The Orbi modules also come with 4 Ethernet ports for connecting wired clients, except that router module requires one for the WAN connection. The third radio is dedicated to the backhaul between Orbi modules. There are two 2x2 radios used for client access one each for the 2.4 & 5 GHz bands. One modules is a 'router' similar to the 'main' router in a traditional extended wireless network.Įach module has three separate radios. Orbi comes with a 3 module 'starter' kit. This would be an advantage to both smart devices and 'standard' devices as well.Īpparently Orbi is superior because it works with one SSID. It can do this by 'moving' clients to a less-used access point. So, back to your question, mesh networks (in theory) use a level of decision making that should benefit multiple devices when streaming video (for example) simultaneously. As such this eliminates the need for MIMO and benefits less-capable wireless network clients. With a wireless mesh network, the network is spread out to a few to hundreds of wireless mesh nodes. However, in order to take advantage of this, wireless network clients must be MIMO-capable as well. To gain 'speed' routers are increasingly designed with additional radios to take advantage of a technology known as Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO). Staying with a comparison to (non-backhaul) mesh networks, traditional 'extended' networks rely on a single 'main' wireless router and small number of wireless access points to create the network. Not sure if I have a direct qualifying answer to that question. I thought one of the advantages with mesh network was with smart devices. AirPort base stations in a roaming network configuration.(Best Bandwidth Performance) Wireless networks with wired backhaul:

The biggest advantage of all of the currently available mesh network solutions is that they all offer much better administration options over the (dated) Apple networking ecosystem. The ones that do (known as a wireless backhaul or backbone) offer better bandwidth performance but not as good as a wireless network interconnected by wire. Ones that provide a dedicated wireless radio to interconnect each device and those that don't. Note that there are currently two types of mesh wireless network. This has much better overall bandwidth than an extended network that uses all wireless connections.

When connected by Ethernet your AirPort base stations were configured as a roaming network. Only in that they do not require wired connections between wireless access points.

Eero vs airport extreme