Mikrotik Audience - performance test

Audience is a very stylishly designed MikroTik router with "Tri-band" WiFi (2.4GHz + 2x 5GHz) with IPSEC hardware acceleration support. The second WiFi transmitter in 5GHz band allows to create extensive MESH networks. The only thing we need to safely work from home is an advanced router with good WiFi. Particularly noteworthy is the version with a built-in, efficient LTE modem in category 6 (RBD25GR-5HPacQD2HPnD and R11e-LTE6).

RBD25G-5HPacQD2HPnD has been equipped with a very efficient, 4-core ARM 32 bir IPQ-4019 processor with 716MHz. As the manufacturer himself says, the basic firewall configuration has performance for 1518 byte packets at 1.9 Gbps! Of course, for smaller packets (64 bytes), the performance is lower and ranges from 112-912Mbps. IPSEC performance oscillates around 400Mbps for 1400 byte packets.

Mikrotik Audience can operate wirelessly in the following configurations:

• A stand-alone WiFi transmitter or WiFi client
• Repeater
• The WiFi transmitter and transmitter in MESH mode with dynamic WDS
• The WiFi transmitter and transmitter in full mesh
• The WiFi transmitter under CAPSMan management.

The measurement with a radio analyzer shows that the wireless module does not generate additional noise outside the transmission channel. The measurement was made on base transmitter power of 17dBm.

In the manufacturer's opinion, the maximum transmission power can be increased to 32dBm, measurement at 30dBm showed additional interference outside the transmission channel.

We used the AirSurvey software to make a reliable signal map - which is well known to MacOS users.

• To correctly read the levels of individual signals, please refer to the color legend at the bottom of the picture.
• The location of the Access Point has been marked with an appropriate icon.

Originally, we didn't plan to test MikroTik devices, but after reading some of the comments and accusations, we decided to conduct performance tests of subsequent Access Points from Mikrotik. The purpose of the tests is to verify the range of the wireless network generated by the Audience access point both in terms of signal coverage and real speeds available in the building.This is another test in a whole series of tests of wireless devices for home, office and industry. The chosen test procedure will allow you to compare all these devices in identical conditions and similar configuration. For 2.4GHz connections we have assumed a maximum channel width of 40MHz. The testing device was MacBook Pro A1502 equipped with built-in AirPort Extreme wireless card (Broadcom BCM4360 3x3, 1.3 Gbps PHY) working in 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards.

Before the speed tests we verified the maximum performance of LAN and iperf3 server. The aforementioned laptop was connected with a 10/100/1000Mbps network card to a switch. We obtained the following maximum speeds for one TCP stream:

• download 894Mbps
• upload 958Mbps

Speed tests were performed using WiFiPerf software, while the speed test server was runnnning iperf3 software. A series of tests were carried out using the TCP protocol and the duration cycle was 35s.

It must be admitted that the new access point from Mikrotik is an extremely nice and aesthetic device. It will work perfectly well in modern interiors, where style is a priority. But of course, Audience will be perfect for any room. Whether it's a residential house, an apartment or an office, this access point will also find a perfect place in such spaces.

Pros:

• Very nice design, the device looks beautiful on a shelf or a desk
• It's a small, powerful device with hardware supporting IPSEC acceleration
• Very powerful configuration options and features, allowing this device to create an advanced router with firewall and VPN server/client together with traffic shaping.
• Additional 5GHz (Tri-band) transmitter allowing to build MESH networks.

Cons:

• Configuration requires general IT knowledge or strict adherence to the detailed configuration instructions given by the manufacturer.

The authors:
Wojciech Repiński
Leszek Błaszczyk