MU-MIMO on Asus art-AC87U

[TechPup]

Now that the Netgear X4 V2 has MU-MIMO activated, and Netgear has stated that it intends to upgrade the firmware on the X8 to activate MU-MIMO by year's end, is there any hope for a firmware upgrade to the RT-AC87U to activate MU-MIMO functionality? In its promotions for the RT-AC87U, Asus has emphasized that the RT-AC87U is MU-MIMO ready, but so far has failed to activate its functionality. I know that for most people this is not an issue since very few MU-MIMO capable clients exist, but I think that my setup would benefit from MU-MIMO capability since my set up includes a Netgear X8 connected to two RT-AC87s configured as access points. If the RT-AC87Us had MU-MIMO capability, my X8 would then be connected to two MU-MIMO clients and my overall system would benefit from the MU-MIMO technology. Why is Asus dragging its feet so long when it is promoting the MU-MIMO capability of the RT-AC87U?

 

[Embattle]

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/of...on-3-0-0-4-378-9177.27372/page-14#post-212619 - Not that many items exist to use it anyway.

 

[RMerlin]

Why is Asus dragging its feet so long when it is promoting the MU-MIMO capability of the RT-AC87U?

Because I don't think Quantenna has any clue as to what it's doing, judging from all the compatibility issues their chipset has shown, and is still not fully resolved after more than a year on the market.

Netgear and Linksys both gave up on Quantenna, silently replacing their QTN-based models with new routers (and tough luck to those who own a QTN version, as neither manufacturer seems to even try to update these two any more). Asus is being more persistent, and it seems that QTN might finally be making some progress toward providing a decent driver for their chipset.

Quantenna saw an opportunity to get into the crowded SOHO router market last year, and thoroughly blew it on multiple front. Even their claim at being the first with MU-MIMO is a total failure, as Qualcomm beat them to it. And Broadcom's MU-MIMO is right around the corner as well.

 

[TechPup]

Thanks. Doesn't sound good for people like myself who have already purchased their routers on manufacturer claims that MU-MIMO would be added to their router.

 

[L&LD]

Thanks. Doesn't sound good for people like myself who have already purchased their routers on manufacturer claims that MU-MIMO would be added to their router.

That was never claimed (although it would seem it was).

What was claimed was that the hardware supported MU-MIMO and as far as we know, it does (if only in a lab somewhere).

Next purchase, be a more discerning buyer and tester of the marketing claims made by the manufacturer.

Buy what is provided, not what is promised.

 

[RMerlin]

Thanks. Doesn't sound good for people like myself who have already purchased their routers on manufacturer claims that MU-MIMO would be added to their router.

At least Asus (and QTN) are still trying (if you have an RT-AC87U). Looks like MU-MIMO is finally in the latest driver, now the question will be how well it will work once MU-MIMO clients start to appear on the market.

 

[sfx2000]

At least Asus (and QTN) are still trying (if you have an RT-AC87U). Looks like MU-MIMO is finally in the latest driver, now the question will be how well it will work once MU-MIMO clients start to appear on the market.

One could try the Beamforming aspects first for SU-MIMO - if that is having issues, then MU is moot (MU requires 11ac explicit beamforming for it to function correctly).

Unfortunately, many folks have disabled beamforming in many Asus products due to perceived negative performance impacts when enabled.

 

[Embattle]

At least Asus (and QTN) are still trying (if you have an RT-AC87U). Looks like MU-MIMO is finally in the latest driver, now the question will be how well it will work once MU-MIMO clients start to appear on the market.

I suspect once enabled it'll open a wormhole and suck your router down it.

 

[RMerlin]

I suspect once enabled it'll open a wormhole and suck your router down it.

A wormhole through which would come out a flying RT-AC5300?

 

[sfx2000]

If the RT-AC87Us had MU-MIMO capability, my X8 would then be connected to two MU-MIMO clients and my overall system would benefit from the MU-MIMO technology

Point to consider - the RT-AC87U's configured as Bridges would be 4*4:4 in SU-MIMO, whereas in MU-MIMO, they get knocked down to 4*4:3 (3-spatial streams) and then, only one would be served at a time, as an MU-MIMO AP, can only serve 3 spatial streams at any given time...

Hence, no actual benefit, and really a net loss of performance when trying to do MU..

 

[Embattle]

A wormhole through which would come out a flying RT-AC5300?

I could certainly live with that

 

[TechPup]

Point to consider - the RT-AC87U's configured as Bridges would be 4*4:4 in SU-MIMO, whereas in MU-MIMO, they get knocked down to 4*4:3 (3-spatial streams) and then, only one would be served at a time, as an MU-MIMO AP, can only serve 3 spatial streams at any given time...

Hence, no actual benefit, and really a net loss of performance when trying to do MU..

Given your explanation, which would be the better configuration - - bridge mode or AP mode? I was under the belief (mistaken?) that AP mode did not suffer the 50% speed loss that is incurred with bridge mode. Since I am using powerline (D-Link DHP-701 AV2000) to connect my APs to the router, my APs are already incurring a speed loss and a further 50% speed loss due to bridge mode configuration hurts.

 

[sfx2000]

When I say Bridge, I mean WIFi to Ethernet, not repeating WiFi...

Repeater will halve the bandwidth...