Netgear R7800 vs Synology RT2600AC (precise needs)

[ericct]

Hello,

I'm considering changing my old router with 2 main needs in mind:
- range extension (one client is now on the floor below) - so mainly in 2,4 GHz
- "parental control" ease of use

(note, I already have a Synology NAS - not sure link between DSM and SRM is interesting if ever it exists)

So, I've pre-selected Netgear R7800 and Synology RT2600AC. While those were tied after RT2600AC test, this was based on Revision 9 test method, but only R7800 remains in Revision 10 test method. My first question then: is Rev 10 disqualifies RT2600AC or it should just be slight changes but the device has not been tested with Rev 10?

Then, if those 2 devices are still candidates, parental control. I'm not waiting for something magic (it cannot replace the parents!), but Synology UI and functionalities seem complete while for Netgear, it seems that it's more a possibility to pay for Disney Circle (with free version quite limited). What are you thoughts?

Btw, while I consider myself confortable with system management, my current setup with an old MikroTik device is not user friendly enough (it's a problem when you want to change something after a few weeks/months!) - hence the need for simple and "complete" (of course will be less than Mikrotik) filtering functionality.

Thanks!

 

[coxhaus]

I am not sure what you are looking for but if you want to control the wireless the Cisco WAP581 wireless AP does a nice easy job of it. If you want to also control DNS then Cisco owns OpenDNS which you could apply as well. All of this can be bypassed with a mobile phone.

 

[ericct]

Thanks for the suggestion - considering this one too. Will try to find user's manual.

 

[ACwifiguy]

If you are putting the new router in the same place as your old router know that range will only be minimally improved. Range is primarily a radio physics issue. If range is a concern - the fix is to add a hardwired AP to cover your weaker areas.

Parental controls are best done with OpenDNS. I’ve run a public small network before and had to control the content- I blocked port 53 and forced everyone through my opendns filters.

The hardware is basically the same between the devices. OEM UI is much more functional with synology. The netgear OEM UI is terrible. If you upgrade the netgear firmware to dd-wrt or OpenWRT - you fix the UI issue and it is just a comparison of which firmware you prefer.

 

[ericct]

Good advice, thanks! This is going back to previous suggestion (I cannot really move my router, but can add AP).

 

[Trip]

@ericct - Honestly, if parental control is a mainstay and you're also looking for possible range extension, I'd give the Gryphon tri-band mesh system a hard look. It seems to rate tops in the parental control category, yet it also seems to do decently well as an actual networking appliance (which is where most of those products fall short). For more coverage, you can simply buy a 2-unit "kit" and place the satellite closer to the other end of the house. Thoughts?