[Review] ASUS RT-N56U Wireless-N Dual-Band Router - Bringing Sexy Back

chong

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Congrats HWZ for being probably the first in the world to review this router! :D

Can you guys further test the:
1. WAN-LAN routing speed (with QoS disabled)
2. WAN-LAN routing speed (with QoS enabled)
3. Max. simultaneous connections
4. WLAN/LAN-USB HDD read/write speeds

This link illustrates what I mean.

Reason for 1 and 2: On previous gen ralink routers (eg. Engenius 9850), the hardware-NAT which gives the high routing speeds are supposedly disabled upon enabling QoS.
 
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Dr_ARCHer

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Thanks for the review. Am looking for a router that can match or surpass the WNDR3700. So far, I still like the DIR-655, although it is single band.

As mentioned in the article, Asus couldn't confirm on the price. Does that mean that this isn't available yet?
 
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AndySim

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Hi Chong,
Thanks for the heads up! We normally focus on WLAN speeds for our router reviews since wired speeds usually yield standard results but not an AP's wireless performance. However, it is interesting to know that enabling QoS should affect the LAN's routing throughput. I will definitely give it a go if time permits!

@Dr_ARCHer
The N56U has yet to reach the local market. According to ASUS, it should hit our shelves sometime in December. They've given us an indicative price of S$289, and note that there might be more changes to the firmware by then. Cheers. :look:
 

xboxer

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Not bad leh. But si pei ex. :s27:

And typical HDB and condo need dual band meh? :s11:
 

chong

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Hi Chong,
Thanks for the heads up! We normally focus on WLAN speeds for our router reviews since wired speeds usually yield standard results but not an AP's wireless performance. However, it is interesting to know that enabling QoS should affect the LAN's routing throughput. I will definitely give it a go if time permits!

I think routing speeds among modern routers can still have a few magnitudes of difference (eg. ASUS RT-N16, Dlink DIR-655, Engenius ESR9850). Check out this routing speed comparison chart: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/index.php?option=com_chart&Itemid=&chart=119
 

AndySim

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The results are rather insightful. Thanks for the link, Chong. I might consider adding the WAN to LAN routing test on top of the current WLAN throughput and UDP streaming assessments.
 

Dr_ARCHer

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WAN to LAN and LAN to WAN speed would be useful. The other good thing about Smallnetbuilder's tests is the consistent location that is being used to test the wireless range and speed.
 

liangtam

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WAN-LAN(vice-versa) are not standard bench across different product
With the advent of ngnbb, the selection of router based on performance of WAN-LAN under some load(P2P) is impt in the pairing of bb plans.
 
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etherealism

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WAN-LAN(vice-versa) are not standard bench across different product
With the advent of ngnbb, the selection of router based on performance of WAN-LAN under some load(P2P) is impt in the pairing of bb plans.

hmm i don't know of a benchmarking product capable of doing that yet though. IXchariot is limited in max connections so it can't really simulate heavy p2p load.
 

Dr_ARCHer

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For those interested in the RT-N56U router, Asus has finally put up the manual for download.

FYI, the router uses a Ralink chipset.
 

Nichi

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hmm i don't know of a benchmarking product capable of doing that yet though. IXchariot is limited in max connections so it can't really simulate heavy p2p load.
maybe can try looking for this?


Taken from smallnetbuilder
Since my Simultaneous connection test is limited to 200 connections, I could come nowhere near verifying EnGenius' claim of 19,000 sessions. But they said they'd send me test results that verify their claim, and I'll post them when I receive them.

EnGenius sent along a tool developed by Taiwanese developer Matrix21 that they used to confirm their 19,000 simultaneous session claim. The tool consists of server and client .exe files that are run on Windows systems connected to the WAN and LAN sides of the router under test.

The client tool opens multiple UDP sessions using consecutive port numbers and increments an on-screen counter for each session opened. When the client no longer receives a response from the server program, the on-screen count is taken as the maximum simultaneous session count.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...with-gigabit-switch-reviewed?showall=&start=1
 

Dr_ARCHer

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With Qualcomm buying over Atheros, perhaps it is worthwhile to consider the Ralink-based RT-N56U.

Update: Couldn't resist the temption. Bought the RT-N56U unit during lunch. :D
 
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Dr_ARCHer

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Pictures of my temptation: :D

4ujrsn.jpg


vpwwlw.jpg
 

chong

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With Qualcomm buying over Atheros, perhaps it is worthwhile to consider the Ralink-based RT-N56U.

Update: Couldn't resist the temption. Bought the RT-N56U unit during lunch. :D

Pls share your views on your temptation :)
 

Dr_ARCHer

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Sorry. Didn't have time to test things yet. Only managed to update the firmware to the latest version found on Asus website (version 1.0.0.9, I think). Been having problem with my fibre 2wire, so didn't manage to do more testing.
 

ideatalk

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Sorry. Didn't have time to test things yet. Only managed to update the firmware to the latest version found on Asus website (version 1.0.0.9, I think). Been having problem with my fibre 2wire, so didn't manage to do more testing.

can this be used for the fiber?
or there is another model with Digital voice?
 
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