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The Zyxel NWA130BE is among the first reasonably priced WiFi 7 entry factors obtainable to shoppers and small companies. It guarantees multi-gigabit wi-fi speeds utilizing the most recent 802.11be customary, and it’s the greatest various to the just lately launched UniFi U7 Professional.
Associated Content material
Specification
| Mannequin | NWA130BE |
| Wi-Fi Requirements | Tri-band BE11000 |
| Broadcasting Energy | US (2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz): 29/28/23dBm EU (2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz): 19/25/22dBm |
| 6 GHz Speeds | 2×2 BE: As much as 5765 Mbps – 80/160/320MHz |
| 5 GHz Speeds | 2×2 BE: As much as 4323 Mbps -80/160MHz |
| 2.4 GH Speeds | 2×2 BE: As much as 688 Mbps – 20/40MHz |
| Variety of SSIDs | 8 |
| Working Mode | Standalone or through Controller Nebula Cloud-managed (free and paid choices) |
| Roaming Commonplace | Pre-authentication, PMK caching and 802.11r/okay/v |
| Backward Compatibility | 802.11/axe/ax/ac/n/g/a/b |
| Energy over Ethernet (PoE) | 802.11at (PoE+) |
| PoE Energy Draw | 24W |
| Injector Induded | No |
| DC enter | DC 12 V |
| Multi-Gig port | 1 x 2.5GBASE-T PoE+ Uplink 1 x 2.5GBASE-T LAN |
| Wi-fi Safety Strategies | WEP/WPA/WPA2-PSK/WPA3 |
| Authentication | IEEE 802.1X/RADIUS |
| Entry Administration | L2-isolation/MAC filtering/Rogue AP detection |
| Cellular App | Zyxel Nebula |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 250 x 160 x 47 mm |
| Weight | 808g |
| Processor | Qualcomm 4-Core CPU |
| Working Setting | Temperature: 0°C to 45°C/32°F to 113°F Humidity: 10% to 90% (non-condensing) |
| Value | £200 / $179.99 |
Zyxel NWA130BE vs. WBE660S
Zyxel additionally has the flagship WBE660S, which is priced at round £700. It’s largely the identical, simply larger and higher.
The WBE660S has 4×4 MIMO for every bang, giving it:
- 4×4 BE: As much as 11530 Mbps
- 4×4 BE: As much as 8646 Mbps
- 4×4 BE: As much as 1376 Mbps
The 4×4 design accommodates a bigger variety of purchasers whereas retaining throughput, and it’s helpful for vary and beamforming. Nonetheless, most prosumers and small companies are unlikely to see quite a lot of profit.
It additionally has a sensible antenna, which is designed to successfully mitigate co-channel interference.
Then, it has a 1x 1/2.5/5/10Gbps LAN port for the uplink and a second 1GbE LAN port.
All this provides as much as an AP that’s a lot larger, weighing in at virtually 1.5KG and requiring far more energy with as much as 41W, which additionally implies that it wanted the upper spec 802.3bt PoE mode reasonably than 802.11at that the NWA130BE requires.
Past the {hardware}, the WBE660S has extra performance that makes it extra enterprise-friendly.
Wanting on the machine operate desk inside Nebula, the WBE660S has:
- Distant AP (RAP) wi-fi safe tunnel (premium characteristic)
- Collaborative Detection & Response (CDR) (premium characteristic)
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)
Design
Zyxel has designed the sq. design for the current APs and adopted an oblong design, which is far bigger than that of earlier generations.
I’m detached to the design, however dwelling customers contemplating APs like this may increasingly not respect such a big machine. The U7 Professional will not be precisely small and refined, both.
One characteristic I like with the Zyxel NWA130BE that the Unifi AP lacks is the twin 2.5GbE ports. I’m not certain how helpful this could be in an enterprise atmosphere. Nonetheless, as a house consumer, I solely run one or two Ethernet cables to every room as a result of difficulties of wiring up a house with out ripping all the pieces aside. This, subsequently, permits me to energy the AP from the two.5GbE PoE change in my loft whereas additionally permitting me to attach a further change to develop the wired connectivity for the units in my lounge.
If I needed to do the identical with the Unifi AP, I’d have to purchase one other 2.5GbE POE change for the room the AP is in, which might be fairly pricey.
Moreover, the Zyxel will be powered by a DC connector. My evaluation pattern was despatched with one, however I imagine this isn’t included as customary. Once more, this simplifies the set up for those who don’t have a 2.5GbE POE change or POE injectors.
Set up / Set Up
The Zyxel NWA130BE is a NebulaFlex AP, which suggests you possibly can handle it domestically through the net interface or the Zyxel Nebula cloud interface.
For Zyxel Nebula, you need to use this freed from cost, and it really works completely wonderful, however a few of the superior options should not obtainable, and reporting is restricted.
I’ve used Zyxel Nebula on and off for a couple of years, so that is how I examined the AP. In contrast to Unifi, Zyxel doesn’t routinely recognise the AP on the community as a result of there isn’t a native cloud controller. As a substitute, you scan the QR code or manually enter it through the net interface.
For this evaluation, I didn’t ceiling mount the AP as a result of I’ve sufficient holes in my ceiling, however you get all of the equipment you want for mounting, identical to all Aps.
Zyxel Nebula Settings
For Zyxel, the channel width choices are as much as 320MHz for the 6GHz band and 160MHz for 5GHz. The Unifi U7 Professional can go as much as 240MHz for 5GHz, however as a result of restricted variety of channels obtainable with this channel width, it wouldn’t be sensible in lots of eventualities.
The Nebula UI has some quirks. Whereas it’s completely usable with no licence, they prefer to ensure you know you don’t have one. A notification bar pops up consistently, and once you flick thru the intensive settings, a lot of them are unavailable with a diamond icon subsequent to them, indicating it’s a premium characteristic.
Below the radio settings, you possibly can solely assign 80MHz channel width to 5GHz. You need to scroll down and manually assign it per AP.
Whenever you click on on “Why you shouldn’t use channel width 160/240 MHz in 5 GHz?” it informs you that the NWA130BE helps 240MHz, however you possibly can’t really allow it. Hopefully, this may include a firmware replace.
Minor criticisms apart, the intensive settings and performance are spectacular, which clearly make Nebula well-suited for enterprise networks. I’ve not checked all of the settings, however there appear to be extra choices than both Unifi or EnGenius.
What are some options that aren’t essentially unique to Nebula?
- Intensive safety choices, together with
- WPA3 enterprise with 802.1X
- Native bridge, NAT mode or tunnel mode for visitors
- VLAN settings and layer 2 isolation
- Load balancing utilizing both by consumer numbers or sensible classroom mode
- Sensible mesh and Ethernet failover
- Fee management and WLAN Fee Management Setting for higher roaming
- Plus many extra settings
Efficiency
To check the real-world efficiency of the Zyxel NWA130BE, I carried out a collection of throughput checks utilizing my desktop PC, which has the MSI Herald-BE NCM865 PCIe Adapter put in, I’ve additionally used my Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely when testing the vary of the AP.
For the pace checks, I used each iPerf and a self-hosted OpenSpeedTest server on my TerraMaster F4-422 10GbE 4-Bay NAS, which is operating Unraid.
I’ve additionally in contrast the outcomes to the U7 Professional, which I used to be reviewing concurrently.
It’s value noting that the two.5GbE connection limits each the Zyxel NWA130BE and Ubiquiti U7 Professional entry factors. Nonetheless, I used to be capable of obtain 3530Mbps with the Netgear Nighthawk RS700S after I examined it utilizing a cell, due to the 10GbE connection.
WiFi 7 6GHz Efficiency
The NWA130BE managed a detailed 1860 Mbps and 2376 Mbps, respectively for 160MHz and 320MHz
One flooring down by way of a wooden flooring, speeds dropped to 1721/1898 Mbps.
And throughout one brick wall, the outcomes had been round 1100/1400Mbps.
The outcomes are decrease than these of the U7 Professional, however there’s a sufficiently small distinction that you’re unlikely to see a lot of a real-world distinction.
- Shut Vary:
- Zyxel NWA130BE @ 160MHz: 1860 Mbit/sec
- Zyxel NWA130BE @ 320MHz: 2376 Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 160MHz: 1950 Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 320MHz: 2460 Mbit/sec
- Down One Flooring (wooden flooring)
- Zyxel NWA130BE @ 160MHz: 1721Mbit/sec
- Zyxel NWA130BE @ 320MHz: 1898 Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 160MHz: 1825 Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 320MHz: 2068 Mbit/sec
- Throughout one room (by way of a brick wall)
- Zyxel NWA130BE @ 160MHz: 1123 Mbit/sec
- Zyxel NWA130BE @ 320MHz: 1425 Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 160MHz: 1100 Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 320MHz: 1427 Mbit/sec
WiFi 7 5GHz Efficiency
I wasn’t capable of allow 240MHz on 5GHz, so the Unifi AP achieved extra spectacular outcomes. Nonetheless, you’ll battle to run a number of APs at 240MHz. It is likely to be discover for a single AP in a small dwelling or workplace, however most individuals shall be higher off sticking to 160MHz, and even that may be difficult to get to work reliably.
- Shut Vary:
- Zyxel NWA130BE @ 160MHz: 1512 Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 160MHz: 1771 Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 240MHz: 2198 Mbit/sec
- Down One Flooring (wooden flooring)
- Zyxel NWA130BE @ 160MHz: 1323 Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 160MHz: 1450 Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 240MHz: 1649 Mbit/sec
- Throughout one room (by way of a brick wall)
- Zyxel NWA130BE @ 160MHz: 1511 Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 160MHz: 1568 Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 240MHz: 1863 Mbit/sec
2.4GHz Efficiency
For two.4Ghz, I solely did fundamental testing as most individuals now use this solely for IoT, and the throughput isn’t that essential.
- Zyxel NWA130BE @ 40MHz: 292Mbit/sec
- Ubiquiti U7 Professional @ 40MHz: 342Mbit/sec
Value and Different Choices
The Zyxel NWA130BE is on the market immediately from Zyxel for £200 and Amazon for Around £180.
The flagship WBE660S 4×4 MIMO with 10GbE connectivity prices £700, and the reasonably priced NWA220AX-6E WiFi 6E AP is on the market from some retailers for round £200.
As compared, the Ubiquiti Unifi U7 Professional WiFi 7 is $180/£171, and the TP-Hyperlink EAP773 is £265.
Total
The Zyxel NWA130BE is a superb addition to the Zyxel vary of entry factors. It’s a comparatively reasonably priced method for prosumers and U7 SMBs to roll out WiFi 7 connectivity for true multi-gig wi-fi connectivity.
In case you are not invested in any specific ecosystem, I’m inclined to say that the Unifi U7 Professional is a greater choice for prosumers. It’s barely cheaper, performs a bit higher, and permits you to roll out the UniFi Community Utility for free of charge in your current {hardware} or use an RPI or a comparatively reasonably priced UniFi Cloud Key Gen2.
The NWA130BE’s twin 2.5GbE ports present helpful flexibility for dwelling customers, which could possibly be sufficient to justify the NWA130BE over the U7 Professional.
Zyxel Nebula might be higher for companies that need the superior options obtainable with the assorted subscriptions, similar to superior reporting, community topologies, and extra superior safety and community controls.
Total, the Zyxel NWA130BE is a superb entry level and is able to reaching spectacular multi-gig WiFi throughput due to the developments of WiFi 7.
Zyxel NWA130BE WiFi 7 Entry Level Evaluate
Abstract
The Zyxel NWA130BE is a superb entry level that may obtain spectacular multi-gig WiFi throughput due to the developments of WiFi 7. Its comparatively low worth level makes it appropriate for each prosumers and SMBs, and the intensive options with Nebula additionally make it appropriate for bigger companies.
Execs
- Inexpensive WiFi 7 AP with twin 2.5G Ethernet ports
- Free cloud administration through Nebula Cloud
- Intensive enterprise options that may be enabled by way of subscription
Cons
- Larger worth and barely decrease efficiency vs Unifi U7 Professional
I’m James, a UK-based tech fanatic and the Editor and Proprietor of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Obsessed with all issues expertise, my experience spans from computer systems and networking to cell, wearables, and sensible dwelling units.
As a health fanatic who loves operating and biking, I even have a eager curiosity in fitness-related expertise, and I take each alternative to cowl this area of interest on my weblog. My numerous pursuits permit me to convey a singular perspective to tech running a blog, merging way of life, health, and the most recent tech traits.
In my educational pursuits, I earned a BSc in Data Methods Design from UCLAN, earlier than advancing my studying with a Grasp’s Diploma in Computing. This superior examine additionally included Cisco CCNA accreditation, additional demonstrating my dedication to understanding and staying forward of the expertise curve.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has persistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of many high expertise blogs within the UK. With my dedication to expertise and drive to share my insights, I intention to proceed offering my readers with partaking and informative content material.
