Motivation: My ISP upgraded my internet plan to 1.5Gbps download (not symmetrical… sigh). I cannot take advantage of this speed with my current network setup (pretty sure my equipment was a limiting factor with a 1Gbps connection as well…).
Current setup:
Ignite gen 2 (XB7) modem, set up in bridge mode.
Netgear Nighthawk R7000 wireless router.
Desktop PC w/ Killer E2500 NIC (I’m guessing “E2500” is a misnomer here… it says it only supports 1Gbps).
My first thought was to buy a 2.5Gbps switch and connect the modem, router, and desktop to it. But I’m guessing that either a) won’t work at all, b) won’t work without some configuration changes, c) won’t work at the speeds I’m hoping for.
You can maximize > 1gbps bandwidth by wiring your devices with at least 2.5 gbps NIC card (i.e., PC) back to the 2.5 gbps port of your XB7 in modem/router mode. To expand the ports, you can buy at least a 2.5 gbps unmanaged switch, plug it to the lone 2.5 gbps port, and then plug your PC to the new switch. That’s the cheapest way.
Your Netgear router only has 1gbps ports, so to use them, you can plug it directly to one of the XB7’s gigabit ports, and make sure it’s in Access Point mode. Plugging it to the 2.5 gbps port of the switch or the XB7 doesn’t gain you anything beyond 1 gbps.
So… change the configuration on the modem out of bridge mode, and change the config on the router into AP mode, and use the 2.5Gbps port on the modem for my PC.
Have I got that right?
I’ve resisted using the ISP’s modem as anything but a modem, since they’re usually locked down pieces of 💩… do you know if that’s the case with this modem?
You can disable the router’s wifi frequencies so that you can use your Nighthawk as your Access Point.
If you want to continue to use it as a modem, then you’ll need a new router with at least 1 2.5 gbps WAN and 1 2.5 gbps LAN ports, where you’ll connect the 2.5 gbps WAN to the XB7’s 2.5 gbps LAN port, and your new 2.5 gbps switch to the 2.5 gbps LAN port of your new router. And that will cost more money. You said the cheapest way, thus my suggestion above.
Indeed I did say the cheapest way :)
Are there any reasonably priced routers with the specs you mention?
I don’t unfortunately.
What’s your budget? The lowest cost Asus router with dual 2.5Gbe ports is the AX88U Pro:
https://www.newegg.com/asus-rt-ax88u-pro/p/N82E16833320556
There’s also the TP-Link BE550 which has Wi-Fi7 and five 2.5Gbe ports.
https://www.newegg.com/tp-link-archer-be550-6-ghz-5760-mbps-5-ghz-2880-mbps-2-4-ghz-574-mbps/p/N82E16833704711
That’s more pricey than I was hoping for.
I may just need to give it time for this stuff to go down in price…
There is Flint 2 up for pre-order if you can wait https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-mt6000/#pre-order