Abstract

Wi-Fi 6 brings WLAN performance to a new level with aggregate throughput potential measured in Gigabits per second. The advent of Wi-Fi 6 also brings economics to a new level as higher performance and higher density impact price-performance and total cost of ownership (TCO) calculations.

Cambium Networks commissioned Tolly to benchmark the performance of its tri-radio XV3-8 (8x8/4x4 MU-MIMO) and XV2-2 (2x2 MU-MIMO) Wi-Fi 6 Access Points (APs) and comparable APs from Aruba, Meraki (Cisco) and Ruckus (CommScope). Performance tests encompassed low-client density and high-client density scenarios with various traffic types. Tolly Engineers also calculated price-performance and 5-year TCO. Cambium acquired Xirrus in 2019 and the current products combine technology from both companies.

The Cambium Networks XV3-8 price-performance was more than twice that of the nearest competitor while offering TCO that is an average of 38% lower than Aruba, Meraki and Ruckus. The XV3-8 averaged 47% higher bidirectional performance (in tri- radio mode) vs. competitive 8x8/4x4 APs and outperformed Meraki and Ruckus in the 100-client high-density test.

The Cambium Networks XV2-2 price-performance was twice that of the nearest competitor while offering TCO 35% lower than Aruba, 49% lower than Meraki and 44% lower than Ruckus. The XV2-2 outperformed the others in bidirectional and downstream throughput and delivered comparable or better performance in the 50-client high- density test.

Note: This is an expansion of Tolly report 211106.