Need some advice please, xClaim vs. ASUS

[Chrismallia]

Hi love snb as we always get great info and advice. Anyway here is the advice I need from you guys, I have a 3 story home and the walls are old build so WiFi is a challenge, so I have a Asus Rt AC87U as my main router that is on the 3 floor, so I am placing a AP on each floor for best coverage, Now here is where I need your thoughts, I am in between buying 2 more rtac87u or buying the xclaim xi3 AP, prices are very similar, advantages or the Asus 4x4 supports mu mu mimo,better processor, more speed. xi3 2x2 brand by ruckus so as they say they should be much more reliable so to there rf and also band steering, the central management does not play a big roll as only 2 added AP. The xi3 price is similar to Asus but Asus seams more worth the price as its mu mimo ready and has greater speeds. Anyway hope to get your experience and thoughts on this thanks in advance and regards. BTW as devices we have couple of smartphones laptops and and movies from my Plex server get streamed to them.

 

[L&LD]

As an AP the RT-AC87U or other similarly priced options would be overkill.

Not to mention the many potential issues you may have with additional RT-AC87U's.

I would consider the RT-AC56U or at the most, the RT-AC68U instead for your needs.

 

[WillL]

I would totally agree. RT-AC87U has many functionalities and features you would NOT use as an AP. I use RT-AC66U(R) as APs and repeaters to extend the wifi range, and even that is overkill.

 

[Chrismallia]

Yes you are both right but looking at prices from example amazone prices are not that much different, so for a little more I thought I'd get the better one. If so I was thinking i could also go with tp link as ap since they are not so expensive, here where I live I can buy archer c5 for around 60 euro ($65) or archer c9 for about 95 euro ($100) but what about the xi3 does anyone think its any better then consumer router/ap ?

 

[WillL]

Sorry, Chrismallia, I am afraid that I am not familiar with xi3. TP-Link routers are fine products, although not as versatile as Asus. I stick with Asus for a 10-unit network (router+Access Point+Bridge) because the interchangeability and easy interface control. Any decent unit there should be good enough to setup as AP.

 

[Chrismallia]

Xclaim xi3 are enterprise grade, any Idea if enterprise grade are really better over consumer wifi?

 

[TonyH]

Xclaim xi3 are enterprise grade, any Idea if enterprise grade are really better over consumer wifi?

Defining better is difficult. At least it'd be built better and as a result more reliable. Performance wise I have no idea.

 

[L&LD]

Xclaim xi3 are enterprise grade, any Idea if enterprise grade are really better over consumer wifi?

Their claim of over 100 clients per AP is much higher than a consumer wireless router would offer. But actual better performance for 5 to 20 clients of most homes? I would guess not.

 

[Chrismallia]

Their claim of over 100 clients per AP is much higher than a consumer wireless router would offer. But actual better performance for 5 to 20 clients of most homes? I would guess not.

Thats something I do not understand, how can a enterprise AP like xi3 handle 100 clients and a consumer grade router with much more powerful processor handle much much less?

 

[L&LD]

Thats something I do not understand, how can a enterprise AP like xi3 handle 100 clients and a consumer grade router with much more powerful processor handle much much less?

Simple. You need to ask the marketing people. They have all the answers.

Seriously though, I have not found a single 'enterprise grade' network device that I could recommend or could convince my customers to buy after they have seen how an Asus wireless router with RMerlin firmware works for them in their environment.

I may only have customers with limited needs (without a doubt not approaching enterprise size or needs but a few are up to a few hundred networked devices per location), but the above statement has held true for many years now.

 

[Chrismallia]

Seriously though, I have not found a single 'enterprise grade' network device that I could recommend or could convince my customers to buy after they have seen how an Asus wireless router with RMerlin firmware works for them in their environment.

I may only have customers with limited needs (without a doubt not approaching enterprise size or needs but a few are up to a few hundred networked devices per location), but the above statement has held true for many years now.

Thanks for all your replies and help, so if I understood correctly a asus router you installed managed to handle hundred devices?

 

[WillL]

I can confirm that RT-AC87U and RT-AC66U(R) both handled over 85 clients without any issue. And these are active clients, meaning with regular intranet and internet traffic. This is quite extreme for any home or small office use. So far, the only "enterprise" level network device I have used is Watchguard VPNs (some of them come with routing feature). For enterprise ones, the difference is all at the security level of VPN and configurability of policies. Rarely any home user would require such features.

 

[L&LD]

Thanks for all your replies and help, so if I understood correctly a asus router you installed managed to handle hundred devices?

Not quite 100 for a single router, but close (the more wired, the easier on the router).

 

[thiggins]

I can confirm that RT-AC87U and RT-AC66U(R) both handled over 85 clients without any issue. And these are active clients, meaning with regular intranet and internet traffic. This is quite extreme for any home or small office use. So far, the only "enterprise" level network device I have used is Watchguard VPNs (some of them come with routing feature). For enterprise ones, the difference is all at the security level of VPN and configurability of policies. Rarely any home user would require such features.

85 simultaneous clients is pretty high. How many were active simultaneously on each wireless band and what were they doing?

 

[WillL]

@thiggins, most of the devices are on 2.4GHz band:

• 30+ security cameras FTP videos and still pictures at set time interval
• 30+ "smart" wifi power devices, relatively low traffic
• some miscellaneous automation devices
• A set of 6 Sonos speakers streaming music, some 6 - 10 hours a day during the holidays

10+ Laptops/iPad/Phones are all configured on 5.0GHz band.

All video streaming and gaming devices are on wired connections on a different ISP network, so I don't add more burden to the one above.

 

[thiggins]

@thiggins, most of the devices are on 2.4GHz band:

• 30+ security cameras FTP videos and still pictures at set time interval
• 30+ "smart" wifi power devices, relatively low traffic
• some miscellaneous automation devices
• A set of 6 Sonos speakers streaming music, some 6 - 10 hours a day during the holidays

10+ Laptops/iPad/Phones are all configured on 5.0GHz band.

All video streaming and gaming devices are on wired connections on a different ISP network, so I don't add more burden to the one above.

Looks like an intelligently set up network. Thanks for the details.

 

[Chrismallia]

85 simultaneous clients is pretty high. How many were active simultaneously on each wireless band and what were they doing?

So do you think a Xclaim really handles wifi devices better? do you think they really can handle 100 users simultaneous? (lets say there is a high speed internet connection)

 

[thiggins]

So do you think a Xclaim really handles wifi devices better? do you think they really can handle 100 users simultaneous? (lets say there is a high speed internet connection)

I did not say that at all.

Enterprise APs generally have more features suited to multi-AP network use, such as load balancing, load shedding, VLAN, more SSIDs, band steering, etc.

Assuming a properly designed AP, capacity is determined by device mix and traffic types. WillL's example shows how a lot of low data rate devices can be handled by a single AP. Change the mix to 85 people trying to stream Netflix with N150 class phones or tablets and you would get an entirely different result (it wouldn't work).

 

[Chrismallia]

Check out this looks impressive over 90 streaming hd youtube on 1 xi3
http://forum.xclaimwireless.com/discussion/807