How to read a part number

A manufacturer part number is the only identifier that reliably distinguishes two similar products. Marketing names are reused across generations and regions; part numbers are not. Searching by part number is therefore the shortest path to the exact item, and it is why this catalogue ranks exact part-number matches above everything else.

Most part numbers follow a pattern of range prefix, then generation or capability, then a variant suffix. In ASUS networking, RT denotes a standalone router and GT the gaming range; AX indicates Wi-Fi 6 and BE indicates Wi-Fi 7; the digits that follow approximate combined throughput. So RT-BE50 and GT-AX6000 differ in range, generation and class, all of which are readable from the code alone.

Suffixes carry the details that matter at delivery: colour, regional plug type, and pack quantity. A code ending in a bracketed pack size is a multi-unit box, and ordering it expecting one unit is a common and expensive misreading.

Where a supplier lists a model number separately from a part number, the part number is the one to quote. Model numbers are frequently shared across variants — the same model with two different plug types will carry one model number and two distinct part numbers.