REVIEWER'S GUIDE

TEST OVERVIEW

This document outlines the suggested testing methodology for the Archer BE230 and presents the test results obtained in TP-Link's laboratory and test house.

• PART 1: Wi-Fi Peak Performance: Tests the peak Wi-Fi performance of the Archer BE230 using a Wi-Fi 7 client, comparing it with a Wi-Fi 6 router.
• PART 2: Wi-Fi Coverage: Evaluates the Wi-Fi 7 coverage performance of the Archer BE230 in a simulated home environment.
• PART 3: WAN Peak Performance: Assesses the bi-directional WAN peak performance of the Archer BE230, comparing it to a Wi-Fi 6 router.
• PART 4: USB: Tests the USB function of the Archer BE230, highlighting its capability for transferring large files.
• PART 5: VPN Server & Client: Examines the VPN performance of the Archer BE230 as both a VPN server and client.

SUGGESTED EQUIPMENT AND TOOL

SERVER / CLIENT PC

• CPU: Intel i5-9400
• RAM: DDR4 16G
• 10Gbps Wired Network Adapter: TP-Link TX401, XG-C100C

Wi-Fi 6E CLIENT

• Intel AX210, Driver Version: 22.200.0
• Intel AX211, Driver Version: 23.10.0.8
• Google Pixel 8

Wi-Fi 7 CLIENT

• Intel BE200, Driver Version: 23.30.0.6
• Note: The MLO network of Intel BE200 may not work with a 320MHz channel width. The Intel BE200 used in testing is a beta version; advanced features like 5&6GHz MLO will be supported in future versions.
• For iPerf 3 testing on Android, refer to the APPENDIX.

Test Routers

• TP-Link Archer BE230(EU)1.0
• TP-Link Archer AX55 Pro(EU) 1.0
• TP-Link Archer AXE75 (EU)1.0

TESTING TOOLS

• iPerf 3: Available at iperf.fr. Client Command: iperf3 -c [Server IP Address] -P 20 -w 2M -t 60. Analiti app: iperf3t://[Server IP Address]?P=20
• IxChariot 6.7: Download from ixiacom.com. Configuration: TCP Stream Pairs for Ethernet Client: 150, TCP Stream Pairs for Wi-Fi Client: 40, Script for Ethernet Client: High_Performance_Throughput.src, Script for Wi-Fi Client: High_Performance_Throughput.src, Duration: 60 seconds.
• Ookla SpeedTest: Accessible at speedtest.net.

PART 1. Wi-Fi Peak Performance

TEST FOCUS

Testing the peak Wi-Fi performance of the Archer BE230 using a Wi-Fi 7 client (Intel BE200) and comparing it with the Archer AX55 Pro.

TEST TOPOLOGY

A diagram shows a network setup with an Internet source connected to a Modem/Router, then to the BE230 router, which connects to a Wi-Fi Client with Intel BE200. A 2.5G Ethernet connection is indicated between the Modem/Router and the BE230, and between the BE230 and a Server. If the Modem/Router lacks 2.5Gbps Ethernet, the Server connects to the router's 2.5Gbps LAN port.

TEST STEPS

1. Log into the Archer BE230 web management page, navigate to Wireless, set the 2.4GHz Channel Width to 40MHz, and the 5GHz Channel Width to 160MHz.
2. Connect the Wi-Fi Client (Intel BE200) to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands of the router. Maintain a distance of 1-2 meters between the router and client.
3. Run a 40-stream throughput test between the Server and the Client for 60 seconds.

If using a wired PC as the client, ensure it has a 2.5G or higher Ethernet adapter and connect it to the router.

TEST RESULT

Wi-Fi Peak Performance on 5GHz Band (Mbps)

A bar chart shows Wi-Fi peak performance on the 5GHz band. For TCP_UP, Archer BE230 achieved 2246 Mbps and Archer AX55 Pro achieved 1497 Mbps. For TCP_DOWN, Archer BE230 achieved 2197 Mbps and Archer AX55 Pro achieved 1637 Mbps.

Wi-Fi Peak Performance on 2.4GHz Band (Mbps)

A bar chart shows Wi-Fi peak performance on the 2.4GHz band. For TCP_UP, Archer BE230 achieved 477 Mbps and Archer AX55 Pro achieved 425 Mbps. For TCP_DOWN, Archer BE230 achieved 525 Mbps and Archer AX55 Pro achieved 434 Mbps.

Conclusion: When tested with a Wi-Fi 6E Client (Intel BE200), the Archer BE230 demonstrates superior Wi-Fi peak performance compared to the Archer AX55 Pro on both the 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands.

PART 2. Wi-Fi Coverage

TEST FOCUS

Testing the Wi-Fi coverage of the Archer BE230 using Wi-Fi 6E clients (Intel AX211 and Google Pixel 8) in a home environment, and comparing it with the Archer AX55 Pro.

TEST TOPOLOGY

A diagram illustrates a home floor plan with various locations marked (A through M). The network setup includes a 5Gbps Internet connection to a Modem/Router, then to the BE230 router, which connects to a Wi-Fi Client. A 2.5G WAN connection is shown.

TEST ENVIRONMENT

The test environment is a two-story house, with specific dimensions provided for rooms and areas. The floor plan indicates testing locations within the house.

TEST RESULTS

In a simulated home environment, the Archer BE230 provides superior Wi-Fi 7 coverage performance compared to the Archer AX55 Pro.

Wi-Fi Coverage Performance Comparison (Intel AX211 Client)

• 5GHz (download & upload): Archer BE230 > Archer AX55 Pro
• 2.4GHz (download & upload): Archer BE230 > Archer AX55 Pro

Wi-Fi Coverage Performance Comparison (Google Pixel 8 Client)

• 5GHz (download): Archer BE230 > Archer AX55 Pro
• 5GHz (upload): Archer BE230 ≈ Archer AX55 Pro
• 2.4GHz (download & upload): Archer BE230 > Archer AX55 Pro

Detailed statistics are provided in the following pages.

5GHz Wi-Fi Download Performance (Mbps) - Client: Intel AX210

A bar chart displays download performance across various locations (Loc A to Loc K). Archer BE230 generally shows higher speeds than Archer AX55 Pro, with notable results at Loc A (1664 Mbps vs 1617 Mbps) and Loc C (1328 Mbps vs 1312 Mbps).

5GHz Wi-Fi Upload Performance (Mbps) - Client: Intel AX210

A bar chart displays upload performance across various locations (Loc A to Loc K). Archer BE230 shows significantly higher speeds than Archer AX55 Pro, particularly at Loc A (1801 Mbps vs 1795 Mbps) and Loc C (1147 Mbps vs 1097 Mbps).

5GHz Wi-Fi Download Performance (Mbps) - Client: Pixel 8

A bar chart displays download performance across various locations (Loc A to Loc K). Archer BE230 generally outperforms Archer AX55 Pro, with speeds like 1700 Mbps vs 1655 Mbps at Loc A and 1282 Mbps vs 1229 Mbps at Loc C.

5GHz Wi-Fi Upload Performance (Mbps) - Client: Pixel 8

A bar chart displays upload performance across various locations (Loc A to Loc K). Archer BE230 shows comparable or slightly higher speeds than Archer AX55 Pro, with results like 1538 Mbps vs 1535 Mbps at Loc A and 1124 Mbps vs 1150 Mbps at Loc C.

2.4GHz Wi-Fi Download Performance (Mbps) - Client: Intel AX210

A bar chart displays download performance across various locations (Loc A to Loc L). Archer BE230 shows higher speeds in most locations, such as 290 Mbps vs 230 Mbps at Loc A and 198 Mbps vs 188 Mbps at Loc C.

2.4GHz Wi-Fi Upload Performance (Mbps) - Client: Intel AX210

A bar chart displays upload performance across various locations (Loc A to Loc L). Archer BE230 shows higher speeds in most locations, such as 255 Mbps vs 214 Mbps at Loc A and 123 Mbps vs 118 Mbps at Loc C. A note indicates that Archer BE230's two lateral 2.4G antennas may cause performance differences compared to Archer AX55 Pro.

2.4GHz Wi-Fi Download Performance (Mbps) - Client: Pixel 8

A bar chart displays download performance across various locations (Loc A to Loc J). Archer BE230 shows higher speeds in most locations, such as 138 Mbps vs 125 Mbps at Loc A and 118 Mbps vs 99 Mbps at Loc C.

2.4GHz Wi-Fi Upload Performance (Mbps) - Client: Pixel 8

A bar chart displays upload performance across various locations (Loc A to Loc J). Archer BE230 shows higher speeds in most locations, such as 132 Mbps vs 122 Mbps at Loc A and 67 Mbps vs 65 Mbps at Loc C. A note indicates that Archer BE230's two lateral 2.4G antennas may cause performance differences compared to Archer AX55 Pro.

PART 3. WAN Peak Performance

TEST FOCUS

Testing the 2.5G WAN forwarding performance of the Archer BE230 and comparing it with the Archer AX55 Pro.

TEST TOPOLOGY

A diagram shows a network setup with a PC1 (Server) connected via 2.5G Ethernet to the BE230 router, which is then connected via 2.5G LAN to a PC2 (Client). Both test PCs require a 2.5G or higher Ethernet adapter.

TEST STEPS

1. Log into the Archer BE230 web management page, go to Internet, and set the Internet Connection Type to Dynamic IP.
2. Run IxChariot on the test PCs. Set TCP Stream Pairs to 50 and the script to High_Performance_Throughput.src.
3. Test LAN-WAN uplink peak performance: Run 50 streams throughput test from Client to Server for 60 seconds.
4. Test LAN-WAN downlink peak performance: Run 50 streams throughput test from Server to Client for 60 seconds.
5. Test LAN-WAN/WAN-LAN bi-directional peak performance: Run 50 streams bi-directional throughput test between Client and Server for 60 seconds.

TEST RESULT

A bar chart shows WAN Peak Performance in Mbps. For TCP_UP, Archer BE230 achieved 2381 Mbps and Archer AX55 Pro achieved 2250 Mbps. For TCP_DOWN, Archer BE230 achieved 2357 Mbps and Archer AX55 Pro achieved 2190 Mbps. For TCP_Bi-Direction, Archer BE230 achieved 4607 Mbps and Archer AX55 Pro achieved 2150 Mbps.

Compared to the Archer AX55 Pro, the Archer BE230 shows a slight advantage in one-directional WAN peak performance. The Archer BE230's bi-directional WAN peak performance is twice that of the Archer AX55 Pro.

PART 4. USB

TEST FOCUS

Testing the USB read and write performance of the Archer BE230.

TEST TOPOLOGY

A diagram shows a NAS connected to the BE230 router via a 2.5G LAN connection. The BE230 router is also connected to an SSD, and a PC is connected to the SSD. The test PC needs an SSD or a 2.5G or higher Ethernet adapter.

TEST RESULTS

Via NAS (MB/s)

A bar chart displays USB read/write speeds via NAS for different file systems (NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, HFS+). For NTFS, Archer BE230 achieved 150 MB/s read and 102 MB/s write, while Archer AX55Pro achieved 131 MB/s read and 40 MB/s write. For FAT32, Archer BE230 achieved 180 MB/s read and 50 MB/s write, while Archer AX55Pro achieved 148 MB/s read and 40 MB/s write. For exFAT, Archer BE230 achieved 181 MB/s read and 95 MB/s write, while Archer AX55Pro achieved 182 MB/s read and 36 MB/s write. For HFS+, Archer BE230 achieved 182 MB/s read and 140 MB/s write, while Archer AXE75 achieved 181 MB/s read and 40 MB/s write.

Via FTP (MB/s)

A bar chart displays USB read/write speeds via FTP for different file systems. For NTFS, Archer BE230 achieved 183 MB/s read and 40 MB/s write, while Archer AX55Pro achieved 140 MB/s read and 33 MB/s write. For FAT32, Archer BE230 achieved 264 MB/s read and 106 MB/s write, while Archer AX55Pro achieved 258 MB/s read and 73 MB/s write. For exFAT, Archer BE230 achieved 189 MB/s read and 98 MB/s write, while Archer AX55Pro achieved 182 MB/s read and 53 MB/s write. For HFS+, Archer BE230 achieved 260 MB/s read and 108 MB/s write, while Archer AXE75 achieved 173 MB/s read and 35 MB/s write.

Conclusion: The Archer BE230 offers reliable USB capability, outperforming the Archer AX55 Pro and Archer AXE75 in comprehensively transferring large files of various formats.

PART 5. VPN Server & Client

TEST FOCUS

Testing the Archer BE230's ability to function as an L2TP, PPTP, Open VPN, and WireGuard server/client with a Dynamic IP internet connection, and comparing the results with the Archer AX55 Pro and Archer AXE75.

TEST RESULTS

Note: C2S indicates Client to Server, and S2C indicates Server to Client.

The Router as VPN Server (Mbps)

A bar chart shows VPN server performance. For OpenVPN (C2S), Archer BE230 achieved 208 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 24 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 61 Mbps. For OpenVPN (S2C), Archer BE230 achieved 841 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 88 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 85 Mbps. For PPTP+Encrypted (C2S), Archer BE230 achieved 191 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 58 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 18 Mbps. For PPTP+Encrypted (S2C), Archer BE230 achieved 327 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 82 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 88 Mbps. For L2TP/IPSec (C2S), Archer BE230 achieved 232 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 28 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 52 Mbps. For L2TP/IPSec (S2C), Archer BE230 achieved 550 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 47 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 77 Mbps. For WireGuard (C2S), Archer BE230 achieved 747 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 27 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 27 Mbps. For WireGuard (S2C), Archer BE230 achieved 742 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 77 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 77 Mbps.

The Router as VPN Client (Mbps)

A bar chart shows VPN client performance. For OpenVPN (C2S), Archer BE230 achieved 209 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 21 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 54 Mbps. For OpenVPN (S2C), Archer BE230 achieved 314 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 93 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 83 Mbps. For PPTP+Encrypted (C2S), Archer BE230 achieved 320 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 48 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 80 Mbps. For PPTP+Encrypted (S2C), Archer BE230 achieved 844 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 577 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 548 Mbps. For L2TP/IPSec (C2S), Archer BE230 achieved 644 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 23 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 48 Mbps. For L2TP/IPSec (S2C), Archer BE230 achieved 700 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 348 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 2943 Mbps. For WireGuard (C2S), Archer BE230 achieved 700 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 29 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 43 Mbps. For WireGuard (S2C), Archer BE230 achieved 700 Mbps, Archer AX55 Pro achieved 348 Mbps, and Archer AXE75 achieved 2943 Mbps.

Conclusion: The Archer BE230 exhibits strong VPN performance, with significantly higher transmission speeds as both a VPN server and client compared to the Archer AX55 Pro and Archer AXE75.

APPENDIX

How to install iPerf 3 in Windows and Mac OS

Windows:

1. Right-click the zip file and extract all contents to "C:\iperf3".
2. Press the Windows button and 'X' simultaneously to open the Windows quick access menu.
3. Select Command Prompt (Admin) or Terminal (Admin) and click Allow if the User Account Control window appears.
4. Type "cd c:/iperf3" into the command prompt, then press Enter to change to the iPerf directory.
5. (Optional) Type "iperf3" and press Enter to view a list of available iPerf commands.

Mac OS:

1. Copy iperf3 to your desktop.
2. Press the Command button and Spacebar simultaneously, type "Terminal", then press Enter.
3. Copy and paste the following into the Terminal app, then press Enter:
   ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)" < /dev/null 2> /dev/null
4. Type "brew install iperf3".
5. (Optional) Type "iperf3" and press Enter to view a list of available iPerf commands.

How to install iPerf 3 Client on an Android Phone

1. Install the analiti app and open it.
2. Tap Speed, and then the ">" button to select a test target.
3. Select iPerf3 Server(TCP).
4. Input the iPerf3 Server IP Address and Client Parameters in the format: iperf3t://[Server IP Address]?P=20
5. To test again, tap [RECENT TEST TARGETS].

Tips for Performance Test

• Occasionally, the OnePlus 11 might connect to the router's 6GHz band at 160MHz bandwidth instead of 320MHz, resulting in halved performance. In such cases, try changing the 6GHz band channel.
• Turn off unnecessary Wi-Fi sources during testing to minimize interference.