ASUS - RT-BE96U

I think what people are referring to here is the fact that these all-in-one router / gateways / WiFi APs / NAS servers are prone to bottlenecking due to all that the work they’ve got to do (if you so choose to use all the features included with such devices). From a pure network speed point of view, a device such as the AX89X, BE96U, BE98U etc can easily deliver close to full 10Gbps speed over short periods. Tools like iPerf3 prove this. But if you try to use the hw as a NAS server while also maxing out WiFi antenna power and other features of the router, those periods of sustained performance will greatly shorten. There’s only so much the underlying CPU and networking chips on those AIO devices can handle. With that said, what’s the real-world expectation one can reasonably have going the AIO route? (AX89X owner here, so the following is based on my own experience.) Pure networking, as rated by tools such as iPerf3, is indeed very close to 10Gbps. I’ve got 4 additional 10Gbps switches on my network. The AX89X feeds a Ubiquity EdgeSwitch 16 that is the backbone switch to my network. I don’t use the router for any service sharing besides internet and WiFi. A 10Gbps computer and a 10Gbps 12x-bay SSD NAS connected to this switch can see real-world transfers typically between 6-8Gbps. A 10Gbps computer connected to another 10Gbps switch at the far end of my network that piggy backs off the Ubiquity only sees around 4-6Gbps transfers (not that I’m really complaining — I also don’t chalk this up purely to the switches, as the computer I’m referencing here is rather old). Another 8x HDD-based 10Gbps NAS sees less than 6Gbps storage transfer speeds, but that’s more due to the aging hw in the NAS itself than it is anything with the network. In terms of internet routing: unfortunately, I only have access to 1Gbps in my area, so I can’t speak much there. All wired devices on my network receive 900Mbps+ at least. I also recently purchased the BE96U to replace the AX89X, but it came to me DoA and I’m waiting on a replacement from Asus. If I were looking to buy new hw and was thinking of a network design as OP alluded to, I’d definitely go with something like the BE series of routers simply due to the better CPU on offer. TL:DR: YMMV. There’s a lot of factors that go into play when it comes to maxing out performance of any network. Bottlenecks will exist. It just depends on what you’re comfortable with. Single purpose-built devices are likely to perform better than multi-function devices. But the question then is the cost, maintenance, and power required to go that route really going to be worth it in the real world for just a home network (even a very demanding one)? For most people, I think the answer is obvious

Asus and some others have quite a few routers available with multiple 10G ports (usually bifunctional in that these 10G ports can be purposed for either LAN or WAN duties), but I’m not currently aware of anything that combines strong WiFi with >3 onboard 10G connections. These consumer routers are more designed as an all-in-one to feed to an external 10G switch, which will then do the heavy lifting for your network’s wired backhaul. I have a BE96U which has two RJ45 10G connections. One of these feeds a Ubiquity 10G switch, which then feeds a pair of BE88U mesh access points via 10G wired backhaul. The other 10G port on the BE96U feeds a QNAP 10G switch which then feeds into a pair dumb Netgear 10G switches. Any wired client on my network is capable of achieving nearly 100% of the 1Gbps WAN connection I pay for. My 10G clients, of which I have quite a few connected to the various switches, consistently rate at 8-9Gbps with iPerf3. Of course, these speeds aren’t measured whilst multiple devices are attempting to consume all that bandwidth, but as a home network where I’m by far the primary user, the overall performance is more than satisfactory and I never experience any bottlenecks

Asus and some others have quite a few routers available with multiple 10G ports (usually bifunctional in that these 10G ports can be purposed for either LAN or WAN duties), but I’m not currently aware of anything that combines strong WiFi with >3 onboard 10G connections. These consumer routers are more designed as an all-in-one to feed to an external 10G switch, which will then do the heavy lifting for your network’s wired backhaul. I have a BE96U which has two RJ45 10G connections. One of these feeds a Ubiquity 10G switch, which then feeds a pair of BE88U mesh access points via 10G wired backhaul. The other 10G port on the BE96U feeds a QNAP 10G switch which then feeds into a pair dumb Netgear 10G switches. Any wired client on my network is capable of achieving nearly 100% of the 1Gbps WAN connection I pay for. My 10G clients, of which I have quite a few connected to the various switches, consistently rate at 8-9Gbps with iPerf3. Of course, these speeds aren’t measured whilst multiple devices are attempting to consume all that bandwidth, but as a home network where I’m by far the primary user, the overall performance is more than satisfactory and I never experience any bottlenecks

I upgraded to the BE96U (I caught it on special at Amazon for $449, plus a $50 off coupon).  It had great throughput and a terrific range.  However, even after a firmware upgrade it kept losing connection. Sometimes up to six times per day. Ultimately, I returned it.  I think the Wi-Fi 7 firmware is just too problematic at this point.

RAX120 has one port that will go up to 5 Gbps and four 1 Gig ports that can be aggregated. I used it to connect to a cable modem through two aggregated ports while it used the 5 Gbps to connect to one of my multi-gig switches. It was OK given the limitations of old timey Wi-Fi 6. Modern higher end routers have at least two high speed ports that go up to 10 Gbps as well as support for the 6 GHz Wi-Fi band. If you're going to spend money on a router today, you should get one, they're marketed for Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) but work with all the lower standards as well. If you ever use your NAS for something other than Plex, it's nice to have multi-gig between the NAS and the PCs that use it. Netgear has modern routers, and so does Asus and many others. I personally prefer for an all-in-one device, but you may want to stick with Netgear if you like their stuff. Asus is good for tinkering and bad if you're not into fiddling with lots of settings. RS600 and RS700S are both good. Asus RT-BE96U is also good, but avoid the dual band and quad band routers from both companies.

You should look at the Xfinity list of approved modems for your area. I'm using the Netgear CM2000 that I got used on eBay with Xfinity. It was on the list, works great, and has given me no trouble. I'm currently on the 300/20Mbps speed tier with Xfinity, but the CM2000 is pretty versatile. Does DOCSYS 3.1, and goes up to 2.33gigabits according to Xfinity. As far as routers go, I've had good results with Asus for some time now. Couple of nice Asus routers are the RT-AX88U Pro and the RT-BE96U routers. Personally, I have the RT-BE96U that works well with wifi-7 and MLO. I also have the GT-AX6000 which is the gaming version of the RT-AX88U Pro, same chip sets. Both of these provide great wireless, each one covers our whole house (2-story, 2000sq.ft.). The RT-BE96U provides slightly better wireless, but both are really good. No need for mesh for wireless here...used to have a mesh, but was able to replace that with a single router when I got the GT-AX6000. One of the things that I appreciate about Asus, in addition to the quality of their hardware, is that they support their products with new firmware for several years. They don't just put out a couple of bug fix firmware releases and then stop supporting their products, like some other manufacturers do :-).

Was doing research on deco mesh systems and one thing i noticed is that there’s a lot of complaints about hardware revisions and firmware. I was interested in the ability to select preferred connection between decos and device preferred connection. That way i could set the mesh topology as i wanted while steering non mobile devices to specific decos where signals are strong from multiple decos to the correct one. Simple right? Nope. The updated firmware for this feature only applied to specific versions of hw. So a v1 xe75 got it but not a v2 at the time. Then an xe200 didnt have it at all and it some older popular models never got it at all. It just seemed like a mess and the model i ordered didnt have it but amazon lost the pkg so i got an asus instead that feature is just naturally in their firmware… Their wifi7 models all support it but it’s like they just stop supporting previous popular hardware and move on so quickly

Asus zenwifi is worth considering. Just got 2 nodes of the 6E one from 2023 for $200 @ microcenter. After some issues with a new fully updated asus wifi7 router constantly rebooting & some similar claims across a few of their wifi7 devices i fear they've got a bug. The 6E has been running fantastic for ~4days now

I'm no expert at all in networks. I use Asus tri band routera running Merlin firmware. I have one router at the far end of the house on the 1at floor and the second router at the opposite end on the second floor. The signal extends to the yard and fully covers the house with Wi-Fi 6. House is close to 3k square feet. I have the routers hardwired since that provided the best connection. If you go the Merlin website you'll see what routers are supported.

I've had zero problems with M1 for many years. Only went down once, and that was for scheduled maintenance in the middle of the night. Also, it's not just your internet plan that could be the cause of any issues. If your router isn't good enough, or is in a terrible position, or is overheating, or the bomb shelter is between your laptop and the router, you are gonna have issues no matter what plan you have. I have a standard 1Gbps plan but an Asus gaming router with ethernet cables going to the 3 heaviest users in the home – PS5, living TV and bedroom TV. I also set up a second router using Asus AImesh to provide wifi signal to one of the further corners of the house.

I've been using AiMesh since the beginning, and it was rocky at first, but now I'm currently quite happy with it. One solid main router and two APs outside. What unifi did you get to replace your setup and do you think it was worth the cost?

Asus AiMesh - Yea TP-Link Deco - Yes TP-Link Easy Mesh - Not sure

I use Asus routers in my Ai mesh network and it gives me complete control over everything and I've loved it. I use that coupled with family link from Google and I feel like I've done my job as a parent blocking as much bullshit as I can for my kids.  But don't worry, their friends who's parents don't care about a single thing they consume will come along and ruin your hard work. Or your kids will be kids and find loop holes, which they always do. But you still tried. 

Asus AiMesh can be configured without an app and uses local credentials for management.

I went from DD-WRT for years to ASUS AiMesh and have been on Unifi equipment for a good four years now. I never have any issues with roaming (3600+ home) and I can fine tune whenever necessary (rare). I love the Unifi and don't plan on moving away any time soon. If you want peace of mind, I definitely also recommend Unifi.

As has been said, plug in everything you can. For a basic option, the Asus routers with AiMesh are a pretty simple solution. Start with one on the second floor centrally located and see if you need more. Use inSSIDer to see how your signal strength is as what kind of interference you have and set settings accordingly. If you’re not reaching all corners, add another compatible Asus and put them on floors 1 and 3 (both wired connection to WAN jack)

Avoid tp-link and any other CCP networking equipment. Don't intentionally put stuff with backdoors in them just to save a few bucks. Unifi is great but it's expensive and you really should use it wired. If you're just looking for plug and play mesh Asus has good offerings. Their AI mesh system works well