Netgear Orbi WiFi System RBK50: front and rear view
Wireless backbone with 1733 Mbps
Netgears Orbi consists of an Orbi Router and an Orbi Satellite, whose chic, discreet housing design does not necessarily mean close to high-performance WLAN at first sight. But appearances are deceptive. The Orbi system provides a 2x2 dual-band WLAN via two access points, the first of which is located in the Orbi router and the second in the Orbi satellite. Each access point transmits the same SSID and encryption with up to 867 Mbps gross at 5 GHz and up to 300 Mbps gross at 2.4 GHz. The 400 Mbit / s at 2.4 GHz specified by Netgear are reached over 256QAM, but currently no WLAN client supports at 2.4 GHz.
The Orb is, however, in the wireless connection between the orbit router and the Orbit Satellite, which is produced by a third separate 4x4 AC WLAN radioband in the 5 GHz range. For this dedicated "WLAN backhaul", Orbi routers and Orbi-Satellite each provide four of their six internal WLAN antennas. This would allow link rates of up to 1733 Mbit / s (4x433Mbit / s) between the router and the satellite under ideal conditions.
Range and speed
This makes sense, as the satellite can be connected to WLAN clients as well as up to four LAN devices. In addition to the high maximum bandwidth, the 4x4 WLAN backhaul offers yet another advantage: the connection with four separate antennas on each side can bridge very unfavorable routes.
In contrast, a conventional WLAN repeater uses the same WLAN module and the same channel for the connection to the WLAN router and to the remote WLAN client, which significantly reduces the transmission rate between the client and the router.
The Orbi system is configured via the Orbi router. For this purpose, both devices must be connected wirelessly via a dedicated AC-WLAN. This connection can be established using the sync button on each device. In the factory settings of our test system, the encrypted WLAN backbone had already been set up so that the synchronization was performed automatically after the two devices were switched on. If both devices are synchronized, the Sync button on both devices serves as a WPS button, allowing WLAN clients to quickly connect to the Orbi system without the need for a WPA password.
In the initial establishment of Orbi, an individual access password is requested. In addition to three Gbit LAN ports, the Orbi router also has a WAN port and a USB 2.0 port that is still functional. The nearly identical Orbi Satellite has a fourth Gbit LAN port instead of the WAN port. Firmware updates can be automated for both Orbi devices in the router menu.
For our throughput tests, the Orbi system had to bridge an approximately 15-meter-long distance from a residential building into the office space of an adjacent building. Despite this quite unfavorable connection through two outer walls we reached between the LAN port at the router and the LAN port at the Satellite a considerable transfer rate of 300 Mbit / s net. A notebook connected to the Satellite over 2x2-AC WLAN (867 Mbps gross) came at data rates of 270 Mbps.
For comparison, if we switch off the Orbi satellite and connect the WLAN connection from the notebook directly to the Orbi router over the 15-meter-course, we only measure meager 10 to 15 Mbit / s. Even over this unfavorable connection distance we could still two different FullHD films from a SMB server connected to the router on two satellites connected clients (1xLAN and 1xWLAN) almost smooth streaming.
Our second test track of just under 10 meters in length was built inside a residential building, with the Orbi router on the ground floor and the Orbi satellite placed obliquely on the first floor. The obstacles here were a projectile ceiling and a supporting inner wall. In this scenario, we found netting rates of more than 400 Mbps between router LAN and satellite LAN. A laptop connected via 2x2-AC WLAN to the satellite comes here at nettorats of 320 Mbit / s. With a WLAN direct connection to the Orbi-Router (Orbi-Satellite off) reaches this notebook over the same route only maximally 140 Mbps.
The user interface of the router, including the help function and short instructions, are German-language, the detailed manual is currently available in English only. Although the Orbi router provides an effective child protection and a VPN server, some functions such as guest WLAN, a WLAN time switch or a function (eg NAS, media server) are missing for the currently still unoccupied USB 2.0- Port to router and satellite.
Also the comfortable remote access to the router via the Netgear Genie App was not ready yet at the time of testing. The Orbi router can also be operated in an "access point" mode on an existing router.
Anyone who needs a large area, high-through WLAN coverage without a cable connection for home or home can find with Orbi a tailor-made, very easy to set up solution. However, to justify Orbi's high purchase price, Netgear could still upgrade the firmware with one or the other.
Netgear Orbi: details
Conclusion
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