New ASUS ZenWiFi ET8 with Wifi 6E

[jmpr]

Have just seen it:

ASUS ZenWiFi ET8｜Whole Home Mesh WiFi System｜ASUS Global

AXE6600 tri-band WiFi 6E (802.11ax) whole-home mesh WiFi system, up to 5500 sq. ft. coverage, new 6 GHz band, Seven 160 MHz channels, 6 GHz and Ethernet backhaul, free VPN security, lifetime free internet security, AiMesh support, ASUS Router app for easy setup and management

www.asus.com

Similar specs to XT8, but with that new band.

 

[L&LD]

Not enough RAM, not enough CPU, and not enough antennae/streams for each band.

Hard pass.

 

[jmpr]

Not enough RAM, not enough CPU, and not enough antennae/streams for each band.

Hard pass.

but it is so beautiful....

I have an XT8, and happy with it (although bad latest firm). Set it and forget it.

 

[Raven76]

Meeeh.... Just bought 4 XT8 a couples of months ago! ‍
(I'm very happy with it, but it's so annoying!)

 

[L&LD]

Beauty does not equal form... beauty equals function.

 

[RMerlin]

Not enough RAM, not enough CPU, and not enough antennae/streams for each band.

There is zero need for more RAM or more CPU on a mesh node. Under normal operation mode, these still have well over 100 MB of free RAM, and CPU usage will never have all cores loaded at the same time.

 

[L&LD]

For the AiMesh node, yes. But isn't the main/matching router identical though?

 

[RMerlin]

For the AiMesh node, yes. But isn't the main/matching router identical though?

The only thing that benefits from more cores is running multiple concurrent OpenVPN clients - which 0.05% of users might actually need.

The only thing that benefits from more RAM is using the router as a NAS, which has always been a bad idea.

So for 99% of users, these specs are fine.

 

[L&LD]

I just know that the more RAM and the more cores the router has, the faster the network.

This was true when upgrading from the RT-N66U to the RT-AC68U, then to the RT-AC3100, then to the RT-AC86U, then to the (older) RT-AX88U and finally to the RT-AX86U.

I have no doubt that the next router I buy and keep will be faster because the resources will have been upgraded too.

 

[RMerlin]

I just know that the more RAM and the more cores the router has, the faster the network.

That's not true. These have no impact.

This was true when upgrading from the RT-N66U to the RT-AC68U, then to the RT-AC3100, then to the RT-AC86U, then to the (older) RT-AX88U and finally to the RT-AX86U.

The RT-AC68U was faster because it had a 800 MHz Cortex A9 CPU versus a 600 MHz MIPS CPU for the RT-N66U, and also because going from single core to dual core meant you could have routing use one core, and other functions use the second core.

The RT-AC3100 was faster because it was clocked at 1.4 GHz instead of 800 MHz.

The RT-AC86U was faster because it was clocked at 1.8 GHz instead of 1.4 GHz, and it was a Cortex A53 instead of an older Cortex A9.

The RAM had no impact on these performance gains. And past two cores on these routers, there is virtually no benefit to routing performance, since routing is a single threaded process. It's all related to the CPU clock and microarchitecture.

 

[L&LD]

I'm not limiting my experience to routing performance. Like I mentioned, the 'network' experience, overall, was increased.

To me, your statements above are contradicting each other.

I understand what you're saying, but I still know what I see too. I didn't/don't upgrade routers for no reason. I upgraded specifically for the network improvements they may offer. I know that mere hardware isn't enough to give this increase, but with the right magic (firmware/code), the improvements are tangible not just for myself, but for my customers too.

Even with identical hardware, the RT-AX88U and the RT-AX86U are not identical, for example. In how responsive the network is.

The RT-AX86U is leaps and bounds better (and cheaper too), for anyone that feels latency vs. the spec-wise 'equivalent' RT-AX88U.

 

[JagoUK]

Finally! (Now just release in UK asus!)

Been missing these since I had to send my XT8's back.

I wonder if they are giving link aggregation on LAN. It says it does on WAN but I'm sure that's a misprint.
Still no mention of 2.5GB wired backhaul.

 

[FrontSide]

So based on the specs it looks like the 5 ghz 4x4 backhaul is replaced with 6 ghz 4x4 for backhaul. What about front haul for future 6e devices(?)

 

[JagoUK]

If it is like the XT8 then you can use the backhaul for front haul.

The issue with the XT8 was you couldn't use 160mhz in the lower 5ghz channels so it was useless to me.

Hope this gets released in UK soon.

 

[FrontSide]

I’m DFS challenged too! I’m researching and considering whether the 6mhz backhaul will improve the performance of my xt8, considering that most of my devices will still connect at 80mhz.

 

[TVD]

That's not true. These have no impact.



The RT-AC68U was faster because it had a 800 MHz Cortex A9 CPU versus a 600 MHz MIPS CPU for the RT-N66U, and also because going from single core to dual core meant you could have routing use one core, and other functions use the second core.

The RT-AC3100 was faster because it was clocked at 1.4 GHz instead of 800 MHz.

The RT-AC86U was faster because it was clocked at 1.8 GHz instead of 1.4 GHz, and it was a Cortex A53 instead of an older Cortex A9.

The RAM had no impact on these performance gains. And past two cores on these routers, there is virtually no benefit to routing performance, since routing is a single threaded process. It's all related to the CPU clock and microarchitecture.

Hi @RMerlin,
Any chance we see your Asuswrt-Merlin for the ZenWIFI ET8? The ZenWIFI XT8 is not supported, so I guess also the ET8 will not be supported?
And thanks for all your hard work!

 

[RMerlin]

Hi @RMerlin,
Any chance we see your Asuswrt-Merlin for the ZenWIFI ET8?

[FAQ] READ ME FIRST before posting a question

Model support Q: Will you support the RT-xxxxxx that was just announced? A: See detailed answer in post #3. Q: Will you support router XYZ from this non-Asus manufacturer? A: No. Asuswrt-Merlin only targets Asus-supported models, due to both technical and legal reasons. Q: I'm having...

www.snbforums.com

 

[chris2kari]

I'm not limiting my experience to routing performance. Like I mentioned, the 'network' experience, overall, was increased.

To me, your statements above are contradicting each other.

I understand what you're saying, but I still know what I see too. I didn't/don't upgrade routers for no reason. I upgraded specifically for the network improvements they may offer. I know that mere hardware isn't enough to give this increase, but with the right magic (firmware/code), the improvements are tangible not just for myself, but for my customers too.

Even with identical hardware, the RT-AX88U and the RT-AX86U are not identical, for example. In how responsive the network is.

The RT-AX86U is leaps and bounds better (and cheaper too), for anyone that feels latency vs. the spec-wise 'equivalent' RT-AX88U.

Merlin is right, CPU clock speed and CPU microarchitecture design are key to routing performance.

Your device's primary function is ROUTING network packets.

 

[L&LD]

No, it's not. Only when I am accessing the internet is that true.

I use my network more than that limited scenario.

 

[johny_2000]

I would upgrade to ET8 if ASUS offered a trade-in program for the current XT8 routers.
Otherwise, as the current owner of the XT8 system, it's not worth upgrading.

And do it in black edition too. The current white one will not suit the interior of my rooms.