My Head Hurts....Got Any Wifi Advice?

[nolimits76]

Been a long while since I've been here. Lots of changes. Current dilemma is we recently upgraded to Cox Gigablast plan, and using the rented CGM4141 modem/router combo. My last purchase of equipment was an older Arris modem + ASUS RT-N66U Dark Knight running Merlin. It was rock solid, but is way outdated for today's speeds. Made a move about a year ago and rented some other Cox modem.

Now I'm looking to buy a new modem & router. I've been doing lots of research and my head hurts. I currently have a Motorola MB8600 router on order. I'm still undecided on the router part. I'm currently renting the current place as we will be moving in a year or so, and not interested in running new lines, etc. So I will be connecting with lots of wifi.

My hard wired connections will go something like this:

Modem ----> Router ----> Switch ? ----> Smart TV, XB1, Roku, AVR & Cox streaming box (would also like another 1-2 open ports that I can throw an ethernet cable on for a future unknown WIRED connection)

All devices vary on wireless cards. Limited AX stuff. Most have AC. Looking to suck every ounce of performance from Cox that I am paying for, lol. Curious if using LAG from modem to router will benefit me since I will *only* have a 1Gbp connection? Typically you'd use LAG for higher speeds, right? The MB8600 supports LAG, so I'd like to find a router that does the same thing.

I've also been visiting DSLR and had some suggestions tossed my way. Microtik router + nanoHD AP's. Netgate routers, but appear out of my price range. I've read some glowing reviews about the Amplifi Alien AX and also Orbi AX (752/852) mesh systems. Alien is expensive at $379 for the single base, which I think is all I need. Orbi 752 I can grab the base + 2 extenders for $440 new. Other considerations was a Netgear AX12 (RAX120) and the TP-Link AX6000. I'm the least familiar with TP-Link and always considered them subpar (with no logical data or reasoning).

I am flip flopping on simple & fast vs entry level business equipment. I'd like to think I'm not the village idiot when it comes to this stuff, but I'm far from being a network guru. I enjoy dabbling and can run Win, Mac & Linux systems, although Linux I'm in toddler stages. My point is I like tech but do lots of reading & research which can be both a blessing & curse. Budget wise, I'd like to stay at $500 or less. Less is better, but since I'm not buying new stuff very often I am looking for quality and longevity that will help me maximize my 1Gbp connection.

 

[thiggins]

Don't worry about link aggregation support. None of your devices will come anywhere near pulling a gig of bandwidth in normal use. An link aggregation doesn't increase throughput for a single device.

An AX 2 stream card like the Intel AX200 might peak at over a gig if you are right next to the router. But again, what are you doing with your devices and how many are in simultaneous use?

 

[nolimits76]

Thank you for the response back, it is appreciated.

I'm not savvy on LAG. I just started learning about it during my recent search for new equipment and trying to make sure I got stuff that allowed me to maximize my 1Gb connection. So in my brain since my MB8600 had LAG abilities, then I should get a router with them too so I could maximize the pipeline.

Also, I had read a review (on the MB8600 I believe) where they attributed LAG as the reason they were seeing 1200-1300 speeds vs the advertised 1000 speed. Of course I take reviews with a grain of salt. Also I know my old Cox plan was 300 down, and I'd frequently pull 300-330 so perhaps their ISP was just being generous and it had nothing to do with LAG. I'd like to know for sure if it makes a difference (assuming you have an AX client that can receive that much).

I doubt if we will see multi gig from Cox for a while. And when we do I bet it's time to upgrade gear again. So maybe I'm just putting too much stock into LAG. I just don't want to miss out on a critical feature is all.

FYI, both my wife and I have hexacore i7 Spectre laptops with the Intel AX200 (2x2) cards in them. Almost everything else has AC cards, although I do have an older XB1 that only has a b/g/n card. Oddly enough that is a device I worry about as my daughter uses it to connect so we can game together (I have the newer XB1 X that is hard wired). Counting everything up I have 27 devices that connect regularly. About 2/3 of those may be going simultaneously. However, when we have friends & family over the device count can easily grow by 5-10 depending who is coming, if their kids are coming and what all devices they decide to tote along. Here soon I will upgrade my cell phone from a Galaxy S9+ to a Galaxy or Note 10+ and will have an AX card in that as well. Otherwise, I don't see too many devices changing unless something dies unexpectedly.

My setup will have the router (or switch, if needed) feeding hard wires to my LG OLED TV, 4k Roku, Denon 3700 AVR, Cox streaming box & my XB1 X. Essentially everything else will connect via wireless. We will have a mix of 4k video streaming, HD audio, gaming (several FPS), kids & family laptops, cell phones and two work laptops (w/ the AX200 cards). Oh yeah, and some Google Home devices, tablets, iPods and a couple of smart watches. Both work laptops are used for video conferencing throughout the day, emails, web surfing, etc. My work laptop also tunnels back into the main office via VPN which provides the best experience. Several programs I use deal with engineering & construction and utilize company network based data to run properly. Needless to say if my connection drops or goes slow, I am cranky.

Does that help? Let me know if you need more info.

 

[nolimits76]

Am I understanding this correctly? I could get this $50 EdgeMax router and configure a few different ways:

1. ER-X + nanoHD = $229 with AC wifi
2. ER-X + AmpliFi Alien (set to bridge mode) = $429 with AX wifi
3. ER-X + Aruba Instant On AP22 = $210 with AX wifi

What am I missing? Seems too good to be true. The Alien would be the priciest option but allow to run without the ER-X initially until we move to our "permanent" home and setup the home network I want.

EdgeRouter X

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nanoHD

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Aruba Instant On AP22

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