Comparison TP-LINK Archer AX55 Pro vs TP-LINK Archer AX55

The WAN port characterizes the ability of the device to receive a wired signal. There may be models with both one port and two WAN ports, and in rare cases, more connected providers. Such an expanded number of WAN connectors affects the cost and, accordingly, is found in more part among professional-level routers.

In terms of speed, when choosing a device, the priority is the speed of the output LAN port or Wi-Fi. However, faster WAN ports ( 1 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps, 5 Gbps, 10 Gbps) allow you to divide the load on several outputs at once without reducing speed performance, as may be the case with WAN port 100 Mbps.

In this case, LAN means standard network connectors (known as RJ-45) designed for wired connection of LAN devices — PCs, servers, additional access points, etc. The number of ports corresponds to the number of devices that can be directly connected to wired equipment. way.

In terms of speed, 100 Mbps (Fast Ethernet) and 1 Gbps (Gigabit Ethernet) are the most popular options today. At the same time, thanks to the development of technology, more and more gigabit devices are being produced, although in fact this speed is critical only when transferring large amounts of information. At the same time, some models, in addition to the standard speed of the main LAN ports, may have a 2.5 Gbps, 5 Gbps and even 10 Gbps LAN port with increased bandwidth.

Reassignable WAN / LAN port in the design of the device, which can work both with an external WAN network and with a local LAN. This solution allows you to reduce the total number of connection ports and at the same time expand the functionality of the equipment for flexible adaptation to user needs.

Rated power of the Wi-Fi transmitter used in the device. If multiple bands are supported (see “Ranges of operation”) the power for different frequencies may be different, for such cases the maximum value is indicated here.

The total transmitting power provided by the device directly depends on this parameter. This power can be calculated by adding the transmitter power and the antenna gain (see above): for example, a 20 dBm transmitter coupled with a 5 dBi antenna results in a total power of 25 dBm (in the main antenna coverage area). For simple domestic use (for example, buying a router in a small apartment), such details are not required, but in the professional field it often becomes necessary to use wireless devices of a strictly defined power. Detailed recommendations on this matter for different situations can be found in special sources, but here we note that the total value of 26 dBm or more allows the device to be classified as equipment with a powerful transmitter. At the same time, such capabilities are not always required in fact: excessive power can create a lot of interference both for surrounding devices and for the transmitter itself (especially in urban and other similar conditions), as well as degrade the quality of the connection with low-power electronics. And for effective communication over a long distance, both the equipment itself and external devices must have the appropriate power (which is far from alway...s achievable). So, when choosing, you should not chase the maximum number of decibels, but take into account the recommendations for a particular case; in addition, a Wi-Fi amplifier or MESH system often turns out to be a good alternative to a powerful transmitter.

The power of the transmitter installed in the equipment when operating in the 5 GHz band (see "Frequency Band").

This parameter directly affects the overall power and, accordingly, the communication efficiency. For more on this, see p. "Transmitter power" above, but here we separately emphasize that high power is not always required, and in some cases it is frankly harmful.

The model of the processor installed in the device. The processor is responsible for processing network traffic and running software. Knowing its name, you can get more detailed data on the speed capabilities of the equipment and understand how much such a powerful or, on the contrary, mediocre element is needed on board. In new models of Wi-Fi equipment, coprocessors or so-called NPU modules are often installed, which relieve the load from the main processor.

Most often, Wi-Fi equipment is equipped with processors from Broadcom, MediaTek, Realtek and Qualcomm.

The number of cores in the processor installed in the device. The core in this case refers to the part of the processor that executes one thread of instructions. Accordingly, the presence of multiple cores (there are 2-core models, 3 and on 4 cores) allows you to work with multiple threads simultaneously, which has a positive effect on performance.

The number of cycles per second that the processor produces in its normal operating mode. A clock is a single electrical impulse used to process data and synchronize the processor with the rest of the computer system. Different operations may require fractions of a clock or several clocks, but anyway, the clock frequency is one of the main parameters characterizing the performance and speed of the processor — all other things being equal, a processor with a higher clock frequency will work faster and better cope with significant loads.

The amount of random access memory (RAM) provided in the device. The amount of "RAM" is one of the indicators of the power of the device: the larger it is, the higher the speed and the better the device will cope with "heavy" tasks. Among the values, there can be 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB and high scores in 1 GB and 2 GB.