0 for smart home connectivity
7. ·         Powered by 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB flash storage

Under Amazon umbrella, Amazon eero is now tagged with cheaper price (around $249.99) than the original eero when it was first launched in the market. See also the pro version of amazoneero pro 6 mesh wifi.

2. Orbi Rbk962

Most available mesh wifi routers today come with either dual or three radio bands, and with the three radio band models one of the radio bands @5ghz is used as dedicated backhaul in general. even though few models use dynamic backhaul to let the system uses the best wifi for backhaul link between the nodes.

What I would like to discuss here is the Orbirbke963, the first quad radio band mesh wifi 6e system with total aggregated bandwidth up to 11,000Mbps. Orbi doesn’t use the 6ghz radio band as dedicated backhaul like mesh wifi 6e products in general, however orbi uses one of @5ghz radio bands as dedicated backhaul link. This way, Orbi offers all available three distinct radio bands (2.4ghz; 5ghz and 6ghz) for connected devices.

Highlights

•      Quad band axe11000 mesh wifi 6e with 16 data streams
• .      Total aggregated bandwidth up to 11,000Mbps consists of 1,200 (2.4Ghz) + 2,400 (5ghz) + 2,400 (6ghz) + 4,800 (5ghz as dedicated backhaul)
• .      10Gbps WAN Port, 2.5Gbps LAN port, and 3x Gigabit LAN ports. For satellite nodes are 2.5Gbps LAN plus 3x Gigabit LAN ports
• .      Powered by Powerful Quad-Core 2.2GHz processor 512MB NAND Flash and 1GB RAM
• .      Works with alexa

Cons

• 1.      No usb port for storage
• 2.      No free network protection kit

This orbi rbk963 is still costly today, however it is ideal for large homes with heavy duty bandwidth applications including 4k and 8k video streaming, online gaming and still more. This Orbi rbke963 is very popular and becomes one of best mesh wifi system with premium model so far.    

Continued to best mesh wifi system part 2