Hello
New here and a networking newb as well. Im looking to replace my homes ISP supplied Wifi 6 router and wondering which model you guys recommend.
The most important requirement is that It NEEDS to have a 10/100/1000 compatible SFP port for streaming network audio, a few open LAN ports, and provide decent coverage for my 2500sq home.
What are my options!
Thanks Cam
None of MT’s WiFi6 routers come with SFP port. The exception is L009, but although it’s technically WiFi6 it’s only got 2.4GHz radio so it doesn’t really offer WiFi6 speeds.
Dang!
Well any suggestions?
In your proposed drawing, you are intending to use fiber from the Mikrotik to a media converter, only to turn it back to a wired 1G ethernet connection. Why not just run a wired Ethernet connection from the router to the DAC? Unless your house dimensions are measured in acres, you are not likely going run out of the distance limit for a 1G wired connection over Cat-6.
Part two is a single WiFi access point for a 2500 square foot home is likely going to be pushing it. Might work, but likely will have some dead/marginal spots. I would be looking at multiple wired access points.
I don’t see any connection at all between network streaming audio — at around 1 Mbit/sec per uncompressed audio stream — and a requirement for gigabit fiber. Overengineer much?
any suggestions?
Strap a fiber switch to your WiFi router of choice. Not only does that let you assemble the combination of features you want, it offloads LAN traffic from the router, giving you better performance with less overhead for routed traffic.
For instance, a hAP ax³ strapped to a CRS305 should prove a monster pairing, giving you a 10G LAN for a few PCs and a file server, then a 1G uplink to the Internet/WiFi router.
So its an audiophile tweak that is used to strip noise off the signal. We audiophiles are crazy but you can hear a pretty big sound quality improvement.
https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/how-to-optimize-digital-streaming-with-optical-fiber/
I am currently using 2 fiber media convertors and would like to be able to remove one and go direct from the router. Less powered boxes the better.
Using Wifi extenders isnt a problem either. Just wanted to start with something that had decent coverage. Would maybe a wired router with sfp port and Lan ports be advisable and then use a wifi extender with Lan input for home coverage?
Anything worth doing is worth overdoing lol. 1g is not required it is just the limit of my areas network speed and of my audiophile fiber media convertor. I dont believe a SFP+ port will work with the convertor.
To me, this seems like two hAPax3 (or hAPax2’s, or mix), interconnected via 2.5G ethernet may be best. Your streaming audio will be fine on copper. It’s the Wi-Fi I’d worry about… AP closer to users is always better. Not only does it improve Wi-Fi experience by having two APs… having two similar routers gives you some options for redundancy/backup (e.g. hAPax3 has USB so could add a USB LTE hotspot down the road, can use VRRP so one router is always up if one rebooted for upgrades, etc).
The Audience isn’t AX, but I still think it’s great device. I’m just thinking you’d want two AP for 2500sq.ft. - especially if your “upgrade” some existing ISP Wi-Fi that’s working –e.g. imagine you’d won’t see much of difference in speed between a new Mikrotik and your existing ISP router on the Wi-Fi.
If for some reason you already have fiber, Mikrotik does make a cheap transciever that should be power able via PoE (but not sure) on the hAPax3: https://mikrotik.com/product/RBFTC11 . That be limited to 1G, but there are plenty of other transceiver that do SFP to 2.5G ethernet of the hAPax3. But a CAT6 copper cable between Mikrotik 2.5G ports just seems like a better plan.
You guys are super helpful and knowledgable for sure. But I guess my implementation is looking at different aspects that you guys normally don’t care about (ie noise from cables, power supplies) Mains, DC, and ground plane noise which can can effect digital signals isnt carried by fiber.
We are weird people lol. I could even tell you guys which fiber transceivers sound the best.
Kinda odd concerns for a home…anyway…
Just saying in the totality of potential point of failures, the choice between cooper and fiber won’t be very high on my list. Someone complaining about Wi-Fi coverage be my bigger worry than theoritical analog interference in a digital audio stream. Professional digital audio standard like Dante/AES67 were design around COTS ethernet and widely used.
If this is some mission-critical audio stream, it should be FEC-encoded then, since it not just the media where a frame can get lost, the interfaces/drivers of any media can also occasional lose packets.
But there is no alignment between a Mikrotik Wi-Fi 6 device with an SFP. So a well-terminated, shielded cat6 cable is what you got if you want 5Ghz Wi-Fi 6 with Mikrotik.
Everyone knows that. It’s the ones with the oxygen-free copper traces, the 99.999% fine gold contacts, and the green bands around the LC connectors to counter the IR losses around the terminations. If you want to get really fancy, you get the ones with Sorbothane insulation on the bail instead of PVC to reduce vibration transfer into the enclosure, to reduce microphonics in the ceramic caps.
You did say that you were this guy here demonstrating the Retro Encabulator? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgaKjVXK0KA
Now your talking my language lol! Any new ones out that you know of?
Any other suggestions for a router with a fiber connection?
I guess i can just stick with my ISP router and use another high end fiber module thats linear powered.