RT-AC88U

[System Error Message]

to get more bandwidth you can bond 2 ethernet ports (WAN and LAN) to get up to 2Gb/s to test wifi.

 

[sm00thpapa]

Looking at the article posted to today on SNB, even though not a flow blown test the 88 doesn't look like anything special. Just looks average.

I was thinking the same thing. Part of the reason I cancelled my order.

 

[RMerlin]

The RT-AC88U was running a pre-release (378_85xx) firmware however. The first time you set it up, it should automatically update to the release 380_858 firmware. I suspect that's the reason for the big difference between the RT-AC5300 (which did have the 380_xxxx firmware) and the RT-AC88U, since they both share the same radio and the same firmware code.

 

[kvic]

AWESOME, thank you!

i knew that the max numbers for RT-AC56U documented by tim were incorrect.....

My understanding is SNB's reviews are benchmarking "out of box" performance. I guess that's a fair account for manufacturers in the game. And cater to experience of majority of consumers.

now i dont know what to trust at all, because i agree that 600mbps+ is possible on 2x2 AC but some tests are showing 3x3 and 4x4 devices not getting that high

Theories are the guidance here. Trust the numbers you got from your own tests. The theoretical limit of MAC layer efficiency for 802.11g in a typical LAN is 50%.

I know 802.11n improved on MAC efficiency. By that 802.11ac benefits as well. I can't find an academic paper to see a rigid proof for 802.11n nor 802.11ac. If someone could point me to one, i would be grateful. The number that the CISCO whitepaper quoted is about 70%. Beyond that is difficult to achieve according to the whitepaper.

I would imagine if i test R7000 on 3x3 ac to get 750+mbps

I'm not familiar with NETGEAR..so can't comment.

75% from my AC56U was a little surprise to me. To get that, have to work against common preaches on a forum like here

I still believe in AC88U hitting 60% out of box (as some users reported). Can easily hit 70% or perhaps near 80% with tweaks. Everything need to achieve that...is in there!

 

[RMerlin]

to get more bandwidth you can bond 2 ethernet ports (WAN and LAN) to get up to 2Gb/s to test wifi.

Dual WAN is load balanced, not aggregated. The closest you might be able to get would be with two wifi clients (one per band), and a LACP-enabled NAS. That should test the bandwidth between the two wifi (on the CPU side) and the switch itself.

 

[tl2k2]

anybody have ipv6 issue with this router, my previous router rt-ac87r working fine with ipv6 but after i swapped out with this router i can't get ipv6 address anymore, when i try testing with dualstack ipv4/ipv6 i'm only get ipv4 no link on ipv6.

 

[Blind_Bandit]

I just saw that and cancelled my order. I'll stick with my 68P for another year.

That seems a bit silly.

When I ordered from amazon it came in the standard large air bag packaging. Every once and a while stuff happens. But for example mine and several others shipped to them just fine.

 

[Puppa]

anybody have ipv6 issue with this router, my previous router rt-ac87r working fine with ipv6 but after i swapped out with this router i can't get ipv6 address anymore, when i try testing with dualstack ipv4/ipv6 i'm only get ipv4 no link on ipv6.

I had this same problem on my RT-AC3200.
If you did not power-cycle your modem, try that first.
If you did, unplug your modem and router power both for 15 minutes and retry.
If this still doesn't work, factory reset and manually reconfigure your RT-AC88U (I'm assuming you went from shipped 378* firmware to 380* firmware without factory reset). Make sure you enable both IPv6 and the router advertisement under IPv6 checkbox. Power cycle (not just reboot) both router and modem after enabling IPv6 settings, since reset default turns IPv6 off. Unplug ethernet cables as part of the power cycle so something doesn't stay powered due to leeching current from the ethernet cable.

Finally, if you are *still* having issues, run the "detect connection type" again. This may also require a power cycle afterwards.

IPv6 startup is a bit of a race condition on RT-AC3200 (fw ending in .9313): Reboot sometimes gets IPv6 before IPv4, then router refuses to connect. It sounds like this issue may still be present in the RT-AC88U since they share a lot of common firmware.

 

[sfx2000]

I know 802.11n improved on MAC efficiency. By that 802.11ac benefits as well. I can't find an academic paper to see a rigid proof for 802.11n nor 802.11ac. If someone could point me to one, i would be grateful. The number that the CISCO whitepaper quoted is about 70%.

11n can get up to around 80 percent efficiency in very specific greenfield conditions, but many applications will see around 60% due to protection/mixed mode support

11ac is around 65 percent (not a big issue as wider channels and higher order QAM, along with other MAC enhancements return a lot of benefit)

 

[sfx2000]

Looking at the article posted to today on SNB, even though not a flow blown test the 88 doesn't look like anything special. Just looks average.

It's the clients that are the limiting factor - the numbers looked fair all considered - not much different than an AC1900 class router if the client is the same..

There is a slight improvement with the fourth radio (diversity gain for range), and depending on the client and router config, STBC's can help with downlink coding diversity on the MIMO coding - so not a total loss...

 

[Wildcatz_1]

All, so quick question, I know on paper the only difference between the AC3100 and AC88u appears to be the extra 4 ports and associated chipset/controller for them. I have an AC3100 right now and am thinking of adding a 2nd unit but instead doing the AC88u. What seems a little odd is that the AC3100 reviews seem great and AC88u not so much, am I missing something here or are they indeed the same unit and should not have any particular AC88u related issues not already seen on the AC3100 ? Thanks

 

[tl2k2]

All, so quick question, I know on paper the only difference between the AC3100 and AC88u appears to be the extra 4 ports and associated chipset/controller for them. I have an AC3100 right now and am thinking of adding a 2nd unit but instead doing the AC88u. What seems a little odd is that the AC3100 reviews seem great and AC88u not so much, am I missing something here or are they indeed the same unit and should not have any particular AC88u related issues not already seen on the AC3100 ? Thanks

after experienced the issue i have to deal with the rt-ac87 throughout it life i don't trust the design with combined chipset anymore, although this time just a realtek switch but i'll probably return mine and will get either the 3100 or 5300.

 

[Darcy]

Is it even worth it to go from an 87u if its working to the AC3100 or 88u?

 

[RMerlin]

What seems a little odd is that the AC3100 reviews seem great and AC88u not so much, am I missing something here or are they indeed the same unit and should not have any particular AC88u related issues not already seen on the AC3100 ? Thanks

Do not confuse anecdotal comments on Amazon with formal, technical reviews.

The radio is identical, even the driver itself is identical byte per byte between the RT-AC88U and RT-AC3100. I would expect the two to have identical wireless performance.

 

[RMerlin]

Is it even worth it to go from an 87u if its working to the AC3100 or 88u?

What is the intended goal with the upgrade? You won't get performance improvements to justify the 300$ investment, unless you badly need the faster CPU for a specific usage scenario.

 

[Darcy]

That's my point.

 

[Darcy]

Most people are upgrading because of the 87U issues with the FW and that's all.

 

[RMerlin]

Most people are upgrading because of the 87U issues with the FW and that's all.

Some people also simply want the latest, no matter the cost. Look at people doing a lineup to get the new iPhone each year, for instance, while there's nothing wrong with a 1 or 2 years old phone.

 

[Adam Kingsley]

Most people are upgrading because of the 87U issues with the FW and that's all.

After all the issues I had it just felt "dirty" so I had to sell it. I know it's completely unreasonable and the hardware itself was actually quite good with questionable wireless drivers/sdk. But for me and I guess a lot of people once hardware fails you and there's a nice new shiny box to replace it (without the Quantenna chip), the urge becomes to much to ignore. Especially if you can afford it.

Plus I'm making a more conscious effort to use VPN when I'm traveling and the upgraded CPU is a nice touch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Darcy]

I'll stick with my AC66R. Never had a problem with it running your or Asus's FW.