Tri-band mesh networking for fast backhaul

• MikroTik target group (RBD25G-5HPacQD2HPnD): $ 169 / € 155

The MikroTik Audience is a WLAN access point with integrated tri-band mesh networking. It contains three radios, one in the 2.4 GHz band and two in the 5 GHz band. The second 5 GHz are used exclusively for audience-to-audience communication in a mesh setup.

Connected: The best mesh routers for keeping the WiFi signal strong

The 2.4 GHz radio supports 802.11b / g / n (i.e. Wi-Fi 4) and the 5 GHz system is Wi-Fi 5 (i.e. 802.11a / n / ac). The audience runs RouterOS, MikroTik’s special operating system common to all Wi-Fi routers. There are also mobile apps for Android and iOS. In a mesh setup, you can add more audience units to create a single Wi-Fi network over a large room. Syncing a new device is done with the push of a button.

The theoretical speeds of the MikroTik Audience are good. At 300 Mbit / s, the maximum data rate of the 2.4 GHz band is on par with other WLAN-4 routers. The first 5 GHz radio can process up to 867 Mbit / s, while the second has a maximum rate of 1,733 Mbit / s. That is a total of 2.9 Gbit / s. Due to the dual-band radios, you can use both the 2.4 GHz range and the 5 GHz range at the same time. You can connect a tablet to the 2.4Ghz side of things and then connect your PC or smart TV to the 5Ghz radio and use both at the same time with no bandwidth reduction.

Theoretical speeds are of course theoretical. For real speeds, I tested the audience in my LAN. That means I didn’t have to rely on the ambiguities of an internet connection and the tests were reproducible and repeatable. The connection with an audience device in the close range above 5 GHz resulted in a maximum throughput of 383 Mbit / s. As I move further away and walk to other rooms in my house, the patency decreases, as is the case with any WiFi system. The size of the decrease will depend on the distance, the thickness of the walls in your house, the material used to build the walls in your house, etc.

See also: What is a mesh network? You need to know that

On the underside of the Audience you will find two Gigabit Ethernet ports and a power connection. The first Ethernet port on the main device is used to connect to your Internet router. The first port is also Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) capable, which means that you can reduce the number of lines to your devices and provide both power and Ethernet over the same cable.

The mesh networking technology in Audience is a great boon for those who need to extend the range of their Wi-Fi networks. In a mesh network, multiple nodes communicate with each other and forge a path back to the first unit and then to the Internet. It is more of a network than a chain, which means that it will take the shortest route back to the main unit. A mesh can also provide self-healing in that if one of the nodes goes offline, another node can take its place as it now offers the shortest path.

A simple WLAN repeater has the disadvantage that it only works with one radio device. It has to listen and broadcast on the same radio. This means that the potential bandwidth is halved from the outset. The Audience is a tri-band system where one of the bands is dedicated to communication between nodes, often referred to as backhaul. This means that the other two radios can freely communicate with your devices and not have to sacrifice overall bandwidth to send the data to another node.

Adding a new audience unit to the mesh network is easy. You simply press a button on your main audience unit and then a button on the unit you are adding. Wait a few minutes. And that’s it!

Read: How to speed up your WiFi while working from home

All nodes on the network use the same SSID and password. This configuration network is sent between the nodes via the backhaul. If you change the WiFi password on the main node, all other nodes are automatically synchronized with the new password.

Once a mesh network is set up, your device will automatically switch to the node with the strongest signal. The switchover takes place automatically, regardless of the type of device used (Android, iOS, Windows laptop, etc.). However, some devices tend to linger and stay connected to a more distant node until it becomes impossible not to switch. Ultimately, it’s the device’s choice.

The surprising thing about a mesh network of audience units is the speed increase since this third band acts as a backhaul. For example, if I connect to the main audio unit (let’s call it Audience 1) from another room at home, the throughput is 248 Mbit / s. If you add another node to the network and put it in the same room (let’s call it Audience 2), my device will now connect with a maximum throughput of 270Mbps. The speed increases. Why? Because now my device connects to audience 2 and audience 2 connects to audience 1 via the second 5 GHz radio. Because of things like antennas, amplifiers, and the bandwidth of the third band, the connection from audience 2 to audience 1 is better than connecting from my device directly to audience 1.

Aside from the magic of mesh networking, we need to take a moment to appreciate the audience’s sleek design. Most WiFi routers look like alien spaceships. Antennas, sharp angles and lots of LEDs. Basically, there is often no way to set up a WiFi router in one of the main rooms of your house and make it look nice. It will always look noticeable. Some router manufacturers have recognized this, including MikroTik. The Audience has no ugly external antennas and the housing is smooth so that it fits better into your home decor.

What’s not so good?

Router OS is the Linux-based network operating system from MikroTik. It’s powerful, comprehensive, and sadly, incredibly complex. You will likely access RouterOS via the web interface or via the smartphone app. However, it can also be configured through a command line interface that can be accessed through a serial port or Secure Shell, or alternatively through a Windows program called Winbox. The fact that you can configure it through the serial port tells you everything you need to know.

What can be achieved with RouterOS from a network perspective is almost limitless. There are so many variables and settings that can be tweaked, tuned, and configured that almost anything is possible. If you are thinking, I was wondering if RouterOS can do this … then the answer is probably yes. However, to achieve this you need to be a next-level networking professional.

Next: The Best WiFi Routers You Can Buy Today

The good news is that there is a Quick Set page in the web interface that covers basic things like setting a password or changing the SSID. It’s clunky and outdated, but it works. However, if you compare it to the highly polished web interfaces of the big brand network companies, RouterOS still has a long way to go.

For all its sophistication, Audience does not support seamless roaming from one node on the mesh network to another. There are several 802.11 standards (e.g. k, r, and v) that allow devices to seamlessly switch between access points. These standards partially take the decision about which access point to use from the device and hand it over to the access point itself. The result is that devices can move from one access point to another without interrupting service.

To be honest, not many home consumer projects support seamless roaming, even those that claim to support “mesh networking.” However, it lacks the audience. However, unlike some of its competitors, it doesn’t support Wi-Fi 6 either.

MikroTik Audience Review: Should I Buy It?

There are three compelling reasons to buy the MikroTik Audience. Firstly, you are looking for a device that will not attract attention and that is also not out of place in the living room. Second, you need a mesh network to get good Wi-Fi signal strengths over a larger area. Third, you want good bandwidth available on the additional nodes, but you do not want or cannot run cables between the units.

The MikroTik Audience fulfills all three of these requirements. The design isn’t geeky with antennas and LEDs. Mesh networking is built in and is set up just by pressing a few buttons. The tri-band contains a dedicated radio for the backhaul that enables the other two radios to communicate with your devices.

However, it isn’t the most user-friendly router out there. If the complex user interface scares you, there are more mainstream alternatives. TP-Link and its Deco line are a household name in the mesh network game. The Wi-Fi 6-capable TP-Link Deco X60 AX3000 is worth considering. If you already own Google’s Nest products, you should check out Google Nest Wifi.