The WiFi 6 routers are here to stay, this new standard represents a giant step over the previous versions Wi-Fi 4 and Wi-Fi 5, since this new standard incorporates technologies specifically designed to get the most out of the wireless network in home and professional environments. The biggest problem we find in a professional environment is that we have dozens of devices connected simultaneously, and due to this, the overall performance of the network radically decreases due to the very nature of WiFi. However, with the new Wi-Fi 6 we have technologies such as MU-MIMO and OFDMA in the two frequency bands (2.4GHz and 5GHz) that optimize performance to the maximum. Do you want to know why a WiFi 6 router like the Honor Router 3 is ideal for professional environments?
The WiFi router: the core of the network
In this article we have talked on countless occasions that having a good wireless router in home and professional environments is essential, no matter how good computers, laptops, smartphones and tablets we have, if we do not have a good WiFi router that is capable of providing us with a good performance, there is no use having fast wireless clients.
Why is the Honor Router 3 ideal in professional environments?
The technical specifications of the Honor Router 3 correspond to a high-end device, but at an entry-level price, so it is ideal both in professional environments as well as in home environments. This equipment has simultaneous dual band with Wi-Fi AX3000, so we can achieve wireless performance higher than 1Gbps real without many problems. In the 2.4GHz band we can achieve a speed of up to 574Mbps, thanks to its two external antennas in MU-MIMO 2T2R configuration and Wi-Fi 6, in addition, in the 5GHz band we can achieve a speed of up to 2.402Mbps, thanks to its two external antennas in MU-MIMO 2T2R configuration, at 160MHz channel width and to the Wi-Fi 6 it incorporates.
The first feature that is very important in professional environments is the 160MHz channel width on the 5GHz band . This feature is essential to achieve wireless speeds greater than 1Gbps, specifically, we can achieve around 1.5Gbps real speed, therefore, it is ideal to achieve the maximum possible performance. If we have a NAS server in the company, or if we want to access shared resources via Samba or FTP, we can download and upload data at a very high speed. A very important detail that you should know is that not all wireless clients with Wi-Fi 6 support this 160MHz channel width, you should look at the technical specifications if they support this channel width or 80MHz channel width. In the case that it is only compatible with 80MHz channel width, then the actual throughput will be around the actual 700Mbps approximately.
This Honor Router 3 router is priced at 79.90 euros, but if you enter the following link and apply the discount coupon “A40ROUTER” , the final price will be 39.90 euros. A real bargain for a router of these characteristics.
The second most important feature in professional environments is MU-MIMO , this very important feature allows the router to send information to several wireless clients simultaneously, making the overall speed of the wireless network increase, since clients will not have to « wait »until information is sent to them. It is very important that wireless clients also support MU-MIMO, in addition, we will only notice an improvement in the wireless network globally if we connect two or more wireless clients with MU-MIMO, otherwise, we will not notice improvement, but this depends on the wireless clients we connect. Of course, if a wireless client does not support MU-MIMO, nothing happens, because the network will still work fine, but we will not get that extra speed from this very important function.
The third critical feature of Wi-Fi 6 that greatly improves network efficiency is OFDMA technology . OFDMA technology allows us to divide a channel into several subchannels, in order to carry out simultaneous and much more efficient transmissions, in this way, the overall performance of the wireless network will also be optimized, especially when we have dozens of wireless clients connected and transferring data. Ideally, we should have more than four Wi-Fi 6 wireless clients to make the most of both MU-MIMO and OFDMA technology.
Wi-Fi 6 provides us with a lower latency because the packets travel faster and do not need to “wait” thanks to OFDMA and MU-MIMO, therefore, we will have around 33% less latency compared to previous standards. Finally, we have TWT (Target Wake Time) , a technology that allows the router to put wireless clients on “stand by” in order to save energy, ideal for smartphones, tablets and even laptops.
Other very important characteristics for professional environments is the Multiple-SSID . This function allows us to have several Wi-Fi networks (SSID) in each frequency band simultaneously, in this way, we can create different network profiles to connect different devices such as smartphones, printers and laptops separately. In addition, the firmware of the Honor Router 3 allows us to configure WPA3-Personal , this is the latest WiFi security standard, much more robust and difficult to crack than the previous one. Nowadays, it is essential that a router supports WPA3, since most wireless clients already support it, therefore, we will enjoy all the news of this security standard to adequately protect the professional network.
In case you need to expand the coverage in your home or business, this router has WiFi Mesh . If we buy two Honor Router 3, we will be able to configure them together to form a complete mesh network and have WiFi roaming and band steering . This will allow us to have a total of two access points to cover more WiFi wireless coverage in very large environments, in this way, if we walk from one side to the other, it will automatically connect to the closest Honor Router 3 access point and the one that Better performance provides, in addition, we will not have a cut in the wireless connection, something essential if we are making a video call or we are on a VoIP call.
Other features of the Honor Router 3 are the addition of a Gigabit Ethernet port for the Internet WAN , and it also has a total of 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports for the LAN . So we will have very fast wired connectivity, in case we need to connect equipment via cable such as a NAS server or a desktop computer.
This Honor Router 3 with Wi-Fi 6 router is available at a price of € 79.90, one of the cheapest AX3000 class Wi-Fi 6 routers that we can currently find, in addition, we have the possibility of configuring a network WiFi Mesh, something that not all manufacturers support. If you enter the following link and apply the discount coupon “A40ROUTER” , the final price will be 39.90 euros, even cheaper.
The computer as a WiFi client
Not only is it essential to have a very good Wi-Fi wireless router with the latest standard, but the computer’s WiFi card must also support it. Regardless of the hardware the computer has, be it desktop or laptop, it is very important to have a card compatible with the new Wi-Fi 6 standard, if we have a card that has passed the certification, it will be compatible with both MU-MIMO and OFDMA, however, the 160MHz channel width is not a mandatory requirement but optional, and it is possible that your WiFi card does not support this 160MHz channel width, so it is essential that you check the exact model of your card, and if it supports this functionality.
Currently, almost any WiFi card (even old standards), if you have the updated wireless drivers and the latest versions of Microsoft Windows 10, it will support the WPA3-Personal standard to connect without problems, however, this Honor Router 3 has compatibility backwards with WPA2-Personal to avoid problems with old wireless clients.