Apple AirPort Extreme (802.11ac) Reviewed

[thiggins]

The wireless test results are posted in the Charts.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanw...11-2_4-ghz-dn-c/1198-apple-airport-extreme-ac

Routing and storage tests will be added soon.

Results in all four test rotation positions were closer than I have seen for other routers, meaning the antenna design is not directional at all.

Range seems a bit short in 5 GHz.

 

[iwod]

It does have the highest amount of memory in consumer router, right?

So to me Apple hasn't been putting much attention into the software side of things.

I wonder if the OS of Router are developed by Broadcom with source where their clients, ( Apple, D-Link, ASUS , etc ) development there own additional functions and UI on it or is it all up to the clients to do it?

Since it has a Dual Core Cortex A9 i am wondering if it is actually running a mini iOS inside the router.

 

[kidsafe]

I read the review, now I'm left wondering why the throughput numbers are so low. At a distance of 30ft through two walls, I'm getting 45MB/s to my Drobo 5N using two of the new AEBS...one as a bridge and the other as the access point.

I'm also wondering if using AirPort Utility 5.6.1 has anything to do with it. That version of the software is not even designed to be used with the new AEBS. Only the new 6.3.x software on Lion/Mountain Lion and iOS 1.3.x software are meant to interact with the new hardware.

 

[thiggins]

The Utility version used is the only Windows version posted. Should not make a difference in how the AExAC operates.

A "matched set" of routers should always produce best performance.

 

[sfx2000]

It does have the highest amount of memory in consumer router, right?

So to me Apple hasn't been putting much attention into the software side of things.

I wonder if the OS of Router are developed by Broadcom with source where their clients, ( Apple, D-Link, ASUS , etc ) development there own additional functions and UI on it or is it all up to the clients to do it?

Since it has a Dual Core Cortex A9 i am wondering if it is actually running a mini iOS inside the router.

Apple typically does their own firmware - it's based on NetBSD

sfx

 

[sfx2000]

The Utility version used is the only Windows version posted. Should not make a difference in how the AExAC operates.

A "matched set" of routers should always produce best performance.

In some ways - the Windows utility is more functional that the iOS like Mac based utility.

sfx

 

[jmpage2]

I recently purchased this router, but a variety of issues have left me ready to return it.

Obviously for more advanced users the various Apple limitations on router configuration are a hindrance. In my case I was baffled that the router did not offer the capability to configure QoS or even something as simple as DynDNS. While QoS is something most users will never mess around with, it is a pretty common thing for advanced users to need from a "top shelf" SOHO router.

DynDNS though? LOTS of people need DynDNS support for things as simple as basic port forwarding of a service on their home network to the internet (security cameras, etc)... I was really surprised that they did not support it.

Now, as to the actual problems I experienced with this router.... I had a couple of specific ones.

On two separate occasions the router wi-fi "locked up" and while devices showed connected, no packets were routed out to the Internet. Wired devices continued to work fine. Resetting the router resulted in services working again on wi-fi.

I also had a problem with a Samsung tablet in which it (running a security app) would periodically get disconnected from the network and then reconnect... dumping the client app. Even setting a long DHCP timer on the Airport did not resolve this.

The real deal breaker though were problems I experienced with my employer provided T420 Thinkpad. I connect to the corporate network from home using Juniper SSL VPN. With the Airport I was having all sorts of problems getting this connection to work. I would get it running through a combination of resetting the NIC on the Thinkpad, restarting network services, etc... but I would run into problems getting connected again the next time I tried to start the connection.

Swapped back in my old Netgear 3700 and all the problems went away.

Sadly this router is not ready for prime time. I say sadly because otherwise the router is very nice, offering a clean design and great range. All of that, at the end of the day, does not matter if the router can't do the basic thing I require which is to provide reliable network access.

 

[whsbuss]

I recently purchased this router, but a variety of issues have left me ready to return it.

Obviously for more advanced users the various Apple limitations on router configuration are a hindrance. In my case I was baffled that the router did not offer the capability to configure QoS or even something as simple as DynDNS. While QoS is something most users will never mess around with, it is a pretty common thing for advanced users to need from a "top shelf" SOHO router.

DynDNS though? LOTS of people need DynDNS support for things as simple as basic port forwarding of a service on their home network to the internet (security cameras, etc)... I was really surprised that they did not support it.

Now, as to the actual problems I experienced with this router.... I had a couple of specific ones.

On two separate occasions the router wi-fi "locked up" and while devices showed connected, no packets were routed out to the Internet. Wired devices continued to work fine. Resetting the router resulted in services working again on wi-fi.

I also had a problem with a Samsung tablet in which it (running a security app) would periodically get disconnected from the network and then reconnect... dumping the client app. Even setting a long DHCP timer on the Airport did not resolve this.

The real deal breaker though were problems I experienced with my employer provided T420 Thinkpad. I connect to the corporate network from home using Juniper SSL VPN. With the Airport I was having all sorts of problems getting this connection to work. I would get it running through a combination of resetting the NIC on the Thinkpad, restarting network services, etc... but I would run into problems getting connected again the next time I tried to start the connection.

Swapped back in my old Netgear 3700 and all the problems went away.

Sadly this router is not ready for prime time. I say sadly because otherwise the router is very nice, offering a clean design and great range. All of that, at the end of the day, does not matter if the router can't do the basic thing I require which is to provide reliable network access.

When I had mine (returned within 2 days) I too had wifi freezes. I first thought it was due to doing large file transfers to a connected USB drive. But it happened a few more times just doing normal network access.

I see Apple just released a new Airport utility for the Mac.

 

[jmpage2]

Does the new Airport Utility also make new FW available to the router?

 

[James_Testani]

Does the new Airport Utility also make new FW available to the router?

If it was the update that was posted on July 11th (6.3.1), then no, unfortunately.

I purchased the Extreme a bit over two weeks ago and did quite a bit of non-professional testing (speedtest.net, or moving files around the network at different points throughout my home) and came to realization that my particular model was defective.

It was terribly inconsistent, regardless of the restores/reboots or devices I used. Apparently, this was occurring to some individuals, so I returned the day after and replaced it with a Time Capsule seeing as they no longer had any Extremes left to exchange.

Didn't care much for the hard drive, but eh, over the air back-ups sounded convenient, if not overpriced imho.

I did comparison tests against my current/previous router I was using, the Asus N66U. Great router, but I always had great experiences with AirPort models, so I bit the bullet for fun to check this new one out. I unfortunately have no 802.11AC based devices, so my experience was purely based off 802.11N on a combination of 2.4/5Ghz ranges.

Performance was initially poorer then I was hoping for, but it was certainly working normally. Speeds were consistent and network transfer never failed (unlike the prior Extreme) and were also pretty consistent. I was achieving roughly 28MB/s on average between a wired Windows 8 Desktop to a 2010 MacBook Pro 13" (OSX 10.8.4) on the 5Ghz band within three feet of the router. Faster by a few Megabytes then my ASUS.

For the life of me, I can't figure out why the router was doing so poorly in certain locations where the Asus would trump it. I wasn't expecting the TC to beat the ASUS, but at least stay close, particularly with mobiles devices on the network.

I used a pair of iPhone 5's which I would switch between 2.4 & 5Ghz Bands as well as a 4S on the 2.4Ghz Band, among other devices. Speeds just didn't make sense.

Locations where I could easily hit 70 Mbit/s on 5Ghz would crawl to 35/22 range. They were consistent though, so I figured that was just the unfortunate extent of I what I would expect.

I decided to restore the TC to factory settings, just quickly set it up on iOS and speeds were far superior, stellar actually, beating the ASUS in both range and file transfer speeds in the same locations. But after awhile, they would revert back to their poor speeds. Rebooting the router did nothing to solve the problem. A second restore, once again brought speeds and range back up. I figured it must have been a client I was connecting the router to, possibly being finicky with the router, but, no dice after some more restores tests.

I'm going to continue to do odd tests with it, in hopes it might just be a firmware fix, otherwise, I certainly use this as my full time router. It's almost as if the router is dropping output power after a certain point and can be resolved (temporarily) through a restore.

 

[RamGuy]

The AirPort Utility 6.3.0 update came with a update for my Apple AirPort Time Capsule (AC) 2TB, I guess you'll need to be on the 6.3.0 branch in order to get the firmware updates for these new devices.

Mine was updated from the base firmware v7.7.0 to v7.7.1, but I guess Apple themselves is to blame if they don't update the AirPort Utility for Windows in order for it to provide new firmware updates to their new network equipment.


Regardless my Time Capsule has worked flawlessly thus far, it's every bit as stable as my Asus RT-AC66U and my wireless transfers are equally good. The only "downside" is the lack of some features as Tim mentions in his review but I was well-aware of these issues upfront and did know I wouldn't need any of them. The range seems to be lower compared to RT-AC66U as well, but as I'm in a rather close range at all times it's not really an issue and being within 10 meters at all times with a maximum for 1-3 wooden walls it's performing just as good as the RT-AC66U, just without all the random WiFi drop outs that I've experienced with the AC66U with it's latest firmwares.


EDIT:

When it comes to DynDNS I always have a DynDNS Update Client running on at least one of my systems making the need of support directly in the router unnecessary. I'm also forced into a dual-NAT solution due to my ISP so having DynDNS running directly on the router wouldn't really help me anything to begin with.

 

[sfx2000]

I recently purchased this router, but a variety of issues have left me ready to return it.

Obviously for more advanced users the various Apple limitations on router configuration are a hindrance. In my case I was baffled that the router did not offer the capability to configure QoS or even something as simple as DynDNS. While QoS is something most users will never mess around with, it is a pretty common thing for advanced users to need from a "top shelf" SOHO router.

DynDNS though? LOTS of people need DynDNS support for things as simple as basic port forwarding of a service on their home network to the internet (security cameras, etc)... I was really surprised that they did not support it.

Apple has never exposed QoS options (or WMM for that matter) as it is intrinsic to the underlying platform, and it's required for proper 802.11n in any event.

DynDNS is another one of those things - no direct need for it in their view - better to run a daemon on one of the attached computers. They have their own Wide Area solution, which is based on Bonjour (mDNS/Avahi) - it's standards based, but in reality, coupled back to their mobileme/icloud solution.

IMHO - neither of these items are deal-makers or breakers - most people don't use these particular features, and there are plenty of other available devices for those who have a particular need for DynDNS or user options for QoS.

The comments about stability - these are valid - and I think in due time, they'll be addressed.

 

[thope]

I don't care about how fast my router does LAN-WAN routing.

Dear SNB,

5 - 10 MB/s advantage in wireless throughput is not what SOHO users are after. where are the stability tests. Both D-link and ASUS's AC offerings that get impeccable reviews here actually suck as daily routers. I had to restart both models at least once every three days for stable connection. Also Netgear R6300 is surprisingly stable being used as an access point. I haven't reset it since at least 2 months. Of course there is no mention about it because you don't test for wireless stability.

Please test wireless stability by using the equipment at least 1 week using multiple clients and stressing it before giving us LAN-WAN routing speeds which no one buying SOHO gear is remotely concerned about.

I can't understand why snb keeps under reviewing apple routers.

No dyndns support.. Then whats this?

http://dyn.com/support/airport-time-capsule-with-dynamic-dns/

Windows File transfer is bad..


print screen windows xp

I get more than 40 MB/s with last-gen time capsule and FYI install the airport utility to automatically map the drive also use a HFS drive. Using FAT32 on network storage is just childish.

Use HFS for apple routers and ext2/3 depending on router support for Linux based routers (Asus, Netgear, D-Link etc) as they tend to do their best due to Native file-system drivers.

Once again no-one gives a S**T about wired routing as long as there is a severe possibility that it might be a limitation for even the fastest available internet usage.

 

[sfx2000]

I can't understand why snb keeps under reviewing apple routers.

No dyndns support.. Then whats this?

http://dyn.com/support/airport-time-capsule-with-dynamic-dns/

DynDNS support is experimental, and since Airport Utility 6.1 and Airport Firmware 7.6.1 - this has been broken due to issues with Wide Area Bonjour.

In any event, there is no direct DynDNS (or other) support in Apple's Software/Firmware - ever...

Windows File transfer is bad..


print screen windows xp

I get more than 40 MB/s with last-gen time capsule and FYI install the airport utility to automatically map the drive also use a HFS drive. Using FAT32 on network storage is just childish.

Use HFS for apple routers and ext2/3 depending on router support for Linux based routers (Asus, Netgear, D-Link etc) as they tend to do their best due to Native file-system drivers.

SMB/CIFS support is slow... known issue with Apple's network stack.

Not just on the airport, but also recent client implementations - see Macintouch for first hand on the new MacBook Air 802.11ac implementations, there are other various sites that explain this as well.

Once again no-one gives a S**T about wired routing as long as there is a severe possibility that it might be a limitation for even the fastest available internet usage.

Actually - even current Apple 802.11n customers expect a bit more - recent implementations, e.g. last gen 802.11n TimeCapsules and Airport Extremes - they were very good - SNB's results for the current Device - not so good...

Different architecture - from board level to radio - it's going to take some time to fully bake in....

I'm confident at recommending their earlier gear - but right now, the 802.11ac Airport Extreme/Time Capsule - I'm biding my time...

sfx

 

[thope]

Thanks for the reply.

I didn't know abt the current issue with dynamic dns. cool that you addressed it.
Also I think the wireless is not as stable as previous gens as mine crashed once today after about two weeks of being up.

However, the CIFS/SMB transfer screenshot was transferring a file from external hard drive connected via airport to win7 desktop. The transfer rate is above 20 MB/s, so it saturates the usb 2.0 interface.

The issue with apple stack is where the wireless/wire does not reach its maximum potential speed on various occasions while running OSX, which is completely an OSX issue and unrelated to the router. So, that part of my post was about transfer test from the router over SMB/CIFS and I used windows to show it because of the stack argument.

 

[sfx2000]

There have been sporadic reports of the 802.11ac Airport Extreme's and TimeCapsules with both SNMP and STP.

Seeing this over in the Apple Support discussions as well as the Sonos forums.

tracking this...

sfx

 

[mzaur8]

It's odd that SNB's review of the AE hasn't been updated. The results are clearly not indicative of the AE's performance. Seems you guys had an early buggy firmware or a bad unit. Other reviews have it performing superior to most in its class, like this one or this one

I just got one (only $130 for refurbished from Apple store, looks brand new) and have no issues with SMB file transfers between OSX Yosemite and Windows 8.1 devices

I need to upgrade my desktop's network card to AC so I can test throughput to my rMBP

 

[mzaur8]

I was able to run some tests. Definitely not ideal environment. OSX (2014 Macbook Pro) to Windows 10 (connected through gigabit ethernet) just doing an SMB transfer. I got about 65MB/s (520mbit) max up and down over 5ghz which is way faster than the #1 1750 router Archer C7 has. I really suggest this review be redone because it is not accurate given the current firmware.

 

[sfx2000]

I was able to run some tests. Definitely not ideal environment. OSX (2014 Macbook Pro) to Windows 10 (connected through gigabit ethernet) just doing an SMB transfer. I got about 65MB/s (520mbit) max up and down over 5ghz which is way faster than the #1 1750 router Archer C7 has. I really suggest this review be redone because it is not accurate given the current firmware.

Current firmware on the AP-Extreme is, erm, fairly mature, and yes, they have fixed a number of concerns with regards to SMB/CIFS performance.

I doubt that SNB will revisit this device in their reviews - not just for the Airport Extreme, but for any devices - it's a lab/time bandwidth concern... folks are more interested in the "new" stuff, and... vendors are as well, getting their newer gear onto the market...

For Airports - the current lineup is, for a lack of a better word, stale - they work, they've fixed their bugs, most customers are happy. They are a bit spendy compared to others, but perhaps value in stability - they just work... and they generally work well.

Moving forward - I would like to see the Extreme adopt MU-MIMO in the 11ac space, getting ahead of future Macs/iDevices, and an update to the AirPort Express with 2-stream 11ac support - the Express is especially looking old at the moment, even though it's a very capable small scale AP.

 

[mzaur8]

I agree it isn't likely going to happen, but the current benchmarks are so inaccurate, literally twice as slow as current performance. I only got the Airport Extreme because it's $130 refurbished from Apple store, which is as good as new. I waited until WWDC for Apple to update the Airport but unfortunately they didn't. But honestly the current iteration is still great, and it's as good if not better than any similarly priced routers in terms of both performance and especially stability. MU-MIMO would be great but expensive. Maybe in a year Apple will release one for $200 with that tech. But still for me the main selling point is stability. I contemplated getting an Asus but read too many bad reviews about failure after 3-6 months and having to deal with Asus's crappy customer service.