ASUS Intros RT-AX89X AX6000 Gaming Router with Dual 10GbE Ports

[ncrs]

You're aware that over short runs, even 10Gbps can run on Cat 5e, right?

Having had recent experience in this I'll say it's very short runs I even found a 2m Cat 5e that failed to support 10Gbit.

I've been eyeballing Mikrotik CRS305-1G-4S+IN for a part of my home network (basically interconnect for my server, NAS and workstation) for some time now.

I've bought this switch recently with both S-RJ01 and S+RJ10 SFP+ modules. This has a few caveats that you should consider before buying this switch. While the switch is all metal and fanless, it gets pretty hot even on idle (45-50*C) and S+RJ10 gets really hot (~75*C). While this is still within tolerances I've placed the switch next to the exhaust fan of my server so it's not as bad now. It just needs some airflow. Also it's only possible to use up to 2 S+RJ10 in the switch at the same time. You can use SFP+ direct attach for 10GBit even after hitting this limit though. The gigabit Ethernet RJ45 is fully capable of all functions and not only a console/management port which is a nice bonus.
I'm very impressed with the software side of the switch. In SwOS mode it's capable of doing everything I want from it, but it also can be switched to the full RouterOS which is the best router OS I've seen in networking gear including "professional" offerings.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Having had recent experience in this I'll say it's very short runs I even found a 2m Cat 5e that failed to support 10Gbit.

I had it working for a good few months over a 2m Cat 5e cable before even realising I was using the "wrong" type of cable...
I guess it depends on the quality of the cable and I wouldn't recommend it for sure.

As a side note, I have a Netgear GS110EMX switch and it gets quite toasty as well, since it's passive. And that's with only two 10Gbps ports...

 

[richmaxw]

Actually, the RT-AX89X doesn't support WPA3, yet. The specification page for the router here is just wrong. In the Web UI, it only lets you choose WPA2 or regular WPA. I contacted ASUS support and they informed me that they will be adding support via a firmware update later. It's misleading to say the least that they would put it in the specs before it was actually added. Everything else is fine with the router. I couldn't care less how it looks because it's in a crawl space in my house. It actually looks better in person than in the pictures, as well.

I had it working for a good few months over a 2m Cat 5e cable before even realising I was using the "wrong" type of cable...
I guess it depends on the quality of the cable and I wouldn't recommend it for sure.

As a side note, I have a Netgear GS110EMX switch and it gets quite toasty as well, since it's passive. And that's with only two 10Gbps ports...

I use Category 5e for 10-gigabit at my house. I have a few seven-meter runs with it and it works fine. The disks in my computers can't send more than about 6 Gbps, but it will hit that, at least.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I use Category 5e for 10-gigabit at my house. I have a few seven-meter runs with it and it works fine. The disks in my computers can't send more than about 6 Gbps, but it will hit that, at least.

If the data link is auto negotiated at 10Gbps, it shouldn't be a problem. It all comes down to the cable quality. I'm back to using a Cat 5e cable for a short stretch as well, as I had to re-purpose a longer Cat 6 cable for another system. Don't have any runs long enough to require Cat 6A anyhow so...

Actually, the RT-AX89X doesn't support WPA3, yet. The specification page for the router here is just wrong. In the Web UI, it only lets you choose WPA2 or regular WPA. I contacted ASUS support and they informed me that they will be adding support via a firmware update later. It's misleading to say the least that they would put it in the specs before it was actually added. Everything else is fine with the router. I couldn't care less how it looks because it's in a crawl space in my house. It actually looks better in person than in the pictures, as well.

This seems par for course for a lot 802.11ax hardware. An asterisk on the box and a note in a tiny font saying that this feature will come in a future firmware update, which many never happen. It all comes down to the chipset manufacturer if they deliver a new firmware or not. I would personally not touch any first gen 802.11ax hardware.

 

[Makaveli]

Actually, the RT-AX89X doesn't support WPA3, yet. The specification page for the router here is just wrong. In the Web UI, it only lets you choose WPA2 or regular WPA. I contacted ASUS support and they informed me that they will be adding support via a firmware update later. It's misleading to say the least that they would put it in the specs before it was actually added. Everything else is fine with the router. I couldn't care less how it looks because it's in a crawl space in my house. It actually looks better in person than in the pictures, as well.

This is normal with Asus routers.

My Asus AX88U didn't have Wifi 6 or WPA3 out of the box and was added later via firmware update.

And as TheLostSwede points out it chipset dependent. It took a while for broadcom chipset in my router to get official approval for Wifi 6.