After my Dlink DIR615 started to die, I decided to upgrade my router to the Asus RT-N56U (1.0.1.4o). Now I’m not a wizard here so if I have anything wrong, please feel free to challenge any of my statements.
As far as getting it running is concerned it was quick and easy, but that’s not the full story:
Wireless
My previous Dlink was just capable of covering the house but the signal was very low in some places. The Asus has much better coverage and is much more reliable than the Dlink.
Firmware updates
There is no automatic firmware update notification with this product, this means that you will need to login to the Asus site regularly to look for changes. OK I can do a product based RSS but this is a bit of a pain. I like it when the device send you an email to say that there is a new version of software available.
Client Status Window
There is a Client Status Window that lets you see what’s connected… sometimes.
Devices shown in this window may or may not exit.
Device names may or may not appear.
DHCP Lease
I would normally setup up my router to bind the IP address to the MAC address and not time out. Then I would apply MAC address filtering to restrict access.
While this is possible using this router, it is very time consuming. You should be able to select the MAC address from those available and not have to key it in.
Device Names
You should be able to give a device a name if it doesn’t have one, currently it’s not possible.
logs
There is no automatic ability to offload the logs either by email or to a syslog server.
USB Storage
This worked well, connected an old 300G One-touch and it worked straight away.
USB Printer
When I plug in a printer, it is recognized on the Network Map page of the router. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get any PC to connect to any printer I have tried.
As far as getting it running is concerned it was quick and easy, but that’s not the full story:
Wireless
My previous Dlink was just capable of covering the house but the signal was very low in some places. The Asus has much better coverage and is much more reliable than the Dlink.
Firmware updates
There is no automatic firmware update notification with this product, this means that you will need to login to the Asus site regularly to look for changes. OK I can do a product based RSS but this is a bit of a pain. I like it when the device send you an email to say that there is a new version of software available.
Client Status Window
There is a Client Status Window that lets you see what’s connected… sometimes.
Devices shown in this window may or may not exit.
Device names may or may not appear.
DHCP Lease
I would normally setup up my router to bind the IP address to the MAC address and not time out. Then I would apply MAC address filtering to restrict access.
While this is possible using this router, it is very time consuming. You should be able to select the MAC address from those available and not have to key it in.
Device Names
You should be able to give a device a name if it doesn’t have one, currently it’s not possible.
logs
There is no automatic ability to offload the logs either by email or to a syslog server.
USB Storage
This worked well, connected an old 300G One-touch and it worked straight away.
USB Printer
When I plug in a printer, it is recognized on the Network Map page of the router. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get any PC to connect to any printer I have tried.