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I have a NetGear R7000 router with AdvancedTomato running on it. I plan to create a 'virtual wireless' so that I have a guest network in addition to my normal network. My question is: will this affect the speed of my wi-fi connection?

I assume when someone is actively using 'guest', the speed will be affected. But if no one is connected will it affect it?

TinyTheBrontosaurus
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I don't know AdvancedTomato, but in general, when a wireless AP advertises two SSID's, it has to announce both of them. Advertising the additional SSID takes up a tiny but measurable amount of the bandwidth available. If nobody connects to that SSID, then that should be the only effect.

EEAA is certainly correct that every RF environment is different, and what happens in one place won't necessarily carry over to the next. On the other hand, Wifi is designed to work well in a wide variety of environments, and advertising an additional SSID is a pretty small change.

In practice, people do it all the time, and it's unlikely you will notice the difference.

Dan Pritts
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Wifi is a broadcast medium with limited bandwidth, so any additional 2.4/5 GHz usage in your area, whether on the same access point or a different one, will theoretically affect performance.

What you probably mean to ask is how much it will affect performance, which is completely dependent on usage and the capabilities of your wifi gear. You'll just need to try it out and do some testing.

EEAA
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  • Thanks for the response. I guess I'm looking for if anyone else has already tried it out and done some testing. – TinyTheBrontosaurus May 12 '16 at 14:00
  • @TinyTheBrontosaurus The point is that *you* need to do testing in *your environment* with *your configuration*, *your hardware*, and *your load patterns*. None of us can help you with that, other than by providing a theoretical answer, as I have already done. – EEAA May 12 '16 at 14:02
  • Do you think it will be useful if I post my results? – TinyTheBrontosaurus May 12 '16 at 14:09
  • Not particularly, because your results are highly dependent on your exact situation. – EEAA May 12 '16 at 14:44