Asus AX86U Router - 2.5 Gig port thoughts (2.5 Gig IN but not OUT)

[BlueOrbit]

Asus AX86U is a great router, but only has one 2.5 gig port, which could be configured as either a WAN or LAN port. So, if I upgrade to 2.5 Gig Internet and use the 2.5 Gig port as a WAN, I am unable to distribute the high speed internet to other devices given they are 2.5 Gig compatible. WiFi 6 devices also won't be able to get full 2.5 Gig Internet speed in the real world I don't think.

If the 2.5 Gig port is configured as a LAN port a 2.5 Gig Switch can be connected to it. But these devices will not get access to 2.5 Gig Internet service.

So, it is strange that the router has only one 2.5 Gig port, which means 2.5 Gig IN but not OUT if connected to high speed Internet service.

Am I missing something? Should I be considering ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 at some point which has two 2.5 Gig ports (WAN and LAN)?

Thanks for any input on this...

 

[drinkingbird]

Asus AX86U is a great router, but only has one 2.5 gig port, which could be configured as either a WAN or LAN port. So, if I upgrade to 2.5 Gig Internet and use the 2.5 Gig port as a WAN, I am unable to distribute the high speed internet to other devices given they are 2.5 Gig compatible. WiFi 6 devices also won't be able to get full 2.5 Gig Internet speed in the real world I don't think.

If the 2.5 Gig port is configured as a LAN port a 2.5 Gig Switch can be connected to it. But these devices will not get access to 2.5 Gig Internet service.

So, it is strange that the router has only one 2.5 Gig port, which means 2.5 Gig IN but not OUT if connected to high speed Internet service.

Am I missing something? Should I be considering ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 at some point which has two 2.5 Gig ports (WAN and LAN)?

Thanks for any input on this...

Technically if you have a mix of wired and wireless devices you can take advantage of >1G total. That's why they put the 2.5G WAN port. But in reality, what are you doing that needs that kind of WAN speed?

Some have been successful adding a 2.5G USB adapter to the router and using that for WAN, then using the built in 2.5G port for LAN, if you really need it.

 

[frequenzy]

@ts
if you have a 2.5G internet then ax86u is definitely not for you. ax6000 is a better fit.

 

[Paliv]

Almost no home service on the web will serve up greater than a gigabit connection. Business applications may be different. But the benefit of a 2.5G wan would be aggregate connection bandwidth. For example when I had 1.4 Gb connection multiple devices could be downloading at approximately 700 Mbps at the same time (when tested).

 

[Tech Junky]

Use a USB dongle if you want 2.5 on both sides. The other thing to consider though is the backplane of the router whether or not it can handle those speeds. Most consumer devices aren't designed to handle more than they're built with. Asus especially with the software baked in tends to slow down things when enabled / disabled.

 

[Tech9]

Use a USB dongle if you want 2.5 on both sides.

The problem is - even if it's recognized and appears to work the actual speed is nowhere near 2.5GbE. It also requires mostly broken Dual WAN feature use in Asuswrt. Not a good option - no guaranteed results and lower reliability. The hardware inside home routers is not true 2.5Gbps capable anyway.

 

[BlueOrbit]

Is there a way to use link aggregation on port 1 & 2 as a workaround to this issue?

I don't have a single device currently that needs over 1 Gig speed, so this is mostly a theoretical discussion. But I thought a better design would be a 2.5 WAN and 2.5 LAN port if a router has any 2.5 Gig capabilities. This is still a great router and meets or exceeds all my current requirements.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Is there a way to use link aggregation on port 1 & 2 as a workaround to this issue?

I don't have a single device currently that needs over 1 Gig speed, so this is mostly a theoretical discussion. But I thought a better design would be a 2.5 WAN and 2.5 LAN port if a router has any 2.5 Gig capabilities. This is still a great router and meets or exceeds all my current requirements.

The new AX88U PRO has the feature you want: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTTY7QFH/?tag=snbforums-20
see picture of rear ports

 

[drinkingbird]

Is there a way to use link aggregation on port 1 & 2 as a workaround to this issue?

I don't have a single device currently that needs over 1 Gig speed, so this is mostly a theoretical discussion. But I thought a better design would be a 2.5 WAN and 2.5 LAN port if a router has any 2.5 Gig capabilities. This is still a great router and meets or exceeds all my current requirements.

Only if the ISP device also supports LAG. And keep in mind that a single client will still be limited to 1G, only if multiple clients are going at the same time would it exceed 1G.

Your router may not be capable of 2.5G throughput anyway, even with everything "extra" disabled and all acceleration working.

But again, when do you expect to actually need >1G of internet?

 

[BlueOrbit]

What kind of modem do you have?

Motorola MB8611 modem. It is capable of 2.5 Gig download speeds and has a 2.5 Gig LAN port which is connected to my router's 2.5 Gig WAN port. I currently have a 1 Gig down and 35 Mbps up Internet plan, so this is mostly a theoretical discussion.