Ac86u vs ax86u vs ax86u pro

[RMerlin]

The RT-AX86S is a dual-core variant of the RT-AX86U. It also lacks the 2.5 Gbps port.

 

[Tech9]

@Sander_H was talking about eventual new S version, but I believe it's the same one we already know.

 

[dlandiss]

For me, the answer is simple ... and fourth antenna is internal.

Yet it still has better range, according to SNB's tester.

 

[Darkje]

Yet it still has better range, according to SNB's tester.

Just add a antenne from a old one... Lolzz

 

[CaptainSTX]

The RT-AX86S is a dual-core variant of the RT-AX86U. It also lacks the 2.5 Gbps port.

While it does lack the 2.5 Gbps port, it does support link aggregation which on the WAN does allow a 2 Gbps Internet connection.

 

[L&LD]

Yes, but for a single client device, it will still be only a 1Gbps service, max.

 

[RMerlin]

While it does lack the 2.5 Gbps port, it does support link aggregation which on the WAN does allow a 2 Gbps Internet connection.

Only if the other end also supports link aggregation, and that will be aggregated, i.e. a single client with a single connection won't be able to go over 1 Gbps.

 

[drinkingbird]

Only if the other end also supports link aggregation, and that will be aggregated, i.e. a single client with a single connection won't be able to go over 1 Gbps.

There are ways to load balance per-packet but the horsepower required is way beyond what these routers could do, it essentially disables all hardware acceleration.

Here in the US I have seen some ISPs using cable modems with LAG support, but I think most are now just going straight to 2.5G ports.

But yeah most people don't realize LAG uses a flow table and assigns (somewhat statically) flows to one port or the other, usually a basic round-robin style on a cheaper/unmanaged device.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Only if the other end also supports link aggregation, and that will be aggregated, i.e. a single client with a single connection won't be able to go over 1 Gbps.

The same can be said if your modem doesn't have a 2.5 Gbps port you can't get 2.5 Gbps on the router. Both ends need to support the speed for either type of connection.

The same issue of use per client. If a device doesn't support more than I gig than that is the maximum it will get without installing a new network card unless you have extremely good WiFi.

What the AX86S can do is if you have a connection which is provisioned to deliver more than 1 Gbps such as Comcast's over provisioned 1.2 Gbps plan then using link aggregation will get more of that bandwidth to be shared by all connected devices.

No question that the AX86U & AX86 Pro or more powerful than the an AX86S but for some people with a modem that supports LAG the AX86S gives you the option to increase throughput without investing in additional hardware.

 

[Darkje]

The S is the same as ac86u. Only with ax. Should do fine for allot of people.

 

[drinkingbird]

The same can be said if your modem doesn't have a 2.5 Gbps port you can't get 2.5 Gbps on the router. Both ends need to support the speed for either type of connection.

The same issue of use per client. If a device doesn't support more than I gig than that is the maximum it will get without installing a new network card unless you have extremely good WiFi.

What the AX86S can do is if you have a connection which is provisioned to deliver more than 1 Gbps such as Comcast's over provisioned 1.2 Gbps plan then using link aggregation will get more of that bandwidth to be shared by all connected devices.

No question that the AX86U & AX86 Pro or more powerful than the an AX86S but for some people with a modem that supports LAG the AX86S gives you the option to increase throughput without investing in additional hardware.

The point is if you have 2.5G end to end, a single client/download can (potentially) get 2.5 gig.

If you have a 2G LAG (or even 4G LAG), no matter what, a single download cannot exceed 1 gig (or about 950 meg after overhead). Each flow is locked to only one gig link in the LAG. So to take advantage of the LAG you either need two clients downloading at the same time or one client doing two downloads (and in some cases it even has to be two downloads from different sites, depending on how the router is balancing).