Comparison Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 vs Xiaomi Mi Wi-Fi6 Router AX6000

General device type. Nowadays, in addition to the routers familiar to many (both regular and gaming), you can find ADSL routers, access points(including directional ones), MESH systems, Wi-Fi adapters and Wi-Fi amplifiers on the market. Here is a detailed description of these types of equipment:

— Router. Devices known to many as the most popular means of wireless Internet access. However, the use of such electronics is not limited to this — it can also be used to create local networks and for some other, more specific purposes. On the technical side, a router is an access point to a wireless network that supports NAT mode; for more details about this mode, see "Functions and Capabilities", here we note that it is thanks to NAT that it is possible to access the Internet from several computers / gadgets at once, working through one provider account.

— Gaming router. A variation of the routers described above, optimized for use in online games. The features of such devices are support for the latest communication standards, high connection speed with a minimum of lags, as well as the availability of special tools and functions (game traffic priority, connection accelerators, integration wit...h gaming services or even certain online games, etc.). The specific functionality of a gaming router may be different, but if you strive for maximum speed and comfort in online games, it makes sense to choose a device from this category.

— ADSL modem/router. Wireless routers (see above) that provide Internet access through ADSL technology. The key benefit of this technology is that it allows the use of existing telephone networks without the hassle of running wires; at the same time, the Internet and telephone communication work independently and do not interfere with each other. On the other hand, such a connection is inferior to wired Ethernet in terms of speed and functionality (for more details, see "Data input (WAN-port)"); therefore, nowadays, ADSL is gradually “departing from the stage”, and there is not much equipment for this technology on the market.

— Access point. Devices intended mainly for use as a kind of "adapter" between wired networks and wireless devices, as well as for connecting individual network segments to each other via a wireless channel. The fundamental difference between such devices and routers (see above) is the absence of the NAT function (see "Functions and Capabilities") — thus, each wireless device connected to the access point transmits its own IP address to the network. A typical example of a network based on such equipment is a common router for connecting to the Internet, plus several access points located in key locations and connected to the router by wire.

— Directed access point. A variation of the access points described above, in which the coverage area has a clear direction. Simply put, the signal from such a device does not diverge uniformly in all directions, but in a certain direction, in the form of a beam or sector. Such equipment has two main areas of application. The first is situations when the access point needs to be installed not in the centre, but on the edge of the overlapped zone — for example, in the corner of the room. In this case, the directional design allows you to concentrate almost all the transmitter power in the working area, without wasting it on "unnecessary" directions. The second use case is wireless communication over long distances, for example, between networks in different buildings in bridge mode (see "Features"); in some directional access points, the communication range reaches 10 km. Of course, for such communication, the device on the other side of the wireless channel must also have the appropriate range, so the easiest way in such cases is to use two access points with the same characteristics.

— MESH system. Equipment for building wireless networks in MESH format. The idea of this format is to use numerous compact and relatively low-power wireless transceivers that can interact with each other in a coordinated manner. In this way, you can block a significant area (up to a small city), providing a reliable connection at any point in the coverage area. This happens as follows: a laptop, smartphone or other Wi-Fi gadget interacts with the nearest node of the MESH network, then the data is transmitted to the main router or access point wirelessly, along the chain between the nodes. In this case, the so-called dynamic routing is used: the network itself determines the optimal data transfer path and automatically changes this path when the user moves between individual nodes.
Actually, dynamic routing is the key difference between MESH devices and more traditional Wi-Fi amplifiers. At the same time, the work is carried out in a “seamless” format: when switching from one node to another, the connection is not lost and network functions that require a stable connection (downloads, watching videos, online games, authorization sessions) are not interrupted. In other words, the user does not notice switching between individual nodes at all. In addition, this format of operation allows you to maintain a stable connection speed (whereas the use of traditional amplifiers, especially in the form of chains, significantly reduces the speed). Thus, a MESH network can be an excellent solution for situations where a set of several Wi-Fi amplifiers is needed — from a private house on 2-3 floors to office and industrial complexes, and even urban areas. At the same time, equipment for such networks can be sold in sets of several units (up to 8); see "Included" for details.

— Wi-Fi adapter. Adapters for connecting to Wi-Fi networks designed for desktop PCs and other equipment that does not initially have built-in Wi-Fi modules. Such equipment can be both external and internal — see "Interfaces (for adapters)" for details. Also note here that buying a Wi-Fi adapter can be a good alternative to a wired connection — especially if the router is located far away and it would be inconvenient to pull the wire.

— Wi-Fi booster. Devices designed to amplify the Wi-Fi signal from an existing router or access point. They allow you to expand the coverage area, get rid of "dead zones", as well as improve the overall quality of communication and make the signal more stable. This type of device differs from MESH equipment (see above), which has a similar purpose, in the absence of dynamic routing (Wi-Fi amplifiers are designed to work directly with the router, in extreme cases, via a fixed chain), as well as the impossibility of seamless operation (the amplifier is visible as separate network — see "Features — Repeater Mode" for details). In addition, connecting through such a device can significantly reduce the speed. On the other hand, Wi-Fi amplifiers are much cheaper than nodes in MESH systems. So this particular type of equipment may be the best option for simple domestic use, when you only need to slightly expand the existing coverage and there is no need to build an extensive network with many equivalent connection points.

The number of wireless bands and channels supported by the router. Specified only for models that work with more than one range.

— Dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). Devices that simultaneously support two popular communication bands — 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz — in the "one communication channel per band" format. This ensures compatibility with most Wi-Fi standards (see above), and in some cases also has a positive effect on the quality of communication. For example, a Wi-Fi adapter (see "Device Type") with this feature may provide the ability to evaluate the load on both bands and automatically select the less loaded one.

— Three-channel (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz in 2 channels). An improved version of the dual-band operation format: in the 5 GHz band, communication is carried out on two channels. This allows, for example, to “raise” three wireless connection channels on one router at once (three visible networks in the list of wireless networks) and achieve even higher throughput. The advantages of this format are especially noticeable when the router works simultaneously with several wireless devices.

— Tri-band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 60 GHz). The most "omnivorous" type of modern Wi-Fi equipment, compatible with all popular standards — from the outdated 802.11 b / g to the relatively new 802.11 ad. Also, the abundance of ranges contributes to an increase in spee...d, especially when working with multi-range devices.

The maximum speed provided by the device when communicating wirelessly in the 2.4 GHz band.

This range is used in most modern Wi-Fi standards (see above) - as one of the available or even the only one. The theoretical maximum for it is 600 Mbit. In reality, Wi-Fi at a frequency of 2.4 GHz is used by a large number of client devices, from which congestion of data transmission channels emerges. Also, the number of antennas affects the speed performance of the equipment. It is possible to achieve the speed declared in the specification only in an ideal situation. In practice, it can be noticeably smaller (often by several times), especially with an abundance of wireless technology simultaneously connected to the equipment. The maximum speed at 2.4 GHz is specified in the characteristics of specific models to understand the real capabilities of Wi-Fi equipment. As for the numbers, according to the capabilities in the 2.4 GHz band, modern equipment is conditionally divided into models with speeds up to 500 Mbit inclusive and over 500 Mbit.

The maximum speed supported by the device when communicating wirelessly in the 5 GHz band.

This range is used in Wi-Fi 4, Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E as one of the available bands, in Wi-Fi 5 as the only one (see "Wi-Fi Standards"). The maximum speed is specified in the specifications in order to indicate the real capabilities of specific equipment - they can be noticeably more modest than the general capabilities of the standard. Also, in fact, it all depends on the generation of Wi-Fi. For example, devices with Wi-Fi 5 support can theoretically deliver up to 6928 Mbit (using eight antennas), with Wi-Fi 6 support up to 9607 Mbit (using the same eight spatial streams). The maximum possible communication speed is achieved under certain conditions, and not every model of Wi-Fi equipment fully satisfies them. Specific figures are conditionally divided into several groups: the value up to 500 Mbit is rather modest, many devices support speeds in the range of 500 - 1000 Mbit, indicators of 1 - 2 Gbps can be attributed to the average, and the most advanced models in class provide a data exchange rate of over 2 Gbps.

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.

The number of USB 3.2 gen1 ports provided in the design of the device.

USB in this case plays the role of a universal interface for connecting peripheral devices to the router. The specific USB devices supported and how they are used may vary. Examples include working with a flash drive that plays the role of a drive for working in FTP or file server mode (see "Functions / Capabilities"), connecting to a printer in print server mode (see ibid), connecting a 3G modem (See "Data input (WAN-port)"), etc.

Specifically, the version of USB 3.2 gen1 (formerly known as USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 gen1) is the direct successor to USB 2.0, which, in particular, has increased by 10 times (up to 4.8 Gbps) the maximum data transfer rate and increased power supply. However despite the general popularity, this standard is still relatively rare in Wi-Fi devices — USB 2.0 is enough for many tasks. However, the situation is gradually changing; and among advanced hardware such as gaming routers, you can find solutions with 2 or more USB 3.2 gen1 ports.

The total number of antennas (of all types — see below) provided in the design of the device.

In modern Wi-Fi equipment, this indicator can be different: in addition to the simplest devices with 1 antenna, there are models where this number is 2, 3, 4 and even more. The point of using multiple antennas is twofold. Firstly, if there are several external devices per antenna, they have to share the bandwidth among themselves, and the actual communication speed for each subscriber drops accordingly. Secondly, such a design may also be required when communicating with one external device — to work with MU-MIMO technology (see below), which allows you to fully realize the capabilities of modern Wi-Fi standards.

Anyway, more antennas, usually, means a more advanced and functional device. On the other hand, this parameter significantly affects the cost; so specifically looking for equipment with numerous antennas makes sense mainly when the speed and stability of communication are critical.

Note that antennas intended for mobile communications may also be considered in this clause. So when choosing a model with support for mobile networks, it's ok to clarify this point.

The total number of antennas in the router that are responsible for communication in the 2.4 GHz band. For details about the number of antennas, see "Total antennas", about the range — "Frequency range".

The total number of antennas in the router that are responsible for communication in the 5 GHz band. For details about the number of antennas, see "Total antennas", about the range — "Frequency range".