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    802.11ad Routers

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by hmscott, Feb 23, 2017.

  1. hmscott

    hmscott Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    There are now at least 2 available 802.11ad routers. Does anyone have any usage experience to share?:



     
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  2. psychopomp1

    psychopomp1 Notebook Consultant

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    I've had the Netgear R9000 (X10) for a few months now and its a brilliant router, easily the best router I've ever had for range and throughput. However I don't have any 802.11ad clients so switched off the 60ghz radio on the R9000 therefore can't comment on the 802.11ad performance. The R9000 gives me ~ 75/19 mbps on all our laptops and desktop, this is on a TalkTalk 80/20 vdsl2 service in UK. However we'll shortly be getting 330/30 mbps (Fibre on Demand) installed soon so will be interesting to see how the R9000 copes with that.

    I was previously using the Asus AC5300 but found too many bugs on that. I paid $350 for the R9000 on Amazon US black friday sale and then got a friend to ship it over to UK.
     
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  3. TomJGX

    TomJGX I HATE BGA!

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    My gripe with these routers is that they cost arm and leg... A bit too much for my liking... But if you have a big house, need the range, I guess it's worth it then?
     
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  4. psychopomp1

    psychopomp1 Notebook Consultant

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    Correct, usually the best performing routers aren't cheap, however I would never pay $500 (rrp) for the Netgear R9000 hence why I bought it in the Amazon black friday sale for $350. In the UK this is priced at nearly £500 LOL
     
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  5. TomJGX

    TomJGX I HATE BGA!

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    $350 is still steep... I personally wouldn't spend more than £110 which I did on the Netgear R7500 V2... But hey if you need that capability, then you have to spend the dosh!
     
  6. downloads

    downloads No, Dee Dee, no! Super Moderator

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    I was initially interested in 802.11ad but my interest quickly vanished when I realized that when they say it works when the router is in the line of sight, they mean that literally. By that I mean that if you stand between the router and the laptop the throughput tumbles down. It doesn't matter that it's like 6 feet or so.

    It seems that there is not much use for this technology other than docking stations.
     
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  7. Aroc

    Aroc Notebook Consultant

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    > downloads said:
    >
    > I was initially interested in 802.11ad but my interest
    > quickly vanished when I realized that when they say
    > it works when the router is in the line of sight, they
    > mean that literally

    Yep. In short:
    802.11ac: Very High Throughput, <6 GHz spectrum
    802.11ad: Very High Throughput, 60 GHz spectrum

    Both are VHT (very high throughput) according to the IEEE project groups. The standard you are waiting for is 802.1ax. That's the real replacement for 802.1ac.

    Post-802.11ac Summary:
    802.11ah: Better range, lower bandwidth
    802.11ad: Better bandwidth. Doesn't go through walls.
    802.11ax: Successor to 11ac expected in 2019

    I do have one of those 60 GHz wireless bridges for HDMI, and it works well, you just need line-of-sight.
     
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  8. TomJGX

    TomJGX I HATE BGA!

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    Wow that's a bummer... I guess walls are an issue to then for this tech? :D
     
  9. alexhawker

    alexhawker Spent Gladiator

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    Yeah walls will definitely block the signal.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  10. TomJGX

    TomJGX I HATE BGA!

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    Who said new tech is better then old tech? 802ac FTW :D

    (Some ppl would still say 802n is the best :p
     
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  11. Johnksss

    Johnksss .

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    How fast it to transfer files between computers?
     
  12. yutzybrian

    yutzybrian Notebook Consultant

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    I just adopted 802.11ac last year. When it's all new and fresh, it's too expensive and with too few supported devices. Not worth it this early IMO.
     
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  13. Starlight5

    Starlight5 Yes, I'm a cat. What else is there to say, really?

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    @yutzybrian even mid-range smartphones and tablets support 802.11ac, all modern notebooks support it (while most older ones can be upgraded); cheap routers cost $20, while decent ones cost $30 or so.

    Or were you talking about adopting 802.11ad routers? I personally don't believe they'll ever become a viable solution, due to obvious technology limitations.
     
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2017
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  14. yutzybrian

    yutzybrian Notebook Consultant

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    I was referring to 802.11ad
     
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  15. hmscott

    hmscott Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Is Wireless Networking FINALLY as Fast as Wired?? 802.11ad
     
  16. Starlight5

    Starlight5 Yes, I'm a cat. What else is there to say, really?

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    I'd really love to have a WiGiG usb dongle... sometimes I want to connect a Haswell laptop to WiGiG docking station, which is obviously impossible as of now.
     
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  17. alexhawker

    alexhawker Spent Gladiator

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    Unless it came with the Dell 1601+WiGig.


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  18. Starlight5

    Starlight5 Yes, I'm a cat. What else is there to say, really?

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    @alexhawker it is incompatible with current Intel WiGiG docking stations, unless I'm missing something. Also, setting it up on a non-Dell machine is a major PIA, reportedly.
     
  19. alexhawker

    alexhawker Spent Gladiator

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    I'll take your word for it. And add that it's only compatible with the Dell docking station (D5000 I think?). Just pointing out there's an option for some haswell machines.


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