Tri-Band Smart Connect | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 13 Sep 2018 16:26:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Tri-Band Smart Connect | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 TP-Link expands its gaming router line-up with the Archer C5400X https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/routers/damien-cox/tp-link-expands-its-gaming-router-line-up-with-the-archer-c5400x/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/routers/damien-cox/tp-link-expands-its-gaming-router-line-up-with-the-archer-c5400x/#respond Thu, 13 Sep 2018 12:12:44 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=386692 While TP-Link has a solid range of routers built for the low and mid-range market, its push into the increasingly lucrative gaming market has noticeably been lacking. The firm is set to change that, however, introducing the spider-like TP-Link Archer C5400X gaming router, fully loaded with eight Gigabit LAN ports, tri-band Wi-Fi and a plethora …

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While TP-Link has a solid range of routers built for the low and mid-range market, its push into the increasingly lucrative gaming market has noticeably been lacking. The firm is set to change that, however, introducing the spider-like TP-Link Archer C5400X gaming router, fully loaded with eight Gigabit LAN ports, tri-band Wi-Fi and a plethora of other features.

Housing a 1.8 GHz 64-bit quad-core, three co-processors and 1GB of RAM, the AC5400X is nothing short of a monster, explains TP-Link technical support engineer Clive Fernandes during the device’s UK launch. Out of its three Wi-Fi bands, one is 2.4GHz at 1,000Mbps, while the other two are 5Ghz at 2,167Mbps. The router can connect to broadband modems via its single Gigabit WAN port, which, along with its eight Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, supports Link Aggregation.

This should support up to a staggering 192 separate devices, however Fernandes states that performance might begin to vary after 80. RangeBoost is included to ensure that each device maintains its connection to the C5400X despite the variety of factors that often impede Wi-Fi, while Smart Connect helps to “divert traffic to one device to deliver optimum connection when needed.”

All connected devices can be prioritised in different ways, thanks to the C5400X’s Quality of Service (QoS), allowing the user to allocate and restrict bandwidth towards gaming and video streaming alike. This can be achieved via the input of various MAC addresses from different devices that deserve prioritisation. Alternatively, AirTime Fairness and MU-MIMO help to balance out bandwidth allocation across all connected devices by maximising the throughput and response.

While portal authentication might be something you’d find at a hotel or a university, owners of the C5400X can now create their own home Guest Wi-Fi. The pre-defined landing page is slightly customisable, allowing the user to implement their own Twitch, YouTube or website link in order to advertise and redirect from the verification page.

Home Care helps users keep the router in check with parental controls and “robust” built-in firewall designed to filter content. TP-Link has partnered with Trend Micro for integrated anti-virus software that lasts up to three years. Beyond those three years have yet to be negotiated, however the firm states that owners would be among the first notified of new plans.

This router can act as a VPN server with two options, OpenVPN and Point to Point Tunnelling Protocol (PPTP), with the latter in particular allowing users to adjust their network even when they’re away from home. All of this can be controlled from desktop, or from TP-Link’s Tether app for iOS and Android.

Scattered throughout the livestream, it was also revealed that SSIDs can be customised by the user, 16GB embedded multi-media card (EMMC) would eventually make its way to the UK via firmware updates, and the router has Amazon Alexa and IFTTT integration, allowing it to respond to a variety of pre-defined commands, such as switching the Guest Wi-Fi on and off.

The TP-Link Archer C5400X is now in stores in the UK for £349.99, however those quick enough to the mark might be able to make use of Ebuyer’s special launch price of £249 until this weekend.

KitGuru Says: Interestingly, Ebuyer marketing manager Stephen James added that he thinks routers like the TP-Link Archer C5400X are “bridging the gap” between Wi-Fi and LAN in the same way that wireless mice are now commonly accepted within the professional gaming scene. Not only does this make me infinitely more interested in the C5400X, but it excites me for the future. What do you think about TP-Link’s new router?

 

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Asus RT-AC3200 802.11ac Router Review https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/orestis-bastounis/asus-rt-ac3200-802-11ac-router-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/networking/orestis-bastounis/asus-rt-ac3200-802-11ac-router-review/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2015 07:30:31 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=258376 The Asus RT-AC3200 is a second-generation 802.11ac router. It features three separate wireless networks, two of which work on the 3×3 5GHz 802.11ac band, with another for 2.4GHz with TurbQAM for 600 Mbps speeds. It also has a pair of USB ports, and a setting called Smart Connect, which allocated clients to a wireless network …

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The Asus RT-AC3200 is a second-generation 802.11ac router. It features three separate wireless networks, two of which work on the 3×3 5GHz 802.11ac band, with another for 2.4GHz with TurbQAM for 600 Mbps speeds. It also has a pair of USB ports, and a setting called Smart Connect, which allocated clients to a wireless network based on an estimation of its distance. But perhaps most importantly, it has some superb software, chock full of features that makes it easy to manage your network.

Asus has followed up its original flagship RT-AC68U 802.11ac wireless router with two new models. Both add extra hardware for better wireless performance, but with a notably different approach for each.

The RT-AC87U gets an extra antenna and wireless stream, with a 4×4 MIMO configuration for some very nifty wireless performance.
ASUS-RT-AC-3200-Review-KitGuru-Main-Shot-650

One of the problems with that setup is the current lack of wireless clients with four antennas that can take advantage of 4×4 speeds. It can deliver record breaking performance, but only by using another 4×4 router or a 4×4 wireless bridge, a really expensive proposition that the majority of people are unlikely to invest in.

So Asus has done something different with the RT-AC3200. It has six antennas, along with a second internal 802.11ac chipset from Quantenna, allowing it to output two physically separate 3×3 5GHz 802.11ac networks, along with the usual 2.4 GHz 802.11n/g/b network, which supports 600Mbps TurboQam speeds, bringing the total number of wireless networks to three.

It could be useful in certain situations. With a lot of clients, with two separate 5GHz circuits, there’s plenty of wireless bandwidth to go round. If you have lots of wireless clients, perhaps in an office environment, they can be split between the two wireless networks for better load balancing and guaranteed throughput. It also means you can keep some users isolated from others.

A unique feature in the RT-AC3200 is something called Tri-Band Smart Connect. When this is switched on, the three wireless networks are replaced by a single SSID, and the router assigns clients to either the 802.11n 2.4GHz stream or the 802.11ac 5GHz stream, depending on their range.

2.4GHz performs better at very long range than 5GHz, so with a client that’s really far from the router, improved performance might be had by switching to a 2.4GHz network. Tri-Band Smart Connect estimates a client’s distance and automatically choose a wireless network it thinks will offers the best performance, based on a number of factors. It takes place behind the scenes, invisible to the user and without service interruption.

Additionally, Asus’ comprehensive built-in software contains many other useful features, including a comprehensive security setup called AiProtection, software to manage attached USBstorage, including a built-in download manager for torrents and a sophisticated QoS and bandwidth manager.

Asus RT-AC3200 features:

  • Ultra-fast 802.11ac Wi-Fi router with a combined tri-band data rate of 3200 Mbps for smooth up to 4K/UHD video playback, ultra-fast file-sharing for large files and low-latency online gaming.
  • Tri-Band Smart Connect automatically selects the fastest of the three available frequency bands for each device, based on the device’s speed, signal strength and how busy each band is.
  • Built-in USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports for up to 10-times faster data transfers to USB storage devices1, printer sharing, and 3G/4G dongle support.
  • ASUSWRT graphical user interface for easy, CD-free 30-second setup and hassle-free advanced network control.
  • AiProtection with Trend Micro with triple-strength total network security, plus robust parental controls and privacy protection.
  • ASUS AiCloud 2.0 lets you access, sync, share and stream your files anywhere, on any internet-connected device.

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