GT-BE98 WIFI 7

[miggle]

I'd be interested to find out what speeds can be expected with Aimesh with a couple of these. In a very old house with no hard wired option available this is very relevant to me.

 

[RMerlin]

I'd be interested to find out what speeds can be expected with Aimesh with a couple of these. In a very old house with no hard wired option available this is very relevant to me.

I wouldn't expect much changes to AiMesh. Keep in mind that to get the most out of Wifi 7, you want to be on the 6 GHz band, which would make a very poor choice for backhauling nodes due to its much shorter range.

 

[tgl]

I'd be interested to find out what speeds can be expected with Aimesh with a couple of these. In a very old house with no hard wired option available this is very relevant to me.

As @RMerlin said, the 6GHz band is likely to not be too helpful to you. I also have an old house (WWI-vintage, thick oak floors, plaster-on-wood-lath interior walls) and I can detect a significant difference in signal penetration even between the lower and higher 5GHz bands. My Mac laptop usually reaches 1200 Mbps TX rate in my office, one floor above my AP, if it's running in the 36-48 channels; but in the 149-161 channels I rarely get better than 860 to 960 Mbps. 6GHz is going to be worse. I've done some preliminary experiments with 6E gear that suggest that the 6GHz band is basically going to give me only one-room coverage in this house. When I get to the point of being ready to buy such gear, I'm thinking of one low-power AP for the living room, another for the office, and the rest of the property will have to get by on 2.4 or 5GHz connectivity. That'll work fine for my computing habits, but if yours is a more spread-out lifestyle, you might have a problem.

 

[RTWZ80]

Just noticed that tech specs on the RT-BE96U are up on the Asus webpage.

RT-BE96U - Tech Specs｜WiFi Routers｜ASUS Global

Discover RT-BE96U's cutting-edge WiFi 7 router, featuring 320MHz bandwidth, Multi-link operation, dual 10G ports & comprehensive VPN â upgrade your tech experience!

www.asus.com

While those of the GT-BE98 have disappeared.

ROG Rapture GT-BE98 | ROG Rapture GT-BE98 | Gaming Networking｜ROG - Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global

Quad-Band WiFi 6E gaming router, new 320MHz bandwidth in 6GHz band, triple 10G ports, 2.5G WAN port, Extendable WiFi with AiMesh support, RangeBoost Plus, Triple-level game acceleration and free network security

rog.asus.com

Not trying to read to much into it, but I'm wondering if Asus is revising the specs on the GT-BE98, particularly when the Wifi 7 flagship routers from TP Link: https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/wifi-router/archer-be900/ and Xiaomi: https://xiaomipedia.com/en/p/xiaomi-router-10000/ each feature 4 X 2.5G ports in addition to 2 X 10G WAN/LAN ports, one of which is for SFP+.

Last I checked, the GT-BE98 had 4 X 1G LAN ports, same as the RT-BE96U as per Dong Knows Tech's post. That bit of information seems to have disappeared from the Asus website.

 

[tgl]

Not trying to read to much into it, but I'm wondering if Asus is revising the specs on the GT-BE98

Or dropping it entirely, maybe? It was always going to be a product for those who want the cutting edge, and if they have WiFi 7 gear available then 6E isn't cutting-edge anymore. They might be thinking now in terms of going straight to WiFi 7 (and you're right that the LAN ports on this were pretty lame, too).

 

[RTWZ80]

Or dropping it entirely, maybe? It was always going to be a product for those who want the cutting edge, and if they have WiFi 7 gear available then 6E isn't cutting-edge anymore. They might be thinking now in terms of going straight to WiFi 7 (and you're right that the LAN ports on this were pretty lame, too).

I think that WIFI 6E designation on the GT-BE98 is an error on Asus' part. Both are supposed to be Wifi 7 routers with the GT-BE98 being the flagship.

WiFi 7 explained: learn how next-gen WiFi takes your network into the passing lane - Edge Up

Ultrafast WiFi 7 (802.11be) shatters all boundaries to give you exceptional networking speeds for gaming, entertainment, and much more.

edgeup.asus.com

 

[John Fitzgerald]

I also have an old house (WWI-vintage, thick oak floors, plaster-on-wood-lath interior walls) and I can detect a significant difference in signal penetration even between the lower and higher 5GHz bands.

A house of this vintage most likely has lead paint on the walls as well, so in effect each room is it's own obstacle.

 

[maxbraketorque]

Available:

Access Point nanoHD / U6 Lite Cover, 3-Pack

Custom encasing for the Access Point nanoHD or U6 Lite. The Access Point nanoHD Covers allow you to personalize the exterior of a UAP nanoHD or U6 Lite so it blends seamlessly with your space's aesthetic and equipment.

store.ui.com

A friend of mine did his house in Ubiquiti, so I checked out their products. Very sleek, but otherwise nothing standout from what I can tell. Building a dispersed wifi 6 system will be at least as expensive as setting up two ASUS routers either as main/AP or mesh. The wired wifi 6 APs are $99 each, and wifi 6 mesh APs are $179 each. The Dream Machine all-in-one router/controller is still wifi 5 and cost $300. The Dream Machine Pro is $379 and has no wifi, a set of 1 gbps ethernet ports and, one 10 gbps spf+ port which would require a separate multi-gig switch to be useful. Gonna spend big bucks building a home wifi system that exceeds the capability of two GT-AX6000s in main/AP mode, especially if going for the decorative covers.

 

[tgl]

A friend of mine did his house in Ubiquiti, so I checked out their products. Very sleek, but otherwise nothing standout from what I can tell. Building a dispersed wifi 6 system will be at least as expensive as setting up two ASUS routers either as main/AP or mesh.

"Cheaper than ASUS" was never the sales argument for Ubiquiti . It's more like "you can configure it how you want, and once it's set up it just works". I've been pretty happy with all of the Ubiquiti gear that I've bought, while I can't say the same for ASUS.

Having said that, I too am struggling to figure out why I'd buy either of the Dream Machine routers. I can recommend the EdgeRouter-X if you don't need to do deep packet inspection at gigabit rates, while if you do then the bigger EdgeRouter models should work. But the Dream Machine gear seems way overpriced for what it is.

 

[ElmerFudd]

It’s going to be at least 3-4 years for WIFI 7 to start to become main stream. Several of the clients I’ve bought in 2021 / 2022 still do not fully take advantage of WiFi 6 and the 160mhz band yet.

For many, an AImesh with some AX88U Pro’s, GT-ax6000, AX88U pro , or ax11000 pro (if you really need tri band will good for at least the next 2-3 years. No need for a $ 500+ router and a new band that has limited range. At that point, just use a wire and get top speeds with full duplex and no WiFi processing overhead.

Asus just not releasing the WIFI 6 pro models says a lot. They are likely going to support them at least the next 5-6 years.

 

[Jansen3]

It’s going to be at least 3-4 years for WIFI 7 to start to become main stream. Several of the clients I’ve bought in 2021 / 2022 still do not fully take advantage of WiFi 6 and the 160mhz band yet.
Asus just not releasing the WIFI 6 pro models says a lot. They are likely going to support them at least the next 5-6 years.

Don’t know what you mean about the pro models. Do the GT-AX11000 Pro and the GT-AXE16000 not meet your standards?

The key point with WiFi 7 routers is that all of them will come with multiple multi-gig ports.

The industry is at a key inflection point. Everyone with fiber GPONs is going to get access to affordable 10Gb service as competition ramps up.
Cable companies are already preparing for 10Gb service with DOCSIS 4.0 so they can still compete.

If you can get 1Gb for $50 but 10Gb is only $70, then you’re going to go for it. And you’re going to get new routers and switches that can take advantage of that speed. Many of the people who skipped Wifi6 and 6E will go directly to 7.

 

[ElmerFudd]

Don’t know what you mean about the pro models. Do the GT-AX11000 Pro and the GT-AXE16000 not meet your standards?

The key point with WiFi 7 routers is that all of them will come with multiple multi-gig ports.

The industry is at a key inflection point. Everyone with fiber GPONs is going to get access to affordable 10Gb service as competition ramps up.
Cable companies are already preparing for 10Gb service with DOCSIS 4.0 so they can still compete.

If you can get 1Gb for $50 but 10Gb is only $70, then you’re going to go for it. And you’re going to get new routers and switches that can take advantage of that speed. Many of the people who skipped Wifi6 and 6E will go directly to 7.

WIFI 7 is not needed for multi gig ports. My 88u Pro as two multi Gig ports. The 86u pro and ax6000 also have them. Then the 89x has a 10gig Ethernet and 10gig SFP.

Also, not many will ever need greater than 1 GIG for their ISP unless chasing a number. Heck, I’d argue most households do not really need anything above a 300/300 or 500/500. I only got the 1GB Fios as it was only 69.99 so I said why not for the extra $10 a month.

 

[Jansen3]

WIFI 7 is not needed for multi gig ports. My 88u Pro as two multi Gig ports. The 86u pro and ax6000 also have them. Then the 89x has a 10gig Ethernet and 10gig SFP.

My point is that people are going to be needing those ports, and if the price difference is nominal, people are going to go for Wifi7.

Why buy a GT-AXE16000 when the GT-BE98 is almost the same price and you get more ports?

Also, not many will ever need greater than 1 GIG for their ISP unless chasing a number. Heck, I’d argue most households do not really need anything above a 300/300 or 500/500.

Most people don’t need it, but they’ll get it because the price difference will be marginal. Going from Gb to 10Gb is very cost effective for fiber companies, and upping speeds is the easiest way to upsell and compete.

I only got the 1GB Fios as it was only 69.99 so I said why not for the extra $10 a month.

You just proved my point. 1Gb is becoming the standard entry level for fiber, with multiple tiers and 10Gb at the high end. DOCSIS 4.0 will also bring this pricing to cable customers.

 

[ElmerFudd]

My point is that people are going to be needing those ports, and if the price difference is nominal, people are going to go for Wifi7.

Why buy a GT-AXE16000 when the GT-BE98 is almost the same price and you get more ports?


Most people don’t need it, but they’ll get it because the price difference will be marginal. Going from Gb to 10Gb is very cost effective for fiber companies, and upping speeds is the easiest way to upsell and compete.



You just proved my point. 1Gb is becoming the standard entry level for fiber, with multiple tiers and 10Gb at the high end. DOCSIS 4.0 will also bring this pricing to cable customers.

How did I prove your point with the new WiFi 7 routers will be almost double the cost. An 88u pro, 86 pro, ax6000 can all be found for $300 and under and all have multi gig ports. The WiFi 6 will actually likely drop in price even more once WiFi 7 routers hit the shelf before the standard is even finalized.

Very few customers will pony up the $$$ for 10GB cable. Nothing out there warrants that type of bandwidth unless your running a commercial data center. Most web sites would never even support the downloads at that speed for many years.

 

[Tech9]

Why buy a GT-AXE16000 when the GT-BE98 is almost the same price and you get more ports?

Why buy a home router with whatever ports when the hardware inside can't even do Gigabit with some firmware options enabled incompatible with NAT acceleration hacks in place? Why get a 10Gbps ISP service when most clients can't reach even Gigabit or simply don't need anything faster?

Most people don’t need it, but they’ll get it because the price difference will be marginal.

This is what ISPs do right now - Gigabit for everyone and shared between more paying higher fees customers. They know very well not even 10% have the equipment, clients or need for this speed. People don't change Internet use habits overnight just because the ISP got them a "deal". The real deal is for the ISP - more money with marginal increase in traffic. There is a good deal for hardware vendors as well - new router, new switch, new phone.

 

[ElmerFudd]

Why buy a home router with whatever ports when the hardware inside can't even do Gigabit with some firmware options enabled incompatible with NAT acceleration hacks in place? Why get a 10Gbps ISP service when most clients can't reach even Gigabit or simply don't need anything faster?



This is what ISPs do right now - Gigabit for everyone and shared between more paying higher fees customers. They know very well not even 10% have the equipment, clients or need for this speed. People don't change Internet use habits overnight just because the ISP got them a "deal". The real deal is for the ISP - more money with marginal increase in traffic. There is a good deal for hardware vendors as well - new router, new switch, new phone.

Exactly, most large commercial websites do not even support 1 Gig down loads. 10 Gig mostly supports infrastructure, not people’s homes. Cable ISPs never offer what they advertise. But there will people that will fall for the marketing ploy and buy stuff they don’t need.

500 down can support 20 simultaneous high quality 4K streams… how many will actually use even half of gig?

 

[RTWZ80]

Very few customers will pony up the $$$ for 10GB cable. Nothing out there warrants that type of bandwidth unless your running a commercial data center. Most web sites would never even support the downloads at that speed for many years.

I can personally attest to that... 10Gb fiber broadband was rolled out nearly 7 years ago where I'm from and all the big ISPs jumped on the bandwagon back then. Unfortunately, the take-up rate was so poor over the period (due to cost and addition gear needed to handle the higher speeds) that by end-2022, most of them dropped the service, leaving only one ISP still offering 10Gb fiber. Networking equipment that you need to handle 10Gb fiber is only just starting to gain traction but with rampant inflation becoming a worldwide problem in the supply chain, prices aren't coming down and are instead going up. Interestingly, there's now a renewed government push to upgrade the nationwide fiber broadband networks to 10Gb, will see if history repeats itself...

 

[ElmerFudd]

I can personally attest to that... 10Gb fiber broadband was rolled out nearly 7 years ago where I'm from and all the big ISPs jumped on the bandwagon back then. Unfortunately, the take-up rate was so poor over the period (due to cost and addition gear needed to handle the higher speeds) that by end-2022, most of them dropped the service, leaving only one ISP still offering 10Gb fiber. Networking equipment that you need to handle 10Gb fiber is only just starting to gain traction but with rampant inflation becoming a worldwide problem in the supply chain, prices aren't coming down and are instead going up. Interestingly, there's now a renewed government push to upgrade the nationwide fiber broadband networks to 10Gb, will see if history repeats itself...

That sounds like our area. We are all 10GB capable with fiber to the house, near symetrical FIOS, and they still have not released multi-GIG (2.5) for one of the top 5 richest counties in the U.S. I've hear fios has multi gig in NY though.

10GB may sure make some people a lot of money some day but its utility seems pointless given the back end transport infrastructure and real world capacity for most web sites. Heck I have 1GB but may very well down grade once the promotional price runs out as I really do not need it. I got same latency on 300/300 and then 500/500.

 

[RTWZ80]

That sounds like our area. We are all 10GB capable with fiber to the house, near symetrical FIOS, and they still have not released multi-GIG (2.5) for one of the top 5 richest counties in the U.S. I've hear fios has multi gig in NY though.

10GB may sure make some people a lot of money some day but its utility seems pointless given the back end transport infrastructure and real world capacity for most web sites. Heck I have 1GB but may very well down grade once the promotional price runs out as I really do not need it. I got same latency on 300/300 and then 500/500.


View attachment 49278

I think Sonic offers 10G Symmetrical PON but that's just in California for now and they only provide the ONT. Yeah, there's nothing much at the moment that'll let you max out 10Gb fiber, unless you run multiple BitTorrent downloads/uploads, and 500/500 is really all you need for streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime etc. That might change when Wifi 7 finally gets certified (ETA by 2023). But it'll be a couple more years before devices supporting Wifi 7 hit the shelves.

 

[ElmerFudd]

I think Sonic offers 10G Symmetrical PON but that's just in California for now and they only provide the ONT. Yeah, there's nothing much at the moment that'll let you max out 10Gb fiber, unless you run multiple BitTorrent downloads/uploads, and 500/500 is really all you need for streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime etc. That might change when Wifi 7 finally gets certified (ETA by 2023). But it'll be a couple more years before devices supporting Wifi 7 hit the shelves.

I played with all the BitTorrent like software in the 90's and can tell you that 30 years later I have proof why that juice is not worth the squeeze. Last year, a Virus Scan on my Asustor NAS picked up 15 files in my old software archive from back then which had bad viruses. None of the Virus Scan software I used on my old desktops and laptops picked up the stuff for over 20 years before I had the NAS. Back then, I used Norton and Mcgafee. People have no idea what they are infesting their home network with or anything they connect to outside the home. A lot of the Nasty stuff goes undetected for many many years. As the old saying goes.. "there's no free lunch".

Wifi 7 will not change backend infrastructure (main trunk lines and such) or do much for the home unless you're in close proximity to the access point. The only thing that would entice me to upgrade is if they included a security update like WPA 4 in the new standard but to the best of my Knowledge, that's not happening. Most clients today have yet to take full advantage of WIFI 6 for the matter (160hz, 4*4 MIMO, etc). My plan is to hold out a while until evidence proves my hypothesis wrong.