The Australian Federal Police recently arrested and charged a man who used an 'Evil Twin' free Wi-Fi access point to steal data from victims on a domestic flight. 42-year-old Michael Clapsis now faces nine cybercrime charges for the alleged attack. 

According to the official reports, The AFP's Western Command Cybercrime Operations Team of Data and Devices launched an investigation in April 2024 when it received a complaint from an airline concerning an unknown Wi-Fi public network identified by the in-flight employees. Upon his return to Perth Airport in the same month, authorities searched his baggage and seized his portable wireless access point, a laptop, and a mobile phone.

The AFP found the devices that had used fake Wi-Fi login pages through his fake wireless access point, which was used in Perth, Melbourne, and Adelaide during domestic flights and at the airport. The fake Wi-Fi pages required users to sign in using their email and social media login credentials, which were then stolen and stored.

The examination of these devices provided the necessary details, and the man's home was searched on 8th May, which also led to his arrest, with the court date set for June 28, 2024. One of the charges is the unauthorized impairment of electronic communication, which carries up to ten years imprisonment, with the rest of the charges carrying between two and five years imprisonment apiece. 

AFP Western Command Cybercrime Detective Inspector Andrea Coleman warned users to be cautious about using login credentials through public Wi-Fi networks. "To connect to a free Wi-Fi network, you shouldn’t have to enter any personal details– such as logging in through an email or social media account,” she said. “If you do want to use public Wi-Fi hotspots, install a reputable virtual private network (VPN) on your devices to encrypt and secure your data when using the internet. When using a public network, disable file sharing, don’t do anything sensitive - such as banking -while connected to it and once you finish using it, change your device settings to ‘forget network’.

Coleman also recommends replacing passwords with different passphrases for every account, using an online password manager, and updating your devices.

Microsoft releases updates to patch any known or potential flaws to prevent attacks, such as the one reported a month ago. The FBI has made similar recommendations concerning public Wi-Fi networks as well.

DFRobot, makers of the LattePanda series of single board computers (SBC) has launched a new single board computer, which is more affordable but not as powerful as its Delta or Sigma series of boards. The $79 Unihiker is a Debian based SBC that has more in common with the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W than the Raspberry Pi 4. The board features an Arm CPU and RISC-V based microcontroller to power your projects.

The most interesting feature of this board is a 240 x 320 pixel, 2.8-inch touchscreen. Under the hood is a quad-core Arm Cortex A35 running at up to 1.2 GHz and 512MB of RAM. The Debian OS is installed to the onboard 16GB eMMC but this doesn’t mean that we are limited to the small screen and single USB port. Instead, we connect using the included USB C cable, creating a locally available device with a fixed IP address. 

Unihiker can also be wirelessly connected to an access point, or even become a hotspot to which you can connect from a laptop, tablet or smartphone. The onboard Realtek RTL8723DS provides Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. 

Programming Unihiker is flexible. For beginners, DFRobot recommends Mind+, a block based coding environment. For more advanced coders, the benefit of Unihiker being an SBC means that you can write code using many different languages. DFRobot states that Python, Jupyter (a web-based interactive computing platform) or a built-in IoT service which uses the MQTT protocol can be used to bring your creations to life.

Coding with an SBC is nothing without interesting hardware and Unihiker comes with an onboard GD32VF103C8T6 microcontroller, which appears to be a RISC-V based MCU running at 108 MHz. This likely means that the microcontroller is programmed from the underlying OS, in a similar manner to the LattePanda Delta / Sigma. Unihiker also comes with an onboard microphone, PT0603 photosensitive triode (light sensor), buzzer, 6-axis motion sensor (ICM20689) and the ubiquitous LED.

Extra hardware can be connected in a few different ways. Firstly we have three, three pin I/O ports, similar to Grove connectors which provide signal (GPIO pin) voltage and a ground connection for devices. Two of these ports provide an analog-to-digital converter, and all four provide PWM (pulse width modulation) which can be used with motor controllers for rudimentary speed control. 

Two slightly larger ports provide I2C connections for compatible boards / components. Interestingly Unihiker also features a micro:bit compatible GPIO. At the base of the board are a series of “gold teeth” which can be used with compatible breakouts and accessories to make further GPIO connections. The micro:bit, now in its second iteration, is an alternative to Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards. Primarily using a block based coding language, micro:bit is aimed at the education and young learner market.

DFRobot provides a wiki detailing all of the features and a getting started guide provides the foundation for your projects. Unihiker is available now for $79.

Two big announcements are coming from the folks at Nreal today. First and foremost, the company is changing its name to Xreal. Nreal ran into a dispute over the Nreal trademark, which was resolved, but it wanted to avoid further confusion as it continues to grow its global brand.

The second and most significant news from Xreal today is the announcement of Beam. Beam is a portable device shaped (and somewhat designed like) an original Apple iPod. This device takes video from smartphones, laptops, game consoles, etc. and sends it to Xreal’s Air glasses.

The Beam features two USB-C ports onboard, one of which provides a direct connection to a pair of Air glasses. The second USB-C port charges the Beam's 4870 mAh battery (enabling up to three hours of runtime) or provides a direct data connection to a smartphone or PC. That second USB-C port was something that Xreal's customers requested to enable the ability to play and charge simultaneously.

While wired connectivity to a smartphone was expected, Xreal also added wireless connectivity into the mix and support for DTS: X Ultra audio support. Xreal notes that customers can watch YouTube videos wirelessly using the Beam initially and that it will support DRM content later (the company is being mum on an exact launch for that support at this time). However, Xreal's primary focus at launch will be on PC users and gamers that want a more immersive experience.

Xreal also announced that its Spatial Display technology, previously only accessible through its Nebula software for Android or macOS, is also available with Beam. With this augmented reality experience, you have access to three degrees of freedom (3DoF), allowing you to "place" a virtual display at a fixed point in space and have it remain stationary as you move your head around. 

For example, this arrangement would allow you to view a game or a Windows desktop while looking straight ahead with the glasses. However, turning your head to the left or right would remove the projection from your field of view, allowing you to see your surrounding environment fully.

When taking advantage of Xreal's Spatial Display experience, users feel like they're viewing content on a 201-inch display. Xreal also added two new display modes for the Beam: Smooth Follow and Sideview. Smooth Follow lessens visual anomalies using the mirroring function when you quickly move your head. On the other hand, Sideview reduces the size of the projected image in the Xreal Air, making it easier to navigate your surroundings. This would be beneficial if you're, say, walking in a crowded downtown area and want to see more of the real world while simultaneously looking at projected content with the connected glasses.

Xreal says it will open preorders for the Beam on June 1, but it has not announced pricing.

Classrooms in education and training centers increasingly rely on technology to provide students with exceptional learning experiences. Rudimentary networking equipment is not only going to struggle to keep up but also might pose security risks. Aruba Instant On equipment is not only able to extend to cover the substantial networking demands of an educational setting, but also provides reliable security features to keep the network and sensitive data protected.

Students at all levels need reliable access to the internet, and Aruba Instant On hardware can help give it to them. In educational settings, the Instant On AP15, AP17, and AP22 access points provide critical wireless Wi-Fi coverage for laptops, iPads, and other smart devices that move with students. Meanwhile, an Instant On 1960 Series network switch can provide the wired backbone to the network for computer lab PCs and security infrastructure, allowing simple management and robust line-of-defense options all in one spot.

Indoors, the AP15 and AP22 access points combine to blanket classrooms and study lounges with a reliable and fast Wi-Fi signal. Whether students simply need to access class readings and homework assignments or need to get online for video collaboration, these access points provide the necessary bandwidth. And even in large classrooms, devices like the AP22 can support many connected devices at once. 

When students want to enjoy the fresh air they don’t have to struggle with a Wi-Fi connection that’s less reliable than inside the school building. Instant On AP17 outdoor access points  extend the network seamlessly to outdoor spaces.. The AP17 comes built into a weatherproof enclosure, so it’s good to go, rain or shine. With Smart Mesh networking, all of the access points can appear as a single network for students, so they don’t struggle with connections as they move from class to class.

From the initial setup to future expansion, it’s simple to build out a robust network with Aruba’s hardware. Each access point can link up to the network with a single cable, sending data and receiving electricity through a Power over Ethernet connection. This links back to the Aruba Instant On 1960 switches capable of supporting anywhere from 24 to 48 separate access points. They are stackable, letting you combine up to four switches for a truly expansive network. 

Keeping the network up and running is easy with the Aruba Instant On app or web portal. These provide remote network management tools to quickly troubleshoot issues or identify devices that are taking up too much bandwidth. Management is made simple, so an extensive IT department isn’t required to keep the systems up and running. And security is at the forefront, with many built-in tools to make for a safer network. 

You can find out more about what Aruba Instant On can do in educational settings here. 

The ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 is the latest flagship router from this Asus. This is not the first WiFi 6E router we have seen, as it is an update to last year’s ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000. However, this year’s model is a quad-band router, including the 6 GHz frequency. While there are more routers to market with the WiFi 6E standard, clients currently aren’t commonplace in the market. his is slowly improving, though, with USB adapters arriving on the market that support the standard.

Design

The GT-AXE16000 uses a horizontal design in a larger body, which has become Asus’ design formula for its flagship routers. It has eight non-detachable antennas and a power cord with a larger power brick. Taking it a step beyond its previous flagship router, Asus adorns this model with a piece of clear plexiglass that covers about two-thirds of the top surface and can be illuminated with RGB LEDs. This is a distinct nod to the gaming community, but thankfully the LEDs can be disabled (for use in a bedroom setting, for example).

There is also a power switch to facilitate restarts, which we appreciate as some models no longer have one.

Specifications

Looking at the specs for the GT-AXE16000, Asus clearly pulls out all the stops. As the quad-band wireless support is the big story, we will focus on that first. There is a single 2.4 GHz band with a max speed of 1,148 Mbps, a pair of 5 GHz bands that top out at 4,804 Mbps, and a 6 GHz band with the same max of 4,804 Mbps. It is Wi-Fi 6E, on the 802.11ax standard, and backward compatible with prior standards such as 802.11ac. The wireless features include Beamforming, OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), 20/40/80/160 MHz bandwidth and a 1024-QAM high data rate.

The wired connections also are solid. These include a single 2.5 GB WAN port, a pair of 10 Gigabit WAN/LAN ports, and four Gigabit LAN ports, so many folks won’t need a separate switch. There are also a pair of USB ports, the first USB 2.0, and the other USB 3.2 Gen 1.

The hardware specs are strong as well and include a 2.0GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of DDR4 RAM and 256MB of NAND flash storage. However, power usage is on the high side, which is not unexpected for a full-size flagship router, with a maximum power draw of 65 watts.

Setup

Getting this Asus GT-AXE16000 up and running was quick and simple, as we expect from a company with mature software. We went through the browser-based option for a "Quick Internet Setup," and it walked us through the steps, automatically updating the firmware along the way to the latest version. For flexibility on a network, it can also be configured to perform a variety of tasks: router, repeater, access point, media bridge and AiMesh.

Security

The Asus GT-AXE16000 has plenty of security features built in, which are powered by TrendMicro, which has provided security solutions to the industry since 1988. This security suite includes a router security assessment to identify problems. There is also a "Malicious Sites Blocking" tool to keep users from inadvertently going to known corrupt websites, and "Two Way IPS," which is an intrusion prevention system. Furthermore, there is a feature to keep infected devices from joining a botnet or zombie attack. Finally, there is also a log available for each of these events, so you can track how effectively it is working over time.

While some routers have parental controls with only limited functionality, the Asus GT-AXE16000 allows the parent to set limits to both the websites that can be visited, and the amount of time spent by each device. The system is robust enough to fully block a device without shutting down the entire network.

Performance

We ran the Asus GT-AXE16000 through our usual suite of network benchmarks. First we tested the wireless throughput with our wireless client, an Asus ROG laptop featuring an Intel AX201 wireless card. This card is Wi-Fi 6, meaning that it lacks Wi-Fi 6E so we cannot test the 6 GHz throughput which promises faster speeds with less interference.

Still, the throughput is solid for this router, but not record-setting. On our 2.4 GHz near test, with the client positioned 5 feet away, the throughput measured at 123.6 Mbps. When we increased the distance to 30 feet away on a higher floor of the router, the speed dropped off quite a bit to 72.2 Mbps.

The 5 GHz band yielded solid results as well, with even faster throughput than with the 2.4 GHz testing. Here, the near test gets us throughput of 914.1 Mbps, and the 30 feet far test dropped this to a still speedy 509.7 Mbps.

We next put the Asus GT-AXE16000 through our network congestion testing, which is designed to test the QoS settings of the router. For this test, we run the game Overwatch at 1080p (fully updated to the latest version) and take metrics, including in-game latency and frames per second (FPS). Next, we add ten 8k videos to simulate loading up the network with congestion (chosen to saturate our 300 Mbps cable-based broadband connection). We then toggle on the QoS to allow the router to prioritize the gaming traffic. We also report the dropped frame rates of the first 8K video to see how well a router can deal with a saturated network congested with video streaming traffic and gaming. Gaming generally uses a low amount of bandwidth but needs a high priority for that traffic to avoid stutters and freezes. When gameplay drops below 30 frames per second, it is quite noticeable and quickly progresses to unplayable as it drops even further.

To say that we are disappointed with the gaming performance of the Asus GT-AXE16000 would be an understatement as a flagship ROG router. We also had to perform some additional testing to confirm our conclusions. The firmware that we conducted the testing on is 3.0.0.4.386.49533.

The issues begin with our Ethernet tests, generally thought of as the fastest and most stable way to play a game. When we did the first wireless test, even without any of the videos playing, we could only play the game at 32.5 fps. The frame rate was nearly identical with the QoS enabled. Adding in the 8K video congestion with the QoS reduced our fps to 23.4, with the game freezing, as indicated by the zero minimal frame rate. Furthermore, when we turned on the QoS to manage the congestion of the simultaneous video streams, it worked against us, and the game became completely unplayable.

Overall, this made little sense as last year’s model of this router, the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 WiFi 6E, garnered a speedier 125 fps under identical conditions. 

The wireless testing also demonstrated a poor implementation of QoS, among other issues. On the 5 GHz test, with no simultaneous video streams, we observed a healthy 119.6 fps. Unfortunately, adding in the videos with the QoS gave us a high 43% dropped frame rate, and the game did not play at all. Turning on the QoS with the videos still playing, with a priority set to gaming, did at least allow the game to be played, but at a quite low 17 fps. On 2.4 GHz, we achieved 122 fps with just the game playing, our best test of any configuration, confirming the weak Ethernet performance. Adding in the same video streams delivered just 20.2 fps with the QoS off. Enigmatically, turning on the QoS while the video streams played reduces the fps to a really low 5.47, which makes little sense given that the frame rate was almost four times higher with the QoS off!

At this point, we did our due diligence by contacting Asus and shared our data and concerns. We then waited patiently for a firmware upgrade, 3.0.0.4.386.50168, which we installed on our router. We then ran a retest, but the router, unfortunately, performed the same in our Ethernet test. The fps remained the same without the simultaneous video streams, and the game remained unplayable with the video streams on and the QoS enabled.

In all fairness, aside from our quite aggressive "Torture test" consisting of ten 8K videos and a simultaneous game, the router is able to play 1080p video streams smoothly without any issues when not overloaded.

Pricing and Bottom Line

Getting your network to the bleeding edge of performance has a price, and in this case it is $699 for the Asus GT-AXE16000. That unfortunately puts this product at the higher end of the upper tier of consumer routers. On the one hand, this router offers solid throughput, multiple security features, quad-band performance, and granular control of most settings. However, as a gaming router, we think that at this lofty price, most users would expect more consistent performance with better QoS. After all, we have seen cheaper routers better manage mixed network traffic and not have our plethora of hiccups on gaming performance.

Given the price point and performance issues we encountered, we would recommend users choose a more mature, and stable product for their network routing needs.

The Raspberry Pi is a truly versatile piece of technology. With a Pi we can learn to code, build robots, work with complex sensor data and even turn an old printer into a web enabled device. If you have an older Raspberry Pi, perhaps you've upgraded to a Raspberry Pi 5 and your older Raspberry Pis are now gathering dust, then we have a quick and simple project to add extra Wi-Fi connectivity for no extra outlay.

The latest Raspberry Pi OS release saw a beta of Network Manager, a tool new to the Raspberry Pi that replaces dhcpcd as a means to manage networking on the Pi. This new tool provides us with a simple, GUI based means to configure a spare Raspberry Pi as a wireless access point. If you need to extend a networking setup, add Wi-Fi to those hard to reach places, then this is for you. 

We’re going to go through the steps necessary to configure a Raspberry Pi as a wireless access point, and have the access point start whenever the Pi is booted. Best of all, this project will work with the Raspberry Pi 3B, 3B+ and the latest Raspberry Pi 4.

Setting up Network Manager for Wi-Fi Access Point

The Network Manager application is a new addition to Raspberry Pi OS, at the time of writing this is still a beta, requiring a few extra steps in order to switch from the older dhcpcd application to Network Manager.

In this section we detail the steps necessary to configure your Pi to use the new networking tool.

1. Set up a Raspberry Pi if you don't have one already. See our guide on how to set up a Raspberry Pi.

2. Connect your Raspberry Pi to an Ethernet connection. Our Pi will become a wireless access point, but our connection to a router will be via Ethernet. This provides the strongest connection and ensures the highest speed possible.

3. Open a terminal window on the Pi or an SSH connection to the Raspberry Pi.

4. Make sure your Raspberry Pi is up to date, by running the latest update commands. This isn’t strictly necessary, as the latest Raspberry Pi OS release will already be fairly up-to-date. Consider this a best practice.

sudo apt updatesudo apt upgrade -y

5. Use raspi-config to edit the configuration of your Raspberry Pi. The network manager option is currently only available via raspi-config, and not via the GUI editor.

sudo raspi-config

6. Using the cursor keys, navigate to Advanced Options and press Enter.

7. Navigate to Network Config and press Enter.

8. Select Network Manager and then click OK.

9. Click on OK.

10. Click Finish.

11. Select Yes to reboot.

Setting up the Access Point on Raspberry Pi

Our access point will provide Wi-Fi access using the Raspberry Pi’s onboard Wi-Fi chip. In this section, we will set up the name and security for the access point. Note that our Raspberry Pi will need to be connected to our home Internet connection via Ethernet. This provides us with the best possible connection.

1. Left click on the Network icon, select Advanced Options and then Create Wireless Hotspot.

2. Set the Network name of the access point, Wi-Fi security to WPA2, and then set the password for the AP. Click create to save.

3. Reboot the Raspberry Pi.

4. Click on the Network icon to check that the access point is active.

Setting the Raspberry Pi Access Point to start on boot

We want to turn this project into an appliance, a device that will power up and just work. For that we need to tweak the access point settings so that it starts when our Raspberry Pi powers up. Luckily this only takes a few steps.

1. Click on the Network icon and click on Advanced Options >> Edit Connections. This will enable us to make changes to the access point configuration.

2, Select the wireless access point name, and click on the settings cog to make changes.

3. Under the General tab, check the “Connect automatically with priority” box and set the priority to 0. Click save to make the change. This will set our access point to start whenever the Pi starts.

Connecting to the Raspberry Pi Access Point

The access point works just like any other Wi-Fi router / access point.

1. Connect your computer / mobile device to the new access point. It will appear under the name that we have given it.

2. Alternatively on the Raspberry Pi click on the Network icon, and select Advanced Options >> Connection Information.

3. Using a compatible device, scan the QR code to automatically connect to the access point. The information dialog contains all of the information necessary for our access point.

Intel has proclaimed that “the Wi-Fi future is here” after successfully demonstrating Wi-Fi 7 technology with partner Broadcom. In the over-the-air demos, a Wi-Fi 7 connection between an Intel Core-powered laptop and a Broadcom access point achieved a steady 5 Gbps transfer speed. This is a worthwhile upgrade versus Wi-Fi 6, which maxes out at 1 Gbps.

As the Intel news blog highlights, industry collaboration is essential to ensure the widespread adoption of Wi-Fi 7 and its practical benefits. Having one Wi-Fi 7 in one category of devices but no other is pretty useless.

Broadcom chimed in to assert that “the ecosystem is ready.” It highlighted the value of Wi-Fi 7 goes beyond simple speed increases to deliver greater network capacity and the benefits of much lower latencies. The reduced latencies will be invaluable for immersive experiences over Wi-Fi, with the most obvious applications being online gaming and reduced latency wireless VR headsets. For media streamers, it also opens up the eye-popping possibility of UHD 16K streaming (or more people on the network streaming 4K or 8K videos). Last but not least, the newest Wi-Fi standard could help reduce wireless network traffic jams in busy homes and offices.

The underlying technologies behind Wi-Fi 7 include wider 320 MHz channels in unlicensed 6GHz spectrum and higher order 4K QAM data modulation. Intel’s blog also outlined the importance of multi-link operation and improved channel utilization efficiency.

Video: demo compares Wi-Fi 6 on the 5 GHz band, vs. Wi-Fi 6E on the 6 GHz band, vs. Wi-Fi 7 on the 6 GHz band.

These are still early days for Wi-Fi 7, as it isn’t expected to be certified until next year, with products bearing the Wi-Fi 7 logo perhaps not appearing until H2 2023. However, last month an Intel exec was quoted as saying Wi-Fi 7 will start to be “installed in PC products such as laptops by 2024.” As one (code)name is never enough, Wi-Fi 7 devices will also be referenced as featuring the “Wi-Fi 802.11be” connectivity protocol.

A positive from the lengthy sounding rollout timescale is that Wi-Fi 7 speeds could be further enhanced in the interim. Hopefully, Wi-Fi 7 will catch on quickly, inspired by the attractive transfer speeds and latency benefits. It will also be welcomed if Wi-Fi 7 device rollout isn’t hampered by the component shortage problems, which slowed Wi-Fi 6E device availability.

Raspberry Pi systems can bask in that new operating system glow today, with the launch of the latest edition of the tiny computer’s Debian-based OS. This release features many smaller tweaks, but the headline features seem to be an improved Python camera interface, and a simplified ability to easily make a Raspberry Pi into a wireless access point.

Behind the scenes, this means Pi OS has moved from using the easily edited but slightly obscure dhcphd file to manage networking to the NetworkManager application already used by other Linux distributions. It’s not the default yet, dhcphd is still there, but it will become so in future releases so we’d better get used to it. 

NetworkManager makes it easier to connect to Wi-Fi networks with hidden SSIDs, and smooths the process of dealing with VPNs. Some may find the ability granted by the app to configure your Pi as a wireless access point interesting too. It’s being considered a beta feature for now, and must be switched to using the raspi-config tool.

Elsewhere, the new Picamera2 Python library takes over from the original PiCamera (a community developed project which grew from a personal project) as the "Pythonic" means to interface a camera with your Pi. It is claimed to be easier to use, but differs from the older software. The libcamera library, which offers a command line interface via the terminal is still available for those not ready to PiCamera2.

Keyboard shortcuts, though not particularly exciting, can speed the use of a computer, and they’ve come under the microscope in this release. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi menus can now be accessed without using the mouse, and there are new audio input controls too - right-clicking the new mic icon in the taskbar gives you a level control, and you can switch between input devices too.

The new OS release is detailed in a blog post at the Raspberry Pi site, and can be obtained the usual way by downloading it from the appropriate page, or using the Raspberry Pi Imager tool.

Getting your Raspberry Pi project online is now cheaper and easier thanks to the $6 Raspberry Pi Pico W. It only takes five lines of code to connect your Raspberry Pi Pico W to the world, but sharing your code can leave you open to a few security concerns.

Your MicroPython code now contains your Wi-Fi password, API keys and bespoke URLs. So how do we mitigate the risk while keeping our data portable?

Creating a MicroPython module is the best way to keep your secrets out of your project code. We can import the module just like any other module, and reference its contents in the same manner. 

In this how-to, we will create a secrets module and use it, along with Open Weather to get the current weather details for our home location. The project code can be easily shared with others, without fear of including any personal information.

For this project you will need

• Raspberry Pi Pico W
• A computer

Creating a Secrets File for Credentials

The secrets module is really a standard MicroPython file that contains objects that reference our Wi-Fi access point, Wi-Fi password and our Open Weather API key.

1. Follow this guide to setup your Raspberry Pi Pico W. Follow the steps until “How to blink an LED”.

2. Create a new blank file.

3. Create an object SSID and assign it the name of your Wi-Fi access point. The equals sign will assign the value to the right, into the object.

SSID = “YOUR WI-FI AP NAME”

4. Create an object PASSWORD and assign it the password for your Wi-Fi access point.

PASSWORD = “YOUR WI-FI PASSWORD”

5. Create an object, owm_api and assign it your Open Weather API key. You can get a free API key by signing up to Open Weather.

6. Save the file to your Raspberry Pi Pico W as secrets.py.

7. In the Python shell (bottom of Thonny’s window) import the secrets file and then print the SSID of your Wi-Fi access point. Essentially we have just made a Python module that contains all of the details that we wish to keep safe.

import secretsprint(secrets.SSID)

Using Secrets in a Project

The purpose of the secrets file is to keep our main project code free of any files that may contain personal / secure information. By keeping the project code free of sensitive information, we can easily share it with others.In this part of the how to we shall import the secrets module and use it with the Open Weather API to get the weather for our location.

1. In Thonny create a new blank file.

2. Import three modules of code. Network enables our Pico W to connect to Wi-Fi, Secrets is our file full of secret information, urequests is a module that enables us to make requests to remote devices, in this case Open Weather’s API. We used the same module to get data on the astronauts onboard the International Space Station.

import networkimport secretsimport urequests

3. Create an object, wlan, and use it to create a connection from our code to the Wi-Fi chip on the Pico W, then turn the Wi-Fi chip on.

wlan = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)wlan.active(True)

4. Using the secrets module, use the SSID and PASSWORD objects to connect to your Wi-Fi access point.

wlan.connect(secrets.SSID,secrets.PASSWORD)

5. Create an object, weather, to store the returned data from the Open Weather API. Use secrets.owm_api to insert your API key into the URL. This specially created URL sends a request to Open Weather for our location q=Blackpool,UK, which can be changed to your own location. We can also specify the units used &units=metric (which can be changed to imperial).

weather = urequests.get("http://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q=Blackpool,UK&units=metric&appid="+(secrets.owm_api)).json()

6. Store the current temperature in an object, temperature. The returned data is in a JSON format, which is almost identical to Python’s dictionary datatype. Dictionaries use a key, value format to store data. The keys ["main"]['temp'] will take us to the main section of data, and then the temperature value is saved to our newly created temperature object.

temperature = weather["main"]['temp']

7. Store the current humidity in a corresponding object.

humidity = weather["main"]['humidity']

8. Store the current overall weather condition in the weather object. This data is buried a little deeper in the JSON object. It is a dictionary, then list, then dictionary object. The list [0], identifies that we are using the first item in the list, as Python starts counting from zero.

weather = weather["weather"][0]["main"]

9. Print the returned data using string formatting that will drop the corresponding data into the sentence.

print("The weather today is {} with a temperature of {} degrees Celsius and a humidity of {}%".format(weather, temperature, humidity))

10. Save the code to the Raspberry Pi Pico W as weather.py. Click run to start the code. The code will use the Open Weather API, download the latest weather for your location, and then print a sentence containing the information to the Python Shell.

Complete Code Listing

import networkimport secretsimport urequestswlan = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)wlan.active(True)wlan.connect(secrets.SSID,secrets.PASSWORD)weather = urequests.get("http://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q=Blackpool,UK&units=metric&appid="+(secrets.owm_api)).json()temperature = weather["main"]['temp']humidity = weather["main"]['humidity']weather = weather["weather"][0]["main"]print("The weather today is {} with a temperature of {} degrees Celsius and a humidity of {}%".format(weather, temperature, humidity))

Being the world's No. 1 supplier of notebook platforms, Intel must adopt the latest technologies as soon as possible to maintain this lead. In addition, one of the key selling points of laptops is a fast Wi-Fi connection, so adopting the latest tech version is crucial for the CPU giant. As it turns out, Intel is poised to support Wi-Fi 7 by its client PC platforms by 2024.

"We are currently developing Intel's Wi-Fi '802.11be' in order to obtain the 'Wi-Fi Alliance' certification, and it will be installed in PC products such as laptops by 2024," said Eric McLaughlin, vice president of Intel's wireless solutions division, at a press conference in South Korea, reports ET News (via The Register). "We expect it to appear in major markets in 2025."

Wi-Fi 7 (also known as IEEE 802.11be) will offer a maximum raw aggregated bitrate of 40,000 Mbit/s (40 Gbit/s), which will make wired Ethernet connections obsolete for most users. However, in most cases, client devices will support considerably slower connections.

But to get such a high bitrate, Wi-Fi 7 clients and access points will have to use three bands — 2.40 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz — and increase channel width to 320 MHz as well as add 4096-QAM. Meanwhile, since Wi-Fi 7 will rely on technologies its predecessors introduced, things like mandatory support for MU-MIMO (Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) and OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access) capabilities supported by Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E.

Given the significantly improved performance of Wi-Fi 7 over Wi-Fi 6/6E, Intel expects the technology to be adopted by bandwidth-hungry applications, such as augmented reality and virtual reality headsets that use Intel's WiGig (Wireless Gigabit) technology.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is expected to adopt the IEEE 802.11be specification only in 2025 formally, so some of its peculiarities might change. But interestingly, Intel looks at it with enthusiasm and expects the performance of the upcoming Wi-Fi 7 technology (or its own Wi-Fi 7 client chips) to improve by the time it rolls out commercially in 2024.

"Since there is more than a year left before the release of 802.11be, there is still a chance that we could improve the processing speed even further." Said McLaughlin.

For quite a while now, Intel has been one of the foremost advocates of Wi-Fi 7. So far, both Broadcom and Qualcomm have already announced their Wi-Fi 7 draft-compliant chips for access points and client devices.

The release of the Raspberry Pi Pico W brings with it an interesting opportunity. In the past if we wanted to connect a Raspberry Pi to the world, we would need one of the larger models. The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, and Raspberry Pi 4 were often pressed into data collection duties. The Raspberry Pi 4 is a bit of a power hog, the Zero 2 W is a bit better but still overkill for a simple information project.

With the arrival of the Raspberry Pi Pico W we have a low power, microcontroller with a competent Wi-Fi chip, in the Pico form factor and only $6! 

So where do we start? How do we get our Raspberry Pi Pico W online, and where can we find interesting data to collect? Let us guide you through making the most of your $6 Raspberry Pi Pico W.

Getting the Raspberry Pi Pico W Online

The Raspberry Pi Pico W comes with an Infineon CYW43439 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi chip and onboard antenna. This means we get good Wi-Fi reception without the need for lots of wires. We’re using the latest MicroPython release for the Pico W as it offers the easiest means to get online and do fun projects.

1. Setup your Raspberry Pi Pico W by following our getting started guide. You will need to install MicroPython on your Pico W before you can proceed further.

2. Open the Thonny editor to a blank document.

3. Create an object called SSID and in it store the SSID of your Wi-Fi access point.

SSID = "YOUR WIFI AP"

4. Create an object called PASSWORD and store your Wi-Fi password.

PASSWORD = "TRUSTNO1"

5. Save the file to the Raspberry Pi Pico W as secrets.py By storing our sensitive details in a secrets file, we can freely share the project code with friends, or online. Just remember not to share the secrets file too.

6. Click on New File to create a new blank document.

7. Import three modules of code, network, secrets and time. These three modules enable our Pico to connect to a Wi-Fi network, use the data stored in secrets.py and to add a pause to the code.

import networkimport secretsimport time

8. Create an object, wlan, to create a connection from our code to the Pico W wireless chip. We use this connection to issue commands that will connect and check our Wi-Fi connection.

wlan = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)

9. Turn on the Raspberry Pi Pico W’s Wi-Fi.

wlan.active(True)

10. Connect to your router using the SSID and PASSWORD stored in the secrets.py file.

wlan.connect(secrets.SSID, secrets.PASSWORD)

11. Print the connection status to the Python shell. This will print True if connected, and False if the connection failed.

12. Click Save and then select “Raspberry Pi Pico”. Save the file as Wi-Fi.py to the Raspberry Pi Pico W.

13. Click on Run to start the code.

14. Look in the Python Shell for True or False. True means we are connected.

Complete Code Listing

import networkimport secretsimport timewlan = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)wlan.active(True)wlan.connect(secrets.SSID, secrets.PASSWORD)print(wlan.isconnected())

Using the Raspberry Pi Pico W With External Data

Now that we have an Internet connection, we will use it with publicly available datasets to pull data from external sources and display it on the Pico W. For this example we are going to use Open Notify’s “How many people are in space right now” dataset. This has the number and names of all the astronauts currently on the International Space Station.

We are going to adapt our previous example code, Wi-Fi.py.

1. Add a line after “import time” and import the urequests module. This module enables us to work with network requests such as HTTP and JSON.

import urequests

2. After print(wlan.isconnected()) add a new line which creates an object “astronauts” and then uses urequests to get the information in a JSON format. JavaScript Object Notation is an open standard file format which bears a striking resemblance to Python’s Dictionary which uses keys (names) to retrieve values from the object.

astronauts = urequests.get("http://api.open-notify.org/astros.json").json()

3. Create an object, number, which will open the astronauts object, and look for the key ‘number’. The value linked to that key is then stored in the number object.

number = astronauts['number']

4. Create a for loop that will iterate for the number of people on the International Space Station. This value could change as astronauts come and go, so rather than hard coding a value we use the live data.

for i in range(number):

5. Print the name of each astronaut on the International Space Station using a series of keys that target the specific data. Our dictionary ‘astronauts’ has many keys, but we are interested in the ‘people’, the value of “i” will increment each time the loop goes round, and it selects each person from a list embedded in the dataset. We then use another key, ‘name’ to get the name of that astronaut.

   print(astronauts['people'][i]['name'])

6. Save the code and when ready click on Run to start the code.

7. The names of all the astronauts on the International Space Station will appear in the Python Shell. Note that “True” still appears, confirming that our Internet connection is established.

Complete Code Listing

import networkimport secretsimport timeimport urequestswlan = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)wlan.active(True)wlan.connect(secrets.SSID, secrets.PASSWORD)print(wlan.isconnected())astronauts = urequests.get("http://api.open-notify.org/astros.json").json()number = astronauts['number']for i in range(number):    print(astronauts['people'][i]['name'])

Update 2/7/2022 06:15 PST

The creator of this project has provided an update on this project. The project now uses a WD My Passport Ultra 5TB HDD and features a HDHomeRun Extend HDTV tuner. More details can be found in the original reddit post.

Original Article

We’ve seen Raspberry Pi hotspots before but this one, created by Reddit user Treasurehunter613, has a few extra features that really add to the on-the-go experience. This Pi-powered LTE WiFi hotspot doubles as an NAS and comes with all of the support provided by the Raspberry Pi.

According to Treasurehunter613, the module uses very little power which makes it ideal to take on trips. Expanding the NAS storage capacity is as easy as attaching a second drive. The NAS aspect of the build is via Samba a free software re-implementation of the SMB networking protocol. Samba is very popular with Raspberry Pi network storage project creators.

The project doesn’t even require the latest Pi, relying on a Raspberry Pi 3B+. While still a formidable Raspberry Pi,  the Raspberry Pi 4 has the horsepower and support for Gigabit Ethernet. For LTE support, it has a Waveshare 3G/4G/LTE HAT along with dual Proxicast 3G/4G/LTE antennas. To keep things compact, a SanDisk Extreme Pro 1TB SSD Flash Drive is used for NAS storage space while battery makes the whole operation mobile. 

Treasurehunter613 has documented the parts and configurations steps necessary for anyone recreate the project. The steps include setting up Wi-Fi access points and setting up the 4G HAT.

While plenty of modules already exist that provide mobile WiFi support, the benefit here lies in the versatility of the Pi. Attaching a larger MIMO antenna or bigger drive for the NAS is always an option. It also adds functionality that can be shared with multiple users who can access media hosted on the NAS using their mobile devices locally.

To get a closer look, check out the original project thread shared to Reddit and be sure to follow Treasurehunter613 for any future updates.

Latency is one of the biggest problems in the modern gaming industry, and laptop gamers tend to use their WiFi connection to play multi-player games. Qualcomm has partnered with Microsoft to deliver a potential solution for this problem with its WiFi Dual Station modules that use Qualcomm 4-Stream Dual Band Simultaneous (DBS) for the Windows 11 operating system.

High WiFi latency can significantly impact response times in online games like Counter-Strike and Dota, so gamers tend to use an ethernet connection over anything else.

Qualcomm has been working on a solution for this specific problem with Microsoft and introduced Dual Station WiFi in Windows 11 OS, with modules designed using Qualcomm 4-Stream DBS. The company says this keeps latency low and reduces jitter to a level similar to using an ethernet connection.

Qualcomm says the reduced latency results from harnessing multiple WiFi bands and antennas concurrently. Qualcomm notes that "by simultaneously utilizing the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band (or 6 GHz where available), latency issues in one band can be easily resolved at a system-level both quickly and transparently to the end-user."

As per the company's testing, some performance benchmarks show that WiFi Dual Band mode can be very beneficial. The results using an off-the-shelf WiFi 6 access point, WiFi Dual Station, and Qualcomm 4-Stream DBS were similar to an ethernet cable. The testing between single-station WiFi showed that Dual Band systems yielded four times lower latency over the more common Single Station systems, indicating a significant improvement.

It's important to note that Valve has added initial support for WiFi Dual Station in the Steamworks software development kit (SDK), allowing CS: GO and Dota 2 gamers to use the new technology with their Windows 11 PC.

The Raspberry Pi is a notably flexible device but every now and then we stumble across a project that reminds us of just how useful it really is. Take for instance this clever marine-based network project created by a maker known on Reddit as Zoomerli.

With the help of a Raspberry Pi, Zoomerli is able to provide Wi-Fi connectivity to their boat as well as extend that support to other devices. The Raspberry Pi even acts as a personal computer—saving space where space is limited—and has been fitted with an SSD for extra storage.

The main component used to add Wi-Fi support is a huge, omnidirectional Wave XL WiFi antenna from RadioLabs. It connects via USB and offers a notably large range of support. The official product page claims to have connected to an access point 7 miles away during testing. A GLiNet-brand travel router is used to distribute the connection to mobile devices.

Some of the best Raspberry Pi projects we’ve covered are environmentally friendly and this one is on the list. Because Zoomerli is using this setup off-grid, the power source comes from 12v DC solar panels. The Raspberry Pi is also fitted with a UPS HAT from Amazon for a little flexibility in case something like a battery pack needs to be used instead.

Check out the original thread at Reddit for more details and a closer look at this cool, Raspberry Pi marine-based network rig.

Many locations, be it a multi-story house, an attic office, or an outside patio, present challenges in getting decent wireless coverage. And with the record number of us working and learning from home, a solid Wi-Fi signal has gone from ‘nice to have,’ to the ‘gotta have it’ category. Between streaming media services and Zoom meetings for every occasion from business transactions to birthday parties, dead zones are far less intolerable than they used to be.

There is no shortage of wireless accessories to fix dead spots, including wireless extenders and powerline networks with wireless access points to get the signal where it needs to go. But rather than going crazy trying to get all this gear to play well together, which can be a time sink even for a network expert and a significant challenge for novices, a simpler solution these days (though it’s often far from cheap) is a mesh networking kit. With a mesh kit, the manufacturer has done the heavy lifting, put multiple wireless units in one nice box that are all compatible and designed to work together out of the box,with a single set of directions to get it all up and running.

That’s what we’re looking at with the Netgear Nighthawk Mesh Wi-Fi 6 AX3600 (MK83) system. It consists of three pieces: a router and two satellites, which technically makes it a ‘Hub and spoke’ system rather than the ‘True mesh’ which has all identical wireless nodes. But purist considerations aside, this setup promises to cover 6,750 square feet of wireless goodness with Wi-Fi 6 speeds.

Design

The AX3600 comes as a three- or a four-piece system (we tested the former, MK83), with the option to add additional satellites if you need to cover more space. Each is composed of glossy black plastic sides with a textured top (which reminds me of the classic 80’s arcade game Q*bert), measuring 5.51 x 5.51 x 3.62 inches, with the router and the satellites having identical dimensions, and weighing 1.4 pounds for each of the three units. The glossy plastic tends to pick up fingerprints and smudges easily, so we’d strongly prefer textured plastic here.

The router (center in the image above) has three Gigabit Ethernet ports and a single WAN port. The simple way to tell the router apart from the satellite boxes is that the satellite (above left) has no WAN and just two LAN ports. The latter is a nifty feature to have to connect wired equipment (like set-top boxes or consoles) to the satellite access point.

While there are no external antennas, each unit has five internal antennas. There is a single LED that glows blue when connected, flashes white when booting, and orange when ready to sync. Unfortunately, the light cannot be turned off, making this less than ideal for a bedroom application (unless you want to put a piece of black electrical tape over the LED).

Specifications

Both the router and the satellite units use a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, and the router has 256 MB of flash memory for storage and 512 MB of RAM. The wireless is tri-band, that is Wi-Fi 6 AX3600 (5 GHz 1800 Mbps + 5 GHz 1200 Mbps + 2.4 GHz 600Mbps). This sums up to 3600 Mbps of theoretical bandwidth, hence the name of this kit, however it strikes us as odd to have two different bandwidths for the 5 GHz radios. Also, it is unclear if one of these is the backhaul between the router and a satellite, which would then be a bottleneck to the faster 5 GHz speed, unless directly connected to the router.

At least on paper, the AX3600 does have all of the wireless features that you would expect from a higher end piece of home networking gear--the three-piece kit we tested currently sells for just under $400. The list is lengthy, and covers MU-MIMO for simultaneous data streaming, explicit beamforming on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies, OFDMA for both uplink and downlink and seven-stream WiFi for 4K video streaming.

The AX3600 does have QoS (Quality of Service) that can be toggled on, along with a “Performance optimization database.” We also went through the SpeedTest to identify the available bandwidth, to then have this mesh kit optimize it. That said, there is absolutely no control over the QoS, either by the type of traffic (such as to give video streaming or gaming priority), or to be able to give a specific device priority, such as a gaming rig. We think this deficit in granular control at least partially explains the poor QoS performance below. But first, let’s get the system up and routing.

Setup

Mesh systems can often be a drudgery to set up, but the AX3600 performed well in this area. While it can also be done with a smartphone app, we proceeded via the web interface, and it was pretty painless.

As part of the setup, the system’s firmware was upgraded to the latest available. This is an important step to ensure that the latest patches have been applied and any known security holes have been addressed.

With the router connected and chugging, the next step is to add the satellites to the system. This was easier than most mesh systems, as we just had to plug in the satellite, wait for the flashing white LED to turn orange, and then hit the ‘Sync’ button on the satellite, followed by the ‘Sync’ button in the software, and then the satellite was all configured.

Security

The AX3600 does support WPA-3, the latest encryption standard, which is becoming increasingly important as all the previous standards have been cracked at this point.

The AX3600 does support network level antimalware security, which is termed “Netgear Armor” here. But while there is a free trial, it’s limited to 30 days, even on this top end mesh kit. Beyond that, you’re looking at an annual subscription for an additional cost of $69.99 (although it’s currently on sale for less). Purchasers should factor this into the cost of the AX3600, because some competing products have network-level antivirus for the life of the product without an additional cost.

Performance

Right off the bat, we experienced connection issues. An Acer Aspire laptop we had with a Wi-Fi 6 card (AX201, driver version 22.40.0.7) was completely unable to connect to the router. We did discover that this was not the latest Intel driver for this card, which was subsequently upgraded to 22.60.0.6, but this didn’t solve the problem. Our testing was done with our standard Asus gaming laptop, model G512L, which also uses the same AX201 card, although did not have any connection issues.

The AX3600 sends out a single SSID, and we were not able to separate it into separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz signals. Therefore, we were unable to test throughput on the 2.4 GHz frequency. The 5 GHz speeds we obtained of 315.2 Mbps on the near test and 286.7 Mbps on the far test are decent, but nothing exceptional among Wi-Fi 6 gear.

Testing Configuration

Stress testing the AX3600 mesh kit proved to be an exercise in disappointment, with a nearly nonexistent QoS that resulted in low frame rates on our game of Overwatch, and a high percentage of dropped frames. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Things started out reasonably well. When connected via the Ethernet cable, the frame rate of 119.8 was solid, with a low in-game latency of 69 ms. However, when we added in the ten 8K streaming videos, we saw the frame rate drop to 36.0 FPS, and at points the game froze with a frame rate of zero. We also had the latency rise to 189 ms, with a dropped frame rate on our streaming videos of 16.2%, plus six PingPlotter spikes. Turning on the QoS did nothing for us--in fact the FPS went even lower to 20.2, and the dropped frames on the video stream went even higher to 34.8%, for an overall worse performance.

In short, the AX3600 mesh kit performed poorly in a congested environment, and the QoS did not effectively manage the congestion. This then was replicated when connected via 5 GHz directly to the router, and additionally when we connected to the satellite unit.

Bottom Line

In terms of looks and advertised features, the Netgear Nighthawk Mesh Wi-Fi 6 AX3600 (MK83) sounds promising. But factor in the price, plus our experience with it on a congested network, and the AX3600 becomes a fairly poor value, with an MSRP of $499 and a current street price of $396. At that price, this gear is clearly in the high end of routers and mesh kits, and the performance on both throughput and congested testing is lacking.

Price aside, the AX3600 does have some pluses, such as the ease of setup, automatic firmware upgrade on setup, the support for the WPA-3 security, and the compact size of the units. But put together the high price with the lack of effective QoS, the unexceptional throughput, and the additional charge for antimalware protection, and it becomes clear that there are better options out there. Hopefully Netgear can take what works from the AX3600 and build on this experience going forward.

The Raspberry Pi has a knack for bridging the gap between different technologies but, in this project, it's combining the power of multiple routers into one connection point. This setup is referred to as a bonded router by its creator, Jona, and operates using a platform called Speedify.

The best Raspberry Pi projects tend to come out of necessity—often providing a solution to a specific problem. According to Jona, he was tired of the bandwidth limitations of rural internet and decided to merge multiple sources into one, stacking the available speed. Before this project, his network speed was capping around 2 - 5 Mbps but now it reaches up to 120 Mbps.

The Raspberry Pi is responsible for distributing network traffic between four individual internet access points (in this case, two LTE lines and two 5G lines). Jona also included a DSL failsafe to act as a backup in the event the bonded router connection drops.

If you'd like to recreate this project, you can download Speedify from the official website. It's available for Linux machines like the Raspberry Pi but also on Windows, Mac, iPad and Android devices. In Jona's setup, he's using an 8GB Raspberry Pi 4 with a 4G LTE HAT. It also has a USB hub connected to a 4-four gigabit Ethernet adaptor and a 5-port Netgear gigabit switch.

Read more about this project in detail on the project thread at Reddit and be sure to follow Jona for more cool Pi projects.

TP-Link has announced a new family of multi-gigabit switches designed primarily for homes and small offices. The 2.5GbE and 10GbE switches are reasonably priced — one 2.5GbE model is only $130 — and are designed for advanced users that need faster wired network speeds as they use multi-gig NAS, Wi-Fi 6 access points, and other bandwidth-hungry devices.

The newly announced family of switches includes the TL-SG105-M2 5-port 2.5GbE desktop switch, the TL-SG108-M2 8-port 2.5GbE desktop switch, and the TL-SG3210XHP-M2 JetStream managed switch that has eight RJ45 2.5GbE ports as well as two SFP+ 10GbE ports.

The switches are backward compatible with 100Mbps and GbE over CAT5 copper cables, yet to hit 10GbE speeds, the highest-end model requires SFP+ cables, which are not common at homes or SMB offices.

The 5-port TL-SG105-M2 and the 8-port TL-SG108-M2 switches are rather basic fanless devices that can automatically sense link speeds and intelligently fine-tune for compatibility and optimal performance for all devices. The switches come in metal chassis and will fit almost any home design (assuming, of course, that they are not hidden). 

The 5-port switch is immediately available for $130, whereas the 8-port model carries a $200 MSRP.

Being a managed switch, the TL-SG3210XHP-M2 JetStream is of course inherently more advanced than its cheaper counterparts. The unit has eight 2.5GbE 802.3at/af-compliant PoE+ ports, two 10 Gbps SFP+ slots, and two ports for management (an RJ45 and a mini-USB). TP-Link positions this switch for relatively large networks employing both wired and wireless clients. Since it is supposed to have rather serious switching capacity, it uses up to 240W of power and has active cooling.

The switch supports a host of security capabilities, including IP-MAC-Port binding, ACL, Port Security, DoS defend, Storm control, DHCP snooping, 802.1X and radius authentication. L2/L3/L4 QoS and IGMP snooping for voice and video applications. In addition, the switch is Omada SDN compatible and features Zero-Touch Provisioning and intelligent monitoring.

The TL-SG3210XHP-M2 JetStream is of course not exactly cheap, but for $350, it is certainly not expensive.

ESET researchers today revealed a vulnerability called Kr00k that hackers can exploit to snoop on the Wi-Fi traffic of devices using chips made by Broadcom and Cypress. How many devices might that be? Well, according to the researchers, billions of devices were affected by Kr00k before manufacturers started releasing patches.

These Wi-Fi chips are found in many popular devices. Amazon uses them in its Kindle and Echo products; Apple uses them in various iPad, iPhone and MacBook models; Google uses them in its Nexus products; Samsung relies on them for its Galaxy smartphones and they're also found in the Raspberry Pi 3, as well as Wi-Fi routers.

The ESET researchers said they didn't find any evidence of Kr00k in Wi-Fi chips made by Qualcomm, Realtek, Ralink or MediaTek. This suggests the problem was limited to chips made by Broadcom, which acquired Cypress in 2016, but ESET said they weren't able to test every Wi-Fi chip to confirm that.

"Wi-Fi access points and routers are also affected by Kr00k," the ESET researchers said, "making even environments with patched client devices vulnerable. All-in-all, before patching there were more than a billion affected devices." People were effectively made vulnerable twice: once via their devices and once via access points.

Addressing the vulnerability also required a two-tiered approach. Broadcom had to develop its own patch to release to manufacturers, which then had to release patches for their own products afterwards. And then, of course, people had to actually install the patches before their devices would actually be protected.

That leaves a lot of points of failure. Broadcom released patches to manufacturers, according to the ESET researchers, but it's not clear that every manufacturer has released patches for all of their affected products. Even if they have, there's no guarantee that all of the affected devices will receive those critical patches.

What Should You Do? 

So where does that leave everyone? ESET's researchers said consumers should check with manufacturers to see if a patch is available for their products. It also said that it's working with the Wi-Fi Alliance, "which is developing additional tools that might help organizations identify vulnerable devices in their infrastructure."

The Wi-Fi Alliance officially introduced the new Wi-Fi Standard IEEE 802.11ax—more simply known as Wi-Fi 6—on Monday, September 14th, 2019. The new standard was first revealed in October of 2018.

With Wi-Fi 6 introduced, companies are now free to have their Wi-Fi 6 compatible devices officially certified under the new standard.

But what does Wi-Fi 6 mean for the rest of us?

Wi-Fi Performance Improvements

Wi-Fi 6 comes with serious performance upgrades that set it apart from previous certification levels—especially regarding high traffic Wi-Fi access points.

1024 QAM Support

Wi-Fi 6 supports 1024 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) while Wi-Fi 5 supported 256 QAM. This upgrade provides 10 bits per symbol instead of the usual 8, which means Wi-Fi 6 devices can deliver more data efficiently.

OFDMA

Wi-Fi 6 uses a mechanism called Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), which is a channel sharing mechanism that makes it much easier to handle large amounts of traffic. With OFDMA, we see serious improvements in busy places where many people are using one Wi-Fi access point—think airports, hotels, other public Wi-Fi hotspots.

There's a lot going on with the new standard; I highly suggest reviewing the official release by Wi-Fi Alliance for a detailed look at the spec requirements.

Early Adopters

Businesses started gearing up for the Wi-Fi 6 release in late 2018. Now that IEEE 802.11ax is official, they're lining up to get their products officially certified. Keep an eye out for the new Wi-Fi 6 certification going forward.

Samsung revealed the Galaxy Note 10 as the first official Wi-Fi 6 certified smartphone on Monday, September 16th. It's the first in a line of many to meet the new communication standard, including the upcoming iPhone 11—confirmed by Apple to be Wi-Fi 6 compatible.

Leading figures in the router industry prepared for the new Wi-Fi 6 certification with a series of compatible devices, as well. You can expect more products from names like Asus and Netgear over the coming months as the new Wi-Fi standard takes root.

First Wi-Fi 6 Certified Products

Here's a quick look at the first products officially designated with the Wi-Fi 6 certification. Apart from the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, these devices comprised the testbed for the new certification.

Wi-Fi 6 is the new standard for everything that uses Wi-Fi—from phones and tablets to routers and desktops. As the new standard becomes commonplace, Wi-Fi connectivity will be faster and more efficient, especially in areas with high traffic.

LAS VEGAS, NV -- HTC announced that later this year it will release a wireless accessory for the Vive based on Intel’s WiGig technology. The new device would enable a tether-free VR experience for the current Vive and the upcoming Vive Pro.

“Wireless VR has been on nearly every VR user’s wishlist since the technology was unveiled,” said Frank Soqui, General Manager Virtual Reality Group at Intel Corporation. “By collaborating with HTC to commercialize Intel’s WiGig technology, we will guarantee that wireless VR meets the most discerning quality bar for home users and business VR customers.”

Today’s announcement doesn’t come as a surprise. Last year, at Computex, HTC announced that it was working with Intel to create a wireless VR solution that uses Intel’s WiGig wireless data transmission technology. And at E3 in June, Intel demonstrated a proof of concept wireless Vive solution. We were expecting to hear more about the device at CES.

Intel’s WiGig wireless technology is based on the 802.11ad standard, but it operates at the 60GHz band. HTC said that Intel’s wireless protocol provides an interference-free signal that can stream high-quality visuals with less than 7ms of latency. The system even works in environments with multiple Vive users in the same space.

The details about the HTC Vive WiGig solution are still somewhat sparse, but here’s what we know. HTC licensed the WiGig technology from Intel, and the company will sell the wireless kit as a Vive-branded device. HTC said that the WiGig upgrade kit would support the existing Vive headset, and it offers enough throughput to support the Vive Pro, too.

HTC didn’t discuss it today, but we also know the WiGig solution consists of two components. We recently spoke with Frank Soqui from Intel, and he explained that the system includes a wireless receiver made by HTC and a WiGig transmission device manufactured by Intel.

“There are two elements that have to be put together to have this land on the PC,” said Soqui. “One is the wireless accessory, which will be branded under HTC. And then there’s the PCI-e card for receiving on the PC side."

It remains to be seen if you get both components in the same package or as separate purchases.

HTC didn’t provide a release date for the WiGig wireless device, but it said that the kit would be available worldwide in Q3. Hopefully, we’ll get our hands on the device this week to learn more about it.

Researcher Mathy Vanhoef of KU Leuven, Belgium’s highest-ranked university, uncovered a vulnerability in the WPA2 encryption standard of the Wi-Fi protocol that affects virtually all Wi-Fi devices.

Attackers can use key reinstallation attacks (KRACKs) when in range of someone connecting to a Wi-Fi router to re-install or reset to zero their encryption keys, thus allowing them to read information that was assumed to be encrypted.

Weakness In The Wi-Fi WPA2 Standard

The vulnerability is in the Wi-Fi WPA2 standard itself, not in the implementations of the protocol, which means that even if it's correctly implemented devices are still vulnerable to attacks. In the researcher’s own tests, he found that Android, Linux, Apple, Windows, OpenBSD, MediaTek, Linksys, and other platforms were all affected by some variant of the attacks.

Vanhoef was able to decrypt a large number of packets when testing across the platforms mentioned, but the traffic of Android 6+ and Linux devices was even easier to decrypt than the other platforms. That's because these devices’ WPA2 keys could be reset to zero, so in essence all traffic could then be decrypted.

Technical Details

The researcher executed the attack against the four-way handshake of the WPA2 protocol. The handshake happens when a client wants to join a protected Wi-Fi network. It is used to confirm that both the client and the access point posses the correct credentials (the network's password). A fresh encryption key to protect the traffic is also negotiated at the same time.

Via this form of attack, an adversary tricks the victim into re-installing an already-in-use encryption key. When the victim re-installs the encryption key, the incremental transmit packet number (i.e. nonce) and receive packet number (i.e. replay counter) are reset to their initial value. However, to guarantee security, a key should only be used once. This is not guaranteed by the WPA2 protocol.

Vanhoef noted that when the victim uses the WPA-TKIP or GCMP encryption protocol, the results of the attack can be more catastrophic, because the attackers can not only decrypt the traffic, but they can also inject malicious packets such as ransomware or some other malware. The GCMP protocol is being used by the WiGig wireless protocol, which should see an increased adoption in devices over the coming years.

Even if the content is encrypted with HTTPS, too, the attacker could still decrypt it via a man-in-the-middle attack that downgrades the connection to HTTP. To avoid this, the website would also need to support the HSTS protocol, so that the HTTPS connection is enforced by the browser itself, rather than the server. Then the browser would not accept any non-HTTPS connection to the site.

Android 6+ And Linux

Attacks against Android 6+ and Linux are more catastrophic because these platforms eliminate the key from memory once it has been installed the first time. This is supposed to be a security measure against attackers trying to steal the encryption key from memory.

However, this also means that when the attacker uses KRACK to re-install the encryption key, an all-zero key is installed. Having a known all-zero key used for encryption means the attacker can decrypt all traffic. According to the researcher, 41% of existing Android devices are impacted by this more devastating variant of KRACK.

Vanhoef's paper was first sent to the platform vendors in May 2017, but he said that since then he has found improved versions of the attack that can more easily decrypt connections of macOS and OpenBSD systems.

The researcher has only now made the paper public, as he has been waiting for the vendors to prepare patches for their platforms. Vanhoef mentioned that we shouldn’t need a WPA3 protocol to fix this vulnerability, because implementation fixes will suffice. What the patches will do is ensure that a key can only be installed once.

Changing the Wi-Fi password alone will not help to avoid this type of attack. Instead, Vanhoef recommended that users update the firmware containing the patches against KRACK on all of their devices and routers. Changing the Wi-Fi password afterwards can be done optionally as an extra precaution.

Features & Specifications

Feature-packed motherboards often exceed the ATX specification out of necessity, and the Z370 Godlike Gaming follows that concept with a slew of slots and on-board controllers packed tightly on a 10.7”-deep board. Because it's over an inch beyond the 9.6” (or 9.625”) depth of standard ATX, MSI affixes the EATX label so common among boards around this size. Far short of the 13” full EATX specification, it also fits any ATX case that has the extra inch of clearance at the front edge, as well as XL-ATX cases. We’ve been adding motherboard depth to ATX case reviews for a few months, just to assist builders in assessing their complete options.

But what exactly does all that extra room get us?

Specifications

Based on its ability to support four-way CrossFireX with a graphics card in the bottom slot, XL-ATX may appear to be the best (safest) choice in cases. On the other hand, that fourth slot shares PCIe pathways with so many other devices that we’re reluctant to use it. Among the Z370 Godlike Gaming’s premiere features, Killer xTend requires all three network controllers.

That’s right, we said three Killer E2500 PCIe network controllers. Add to that the Killer Wi-Fi, and you’ll get the options to use the on-board components as a network switch and access point in addition to the regular Killer features of packet and bandwidth prioritization. The label “xTend” pays homage to the typical remote placement and cable connection of a gaming PC, as the additional access point could eliminate the need for a range extender.

Other I/O-panel features include the expected pair of USB 3.1 Gen2 Type A and Type-C ports, six USB 3.0 ports (aka USB 3.1 Gen1), a CLR_CMOS button, five 1/8” analog audio jacks, digital optical audio, and a ¼” jack driven by an ESS Sabre 9018 DAC through an ESS headphone amplifier.

The Z370 Godlike Gaming’s top-front corner features a button to force entry into the UEFI interface, a button to force a retry after a boot hang, a two digit status code display, a row of voltage detection points (for your voltmeter), power and reset buttons, a “Game Boost” knob with seven factory-defined overclock configurations, and a row of LEDs that show which device is being initialized during the boot process. That last feature allows users who don’t remember status codes to understand where the boot process “hung” without looking up those codes.

The bottom edge features a selector switch for the backup firmware ROM, and a set of switches to disable any of the three upper (CPU-based) PCIe x16-length slots, just in case your GPU overclock goes wrong. Keen eyes will also notice two of the 2-pin thermistor headers nearby (the other is next to the 24-pin power socket), along with two of the board’s 10 fan connectors, three USB 2.3 headers, one USB 3.0 header, and two RGB headers along that same bottom edge. One of the RGB headers is designed for 12V RGB strips, the other for 5V “Rainbow” strips.

The Z370 Godlike Gaming feeds the upper three x16-length slots from the CPU, automatically switching from x16-x0-x0 to x8-x0-x8 and x8-x4-x4 modes as those slots are populated. SLI excludes the use of four-lane slots, but the bandwidth benefit of direct PCIe 3.0 connections should make these adequate for three-way CrossFireX. Unfortunately, the USB 3.1 front-panel header for Type-C ports limits the length of the second card to 10.1”. And while you could move that card to the bottom slot, doing so would force it to share bandwidth with other chipset-connected devices (including storage and networking), give up the features described several paragraphs above, and likewise lose access to the second USB 3.0 front-panel header located on the bottom edge.

Shared pathways also force builders to choose between U.2 connector and a second M.2 slot. A slow-mode jumper is found behind the U.2 connector, which forces the CPU to clock down at boot to overcome “cold bug” boot failures when using extreme cooling (such as liquid nitrogen). A “flashback” button above the back edge of the U.2 connector forces firmware updates using an onboard ASIC, which gets around the problem of updating for newer processor compatibility without having an older one handy.

The Z370 Godlike Gaming installation kit includes a driver disc, six SATA cables (four short, two long, three with a single 90° end), an I/O shield with two additional decorative covers, a USB expander connection cable, three cable-mounted thermistors, an RGB lighting Y-cable, an HB-SLI bridge, two Wi-Fi antennas, an internal USB 2.0 hub (labeled Xpander) with adhesive-backed Velcro mounting tape, an RGB strip, MSI’s Xpander-Z M.2 adapter, a case badge, and a large pile of documentation including cable label stickers.

M.2 Xpander-Z image ID: 708492

The M.2 Xpander-Z supports two M.2 drives using eight PCIe lanes. For optimal performance (and to support both modules), we’d recommend using it only in the third x16-length slot, and only with a single graphics card.

The included RGB LED is a rainbow model from Phanteks. Both accessory I/O shield covers are magnetic, and the USB “Xpander” breaks out a single two-port header to four two-port headers.

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Software & Firmware

Killer XTend adds a page to the familiar packet and bandwidth prioritization software that comes with Killer network gear. The name refers to its ability to extend your wireless network through your wired network, assuming your gaming system is distanced from your home’s primary wireless transceiver. We’re basically looking at an onboard Killer-enhanced router/access point, with traffic priority for the local PC among its benefits.

MSI App Manager provides a handy menu for most of MSI’s own applications, including Command Center, DPC Latency Tuner, Fast Boot, Gaming APP and Xboost for performance tuning, Mystic Light onboard lighting configuration, MSI’s RAMDisk utility, Smart Tool for adding drivers to a Windows 7 installation drive or ISO, and SuperCharger for USB, which unfortunately wasn’t compatible yet with this motherboard model.

The great news on MSI Command Center is that similar technologies have allowed it to work immediately, without requiring further post-launch updates. We had complete control of the CPU core multiplier, base clock, and core voltage from the time we installed it.

My initial intent to include completely new descriptions of the advanced menus of MSI Command Center gave way to the sheer number of unchanged screen shots, to the point where I decided that previous descriptions would be just as beneficial, while substantially reducing the load time of this page. Even the old Skylake model numbers remain on the Game Boost menu: Actual Game Boost frequencies for Coffee Lake are 1x-7x above the stock Intel Turbo Boost ratios in seven steps, each step likewise increasing CPU core voltage by ~50mV, culminating in a 5.4 GHz max O/C at a 1.50V max voltage when “dialed up to 11.” The actual Game Boost “levels” are numbered 1-2-4-6-8-10-11, where the 5.1 GHz “Level 6” gave us 5.0 GHz with a single-core fully-loaded, scaling down to 4.7 GHz as more cores were loaded. Progressively higher Game Boost levels caused progressively quicker thermal throttling.

MSI DPC Latency Tuner is a far more limited overclocking utility compared to Command Center.

MSI Gaming App also includes an overclocked mode, which is drawn from the “Level 1” settings of MSI Game Boost. Additional features include system status overlay for 3D apps, a digital screen control menu with “Eye Rest” mode to reduce blue light, a macro recorder with additional hot key options, a mouse configuration menu, and MSI VR Ready for quick shutdown of certain (unspecified) background processes.

MSI Dragon Eye allows overlaying online videos atop the play screens of certain games, which may be good for tutorials.

After using MSI Live Update to update all of the system’s drivers and applications, its menu serves as a reminder of the installations that failed (Intel SGX and MSI Super Charger), as well as the ones a user didn’t want to install.

MSI Mystic Light is still broken, although it now adds a feature to sync its lighting with that of other machines. I was able to make a few changes somewhat randomly before the program locked up completely. Its settings appear to be stored on a portion of system ROM that isn’t cleared when using the CLR_CMOS button, so the only way to restore default settings after a complete software failure was to uninstall and reinstall the program.

Each Z370 Godlike Gaming motherboard includes a full license for Nahimic 2 audio solution, which adds virtual 3D to stereo headphones, virtualizes 3D from non-encoded sources to multi-channel speaker systems, and adds visual source tracking to certain games.

MSI also includes a one-year subscription to XSplit Gamecaster, a three-month sub to TriDef VR, and a two-month license for WTFast VPN.

Firmware

We talked a bit about Game Boost on the previous page and above, and here’s the trick: It’s programed into the firmware. That means the knob works even without software, and the software settings simply call up the programming that’s associated with the knob. So, the knob is a human interface device for firmware.

The Z370 Godlike Gaming enters UEFI the first time to its EZ Mode interface, after which it remembers which mode was used at the previous interface exit. EZ Mode controls include storage controller settings and XMP-enable for performance memory.

We reached 4848 MHz at 48x 101 MHz on our Core i7-8700K using 1.30V, and DDR4-4040 at 15x 4/3x 101 MHz (x DDR, of course), with two modules installed. The maximum stable DRAM frequency dropped to DDR4-4000 with all four of our DDR4-3866 modules installed, and the closest DRAM setting to our desired 1.350V was 1.330V, which measured 1.346V at the DIMM slot. The next higher VDIMM setting—1.340V-set—produced 1.356V-measured, violating our 1.355V limit.

The Z370 Godlike Gaming includes a complete set of DRAM timing controls, but users should be aware that the board responds to overclocking past XMP-ratings by automatically loosening timings. We also found our memory stable at DDR4-4000 using its rated timings.

We were able to achieve a 1.30V core under load by using the Z370 Godlike Gaming’s 1.295V CPU core setting, in concert with its Mode 3 Loadline Calibration. A 72K temperature delta when running 12 threads of Prime95 prevented testing at higher voltage levels.

The Memory Z submenu goes several levels farther to display both SPD and XMP values.

The M-Flash option forces reboot to a special firmware updating mode.

MSI’s firmware ROM has enough space to store up to six custom configurations as overclocking profiles, and users are welcome to save and share their overclocking profiles by transferring them to and from a USB flash drive.

MSI’s hardware monitor menu has gotten extremely complex over the past few months, and still allows users to set their own fan maps if desired. All 10 fan headers can also be manually switched between PWM and voltage-based RPM control, or left to the motherboard’s automatic detection.

MSI Board Explorer shows our CPU, M.2, and memory, but doesn’t appear to notice whether the USB or SATA interfaces are connected.

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How We Test

Since this is the first Z370 motherboard in our review series, we’re including the data for one motherboard that hasn’t yet been reviewed, along with the data for two of the Core i7-8700K’s predecessors: The four-core Core i7-7700K that it replaces, and the six-core Core i7-7800X that features additional PCIe lanes and DDR4 channels at a similar price.

Back during the X299 launch, I upgraded my test bed to handle the tremendous heat produced by the Core i9-7900X. Our award-winning Fractal Design S24 liquid cooler system sample serves the same purpose for the newer, lower heat Core i7-8700K. Cooler Master’s HAF-XB provides an optimal layout to blow the Celsius S24’s fans sufficiently over each motherboard’s voltage regulator.

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results & Final Analysis

We collected a second Core i7-8700K data set for today’s motherboard analysis, and the review of the contributing motherboard is forthcoming. Data from the 8700K’s predecessors is an average of all previous tests from this lab, which includes every Z270 and our initial batch of X299 motherboards (later X299s were tested exclusively using the higher-model 7900X).

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetic benchmarks are great tools for finding weaknesses in specific hardware or configuration errors, but in the era of X299 platforms they’ve also highlighted the manner in which most enthusiast-class motherboards ignore Intel’s specified TDP, even when all of the CPU’s power management technologies are enabled. CPUs that lack that tendancy typically perform very similarly across different motherboard models, unless one of the manufacturers has snuck in an overclock.

The Z370 Godlike Gaming appears to be clocked a little higher than the Z370 Aorus Gaming 7, and that’s indeed the case: MSI’s 100 MHz BCLK is actually 100.5 MHz, which doesn’t sound like much, but the test result differences aren’t that big either. Clock differences are far greater for the earlier Core i7-7800X, which shines only in applications that can leverage its quad-channel memory bandwidth.

3D Games

The Z370 Godlike Gaming approximately doubles the lead imparted by its small overclock across most games compared to the Z370 Aorus Gaming 7. Differences between the Z370 platform’s Core i7-8700K and the Z270 platform’s Core i7-7700K are less clear in F1 2015, though motherboard drivers are as old as the review of each motherboard.

Talos Principle is supported by Nahimic audio solution, and while the software adds some nice virtualized 3D and even a handy tool to show you the direction from which a noise emanated (such as an opponent’s footsteps), it taxes the game’s framerates. The faded portion of the Z370 Godlike Gaming’s chart bars show the FPS available after disabling the audio software.

Timed Applications

The Z370 Godlike Gaming’s slight overclock pushes it to the forefront of most timed applications, although the Z370 Aorus Gaming 7 beat it in After Effects. Then again, so did the Core i7-7700K.

Power, Heat, & Efficiency

The Z370 Godlike Gaming is a real miser compared to the Z370 Aorus Gaming 7. Z270 tests include “lightweight” boards in compact form factors and lower feature markets (remember, it's an average), and the Godlike Gaming’s additional controllers can each eat several watts.

The Z370 Godlike Gaming’s lower power consumption enabled lower heat and better efficiency compared to the Gigabyte board. Meanwhile, the poor efficiency of the Core i7-7800X shows why buyers should consider the upgrade only if they need the extra PCIe lanes or additional memory bandwidth.

Overclocking

We’re accustomed to additional cores limiting our overclocks, yet the six-core Core i7-8700K used in our Z370 tests clocks better than the quad-core Core i7-7700K. We don’t see a difference between motherboards either, and having approached our thermal limit, couldn’t have appropriately applied more voltage.

We started adding an overclocked memory bandwidth chart after realizing that some manufacturers were using extremely loose secondary and tertiary timings to top the O/C chart. We don’t see that problem in any of the current boards, although Gigabyte does a better job than MSI of retaining the performance advantage of its memory O/C.

Value Conclusion

The Z370 Godlike Gaming has so many added features that it targets a higher market than the Z370 Aorus Gaming. Were we to go feature-by-feature through the list of triple gigabit Ethernet networking, plus Wi-Fi, four-way CrossFireX, Nahimic Audio (for those who use it), a freebie Rainbow light strip, an included USB 2.0 hub, and even PCIe x8 to dual M.2 adapter card, we’d still have a hard time justifying its doubled price. That still leaves room for an Editor’s Choice award however, since those are based only on product superiority.

Unfortunately, a plethora of features must be disabled so that others may be enabled, due to the limitations of Intel’s Z170/Z270/Z370 chipset (the rumored “hidden lanes” of the Z170 were made active in the Z270, and the Z370 doesn’t even pretend to be a new development). Those who can’t understand the true constraints of the Z370’s 30 HSIO connections need only look at the chart MSI publishes in its Z370 Godlike Gaming manual:

Those aren’t switching hubs folks, they’re regular “or” type switches. In fact, the only two ways we could think of to enable all Z370 Godlike Gaming features simultaneously would have been to use a giant 64-lane (PEX 8764) multi-casting switch, or to split the CPU’s lanes into x8/x8 and use separate switching hubs for the card slots and M.2/U.2 slots. I’m not even sure the CPU would support booting M.2 through such a device. And that just means that if this editor had to choose an ultimate motherboard based on these integrated features, the chosen board would need a 44-lane CPU. Fortunately, this editor’s needs aren’t that grand!

If all you need is a 6-core CPU, and you’re willing to pay for an abundance of features that can’t all be used at once, we have great news: The Z370 Godlike Gaming’s feature set is far above the average of X299 motherboards, and the savings on CPU cost puts it within reach. The Z370-compatible Core i7-8700K is also clocked much higher, and even overclocks better than the X299-compabile Core i7-7800X. It’s a great board with features that exceed the limitations of incorporation.

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We've had the Netgear ProSAFE M4200 Intelligent Edge Series switch in our lab for the last two months. This is the first affordable switch to support the 2.5GbE multi-gigabit standard for Wave2 11ac access points. Until Computex, we had no idea how to test the switch because network interface cards were not available.

In the Gigabyte suite, we stumbled across the new Intel X550-AT2 multi-gigabit network interface card (NIC). Intel quietly released the X550 series last month as the successor to the popular X540. The new X550 lowers power consumption and adds 5GbE and 2.5GbE modes.

Gigabyte plans to utilize the new Intel X550 NIC in a Thunderbolt 3 attached device that brings up to 10-gigabit Ethernet support to systems equipped with Thunderbolt 3.

Business First, Professional In 2017

The story here, though, is the two new speed classes that work over existing CAT 5e cabling and increase performance over the industry standard one-gigabit connection that dominates the market today.

The first big push for the new performance class comes from faster-than-gigabit Wi-Fi technology. The first in this new class comes from the 802.11ac Wave 2 standard with up to 1300Gb throughput. The new Netgear ProSAFE M4200 supports 8 power-over-Ethernet (POE) 2.5GbE multi-gigabit (two are 5GbE compatible) connections with dual 10GbE uplinks for eight non-blocking 802.11ac Wave 2 device deployments. The Netgear M4200 currently sells for less than $1,200 at Newegg. This product targets large offices that need high-speed wireless technology to support several users.

The Netgear M4200 feature set includes:

Eight full power PoE+ and multi-speed 1G, 2.5G ports combined with two 10G SFP+ uplinksAllows for a fully non-blocking deployment of eight Wave 2 11ac access points, with 240W PoE budget8 x 2.5G to the access points and 2 x 10G line-rate aggregation to the wiring closetTwo of these multi-speed 1G, 2.5G PoE+ ports also support 5G speed Netgear Multi-gigabit Ethernet is compatible with most major wireless and switching vendors Multi-speed 2.5G / 5G for 100 meter Cat5e / Cat6 cable runs with 1G backward compatibilityPlenum rated, slim design and mounting accessories allow one to place this switch to optimize access points placement and cabling efficiency, inside and outside the rackLifetime hardware warranty, Lifetime next business day and Lifetime online technical chat for investment protection and post-sales support.

This is just the start of the multi-gigabit roll out, and big businesses will adapt the new standards faster than any other user group. That doesn't mean the technology will stay in the medium- to large-size business arena for long, though. At Computex 2016, we learned that Marvell plans to supply network attached storage (NAS) vendors with the technology for products that will ship as early as January 2017.

Around the same time, we should see more consumer-focused products come to market in the form of routers, switches and high-speed wireless technology with multi-gigabit capabilities. We expect to see more interest in the technology as more products come to market. Multi-gigabit Ethernet is the web that ties new high-speed technologies together, like NVMe SSDs, mobile data connections, and the content that comes with it, such as 4K video and high-bit rate audio.

Chris Ramseyer is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware, covering Storage. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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Introduction And Specifications

Wi-Fi range extenders are popular for their ability to increase wireless network coverage without a bunch of messy cabling. The proliferation of handheld devices has changed the coverage needs of typical homes and businesses compared to a few years ago. When you find yourself with flagging performance or dead zones, you're either stuck running wires to deploy additional access points or using a device like Linksys' RE6700 extender, which we're reviewing today.

The AC1200 Amplify Wi-Fi Range Extender (RE6700) packs a lot of performance into a relatively small package. Don't let its dimensions fool you though—this range extender includes all of the features you'd expect from an AC1200-class device, along with some extras that make it one of the leaders in a crowded segment. Here are the specifications and key features you'll find in the RE6700.

Specifications

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Linksys' RE6700 boasts a newer 2.4GHz radio and the same 5GHz chip used in the RE6500 that we've tested before, so we expect similar class-leading performance from the RE6700. It offers simultaneous dual-band data rates up to 300 Mb/s in the 2.4GHz band and 867 Mb/s in the 5GHz band. The RE6700 also supports beamforming, which helps maintain better signal strength and throughput.

Because it is a Wi-Fi Certified product, the RE6700 should work with any other Wi-Fi-certified router, regardless of manufacturer. The only notable option missing is the ability to configure it as a wired access point. If you need that functionality, you'll have to look elsewhere.

One of the first things you'll notice about the RE6700 are its dual external antennas, which should help this device outperform some of its competition that utilizes internal antennas.

It was a good decision by Linksys to include a power pass-through port, as range extenders often consume a port needed by other nearby electronics. This is especially true if you intend to utilize another of the RE6700's key features: media bridging. Not every networkable device supports wireless connectivity, and the RE6700 can be used as a media bridge by connecting a network cable from the extender unit's GbE port to a smart TV or gaming system.

Linksys also includes its innovative Cross Band technology. Using it, the RE6700 can efficiently utilize multiple frequency bands to separate client streams from backhaul transmissions to the router, maximizing performance. This translates to greater throughput, eliminating the typical 50 percent penalty other repeaters incur when trying to transmit and repeat on the same radio channels.

In addition, the RE6700 supports the direct streaming of audio files from a plethora of DLNA-compatible host devices, including options for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS users. If the RE6700 is plugged in near a stereo, it can be the conduit for getting your digital music library into your audio system with just a simple cable. On its support website, Linksys even provides a guide for setting this up—it's quite a cool feature!

The RE6700 feels heavy-duty when you hold it in your hand. Its enclosure is smaller than many other devices in this category, and seems to be built to stay out of your way. The plain, white casing blends in with most décor, and the external antennas aren't too obtrusive. Overall, Linksys' construction is solid, improving on older models like the RE1000 and the RE2000.

Plugged into an outlet, the RE6700 leaves enough room to insert a three-prong plug above it. This is a welcome change from some of the other products in this category that not only consume an outlet, but are also so bulky that they block out other devices. At just 1.5 inches thick, the RE6700 isn't really obtrusive at all, and its wall-plug design saves valuable desktop space.  

Power pass-through on the RE6700 is achieved with a straight-through non-fused port, much like an extension of the wall plate itself. Linksys does not recommend using the pass-through port for a power strip, as it may interfere with antenna operation, but it should be fine for any other single-plug devices. It is rated for 110V devices at up to 14.5A.

A Closer Look

Aside from the unit itself, the RE6700 comes with a quick-start guide and a regulatory information pamphlet in the box. There's no need for an external power adapter since this is an integrated unit meant to be plugged directly into a wall socket. There is no software CD either; the RE6700 allows for a direct wired or wireless connection to it. And as long as the router you are extending has a working Internet connection, you can download the complete manual via a Web link provided in the quick-start guide.

Internals

Linksys' platform starts with a MediaTek MT7620A WiSoC (Wi-Fi system on a chip), which includes a 580MHz processor and 2.4GHz 2x2 MIMO radio. The 5GHz band is managed by MediaTek's MT7612E 2x2 MIMO chip. It uses a Winbond 25Q128FV2G 16MB flash chip for booting the device and firmware storage, and has 64MB of RAM on-board. Ethernet duties are handled by a Realtek RTL8211E GbE PHY, and the unit exposes a single 10/100/1000 port on the bottom. There is also a 3.5mm audio jack controlled by a Cirrus WM8960G codec with a Class D speaker driver, which can stream audio content from DLNA servers and requires powered speakers.

This is a very tightly integrated design, so the entire board is surrounded by heat sinks to dissipate the thermal energy generated by on-board components.

Once the main board is removed, you can see how the power components and wireless antenna connectors are arranged underneath it.

Management

The quick-start guide has only three steps to get you up and running, all of which can easily be accomplished with a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Once the device is plugged in and connected, you will be presented with this screen:

When you click Start, you will be taken to the license agreement information. It is a simple matter of accepting the terms, and clicking Next.

Then, you are presented with a list of nearby networks that you can extend. Our router is currently set to the default name of Linksys13789 (and its 5GHz counterpart), so we selected it from the list and clicked Next again.

The RE6700 automatically groups 2.4 and 5GHz networks from the same router, and can even repeat a single-band device if your main router supports only single-band service.

The setup process even offers a graphical representation of how good the location of the RE6700 is relative to your main router. This Spot Finder feature made it easy to fine-tune the RE6700's placement, which is critical for getting the best performance from any range extender.

If the extender is placed too far away from your router, the speed will be inadequate. If it's placed too close, it can actually interfere with the router. This visual indicator makes it easy to get placement just right.

Once you have the RE6700 running, there are other settings you can manage from the browser-based GUI. Anyone who has used a Linksys device will recognize the familiar categories, and the flow is similar to what you'd remember. You can change the network names, channel widths, security settings and so on, but also configure more advanced settings like Quality of Service and the aforementioned Cross Band settings (although, with Auto selected, the device manages the Cross Band feature well on its own).

Here are the various settings available in the management GUI for the Linksys RE6700.

While Linksys does a good job overall with this management interface, power users may miss certain features. One missing capability found on competing products is a speed indicator for the connection between the repeater and the router. This would have been helpful in troubleshooting performance issues with client devices attached to the repeater network. Also, some of the signal-strength indicators give you only a one-, two- or three-bar representation instead of actual RSSI measurements, without indicating the cutoff points. Does two bars mean -30 dBm, -40 dBm or -70 dBm?

The quality-of-service (QoS) settings are pared down to just two options, including WMM Support: Enabled/Disabled and No Acknowledgement: Enabled/Disabled. Gone is the ability to prioritize traffic by MAC, allocate bandwidth to specific applications and other QoS settings power users expect.

On a positive note, the WLAN statistics page shows a wealth of data to help detect issues like excessive dropped packets, which really helps when you're battling interference issues.

The site survey feature is also helpful for detecting and avoiding nearby networks, as proper channel selection is key to getting the best performance out of any wireless infrastructure.

Test Results And Conclusion

We conducted throughput tests with Ixia's IxChariot at ranges of five, 25, 50 and 75 feet in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands to evaluate the RE6700's performance. For comparison, we're including measurements from a number of recently-tested competitors. See How We Test Wireless Range Extenders for more details on our test methodology and setup.

At a range of five feet, Linksys' RE6700 more than doubles the performance we've seen from other AC1200-class extenders in the 2.4GHz band. The RE6700 obliterates its competition at this range.

Testing in the 5GHz band also shows the RE6700 leading, though by a much narrower margin. Netgear's EX6200 comes close in a comparison of maximum throughput, but doesn't match Linksys' average. 

At 25 feet, the RE6700 continues to lead in the 2.4GHz band. Throughput figures just under 17 Mb/s (minimum) and more than 25 Mb/s (average) mean the RE6700 can easily accommodate an HD video stream from most providers at this range.

The 5GHz band once again tightens the race, with Amped Wireless' REA20 catching up quite a bit. The RE6700 still takes the crown in our minimum and average throughput measurements though, and it's edged out slightly in maximum throughput by its older sibling, the RE6500.

At a range of 50 feet, our results become more interesting. The RE6700 is the maximum throughput leader, but Amped Wireless' REA20 scores a win in minimum and average throughput using the 2.4GHz band.

In the 5GHz band, Linksys' RE6700 is bested by Amped Wireless' offering in every metric except maximum throughput. They achieve similar averages, the RE6700 shows better maximum figures and the REA20 maintains superior minimums. Some of the other competitors also beat the RE6700 in maximum throughput. Regardless, the average figure is best for making real-world comparisons. The RE6700 and REA20 nearly tie in this particular test.

The graph above shows the measured wireless signal strength from several AC1200-class devices. The RE6700 is competitive at the beginning, and achieves the highest measurement at a range of 40 to 65 feet. Since this distance represents a typical usage case for a range extender, we can safely say the RE6700 meets or exceeds its competition in the 2.4GHz band for what most enthusiasts need from it.

The 5GHz band always reflects less signal strength than its 2.4GHz counterpart, and the graph above shows this for every device benchmarked. The RE6700 starts out stronger up to about 15 feet, and resumes its lead between 30 and 45 feet in our measurements. Beyond 45 feet, the Amped Wireless REA20 edges out the RE6700 in signal strength by a small margin.

We also conducted a separate test designed to investigate the RE6700's Cross Band feature. We connected a laptop via gigabit Ethernet on the bottom of the RE6700 and used it as a wireless bridge. We then tested the throughput with our extender at 50 feet away from the router.

The results are interesting. If we limit the extender to use only the 2.4GHz band, we see throughput that is higher than it would be with a wireless client device (wireless-to-wireless), but much lower than if we exclusively use the 5GHz band. If we force the RE6700 to not use the Cross Band feature, we see the penalty imposed by having it available to serve other wireless clients in the same band. This is how typical range extenders/repeaters work. When we enable Cross Band in auto mode, the stream reaches its maximum throughput figures, showing the feature's benefit.

We also wanted to see what impact, if any, the use of the pass-through port had on an attached device's power consumption. For this test, we connected a GE telephone and Dell monitor to the pass-through port, and used our Kill-A-Watt meter to test their power draw. We compared the results to the draw of the same devices plugged directly into a wall without the RE6700 in the mix.

The RE6700's impact is minimal (0.2W for the phone and 0.1W for the monitor). When we plug the Kill-A-Watt meter directly into the wall plate to measure combined wattage, we see even less effect. It appears that the RE6700 is an efficient device, and it has very little overall impact on attached devices.

Conclusion

Linksys' RE6700 raises the bar for performance at its price point. We were very impressed with its throughput, especially when you consider it costs $120. 

The lack of an AP mode and some other missing features are its downside, but you won't find a competing model that is easier to configure and use without spending significantly more money. Throw in the DLNA audio streaming feature, the power pass-through port and the media bridge option, and you have a small package that delivers big on functionality.

MORE: Wireless Range Extender 101
MORE: How We Test Wireless Range Extenders
MORE: AC1200 Wi-Fi Range Extender Round-Up


MORE: All Networking Content

Sand Dutcher is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware.

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A home wireless network is not only convenient nowadays, it's necessary, and a router is more than enough to provide coverage throughout our homes. But a router's coverage only extends so far; obstructions and large distances will diminish your Wi-Fi signal. The easiest solution to this is to install a wireless range extender, and TP-Link's new RE350K and RE590T offer just that.

The TP-Link RE350K is an AC1200 wall-pluggable range extender offering coverage of up to 10,000 square feet. The RE350K features LED indicators signifying optimal setup location and a single gigabit Ethernet port. Wi-Fi coverage is provided via two external dual-band antennas and 700mW high-powered amplifiers. Since the RE350K is a wall-plug range extender, it inherently features flexible non-obtrusive installation.

TP-Link's RE590T is an AC1900 desktop range extender that, like the RE350K, features 10,000 square feet of coverage and 700mW high-powered amplifiers. Since the RE590T is a desktop extender, it doesn't offer discreet and flexible placement like a wall-plugged extender would. But as a desktop solution, it offers a 1GHz dual-core processor, three external dual-band antennas and four gigabit Ethernet ports. The RE590T also features a 4.3 inch touch screen display that allows users to easily set up and manage the extender without having to access a web interface.

The RE590T range extender can be managed through TP-Link's Tether app, which is available for both Android and iOS devices. On the other hand, the RE350K is managed through  TP-Link's Kasa app, which makes optimal installation placement even easier. Both extenders also have beamforming technology and advanced security encryption. The RE350K and RE590T are intended to work with any router or access point, so potential buyers need not worry about compatibility issues.

The TP-Link RE350K and RE590T Wi-Fi Range Extenders are available on TP-Link's website and major retailers for $99.99 and $149.99 respectively.

Alexander Quejado is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware and Tom's IT Pro. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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Introduction

What, exactly, does a router do? And how does it do it? Although the answer to the first question can be relatively simple—a router routes data packets along networks—all of the complexity lies in "how."

Routers come in many shapes and sizes: a room full of rack-mounted, dedicated systems for enterprise clouds; off-the-shelf commercial boxes from manufacturers like Linksys or D-Link; and DIY solutions the size of a deck of cards, built on hobbyist platforms like Raspberry Pi.

Leaving aside the overall meta architecture of packet exchange, the core hardware of a modern commercial router (aimed at the small business and home networking markets) distinguishes it from enterprise or application-specific solutions. Specifically, such a router emphasizes convenience. Single devices act as a DSL modem, router, wireless access point, media server and connection to the smart kitchen sink. Also, the processor and connectivity are geared toward a completely different profile (high-bandwidth use for gaming and streaming, along with simultaneous connections from multiple devices, including smartphones and fridges) than enterprise-oriented platforms.

This article focuses on the hardware that runs modern consumer routers. And in today's routers, SoC (system on a chip) solutions are universal—all of the hardware we cover comes in the form of integrated SoCs. These multi-function systems comprise a variety of configurations with different capabilities, making it more difficult to dig into their respective architectures; but they simplify the router design process. There are far fewer devices to consider when a single board comes with everything built onto it.

That doesn't mean completely integrated systems are the only off-the-shelf setups worth considering, though. Even in the world of SoCs, factors like cost, power consumption and OEM requirements do create a world of chimeric SoC solutions, with multiple high-power radios or transceivers pressed in to service a higher-level processor/memory board, or an xDSL modem connected to one of the ports of a more general-purpose processor. Solutions with discrete RAM or flash memory modules and transceivers with separate radio chips do exist, but they are few and far between. And so we focus on the two classes of SoCs that are most often seen in the wild: processor/all-in-one chips and transceivers.

A Note On Software/Firmware

Commercial routers overwhelmingly favor Linux as an operating system, and often employ a customized version. A lightweight Web server is almost always installed as well for user-controlled device configuration.

Another OS, VxWorks, is used only in enterprise-class systems, but it merits a mention if only because it is used on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and I would buy a commercial router running VxWorks regardless of how unwieldy the final system becomes.

Finally, an open, Linux-based standard, OpenWrt, is being embraced by more OEMs, even though it was previously mostly used by prosumer hobbyists.

MORE: Wireless Routers 101
MORE: All Networking ContentMORE: Networking in the Forums

Router SoC Functional Components

In a router SoC, packetized data arrives through input ports, is directed using a network of connections called the Switching Fabric (which can be thought of as wires connecting each component to every other), and leaves through output ports.

The router SoC keeps, in memory, a look-up table of addresses associated with each packet, and the processor uses various rule sets to determine the best path for sending data. It also listens in to keep tabs on network traffic, updating its "available" and/or "best" path for packets based on load levels.

The SoC's on-board memory maintains routing tables, consisting of network and host addresses. To determine the best path for delivering a packet to its destination, the routing table includes all known network addresses, instructions for connecting to other networks, possible paths between routers and a measure of distance between nodes or network addresses known in the form of cost functions. This on-board memory usually takes the form of flash  or EEPROM. The size of the memory chip is less important than its speed.

By their nature, routers do not communicate directly with end devices like laptop or desktop computers, but with their network adapters. Each NIC has a network address—Ethernet switches, adapters, Wi-Fi transceivers and radios are all NICs.

Additional hardware can provide dedicated support to the main CPU. A cryptographic chip can offload encryption and hashing functions from the main processor. A dedicated load balancer can jump in to optimize different types of data streams—streaming video versus regular Web page browsing, for example. USB, SATA and other types of capabilities on routers are also added in the form of interface cards, often integrated right into the main processor board.

The architecture gets more complex when you consider that many routers also provide an xDSL, cable or cellular data modem. In this case, the router's interface card is the component that mediates data between the modem and switching fabric.

A modem modulates and demodulates digital signals into analog and vice versa, to be sent out over the "line"—cable or xDSL. However, we will not cover cellular modems in this article; those require architecture and protocol different from xDSL or cable modems.

Processors And Transceivers

The Processor

Any host processor can, theoretically, act as a networking processor, but the hardware in commercial routers is optimized to handle very specific networking tasks. These include key look-up (database look-up using a key), computation, data bit-field manipulation, queue management, pattern matching and control processing. A GPU, for example, would yield less-than-optimal results as the brains of a router (though the reverse problem, gaming on a networking processor, would run up against fundamental limits pretty quickly).

Before HD (or 4K) streaming video, multiple devices communicating over the same home network or intensive network gaming, wasting a multi-core processor on routing tasks was unheard of, even in the prosumer segment. Clearly, this has changed. Processor performance, especially on older routers, can bottleneck the bandwidth of ISPs serving gigabit-class Internet.

Beyond cores and clock rates, CPU specifications can quickly become mind-numbing. But in the networking world, they can generally be split into their instruction set architectures (ISAs): ARM and MIPS.

Of course, there are other architectures other than ARM and MIPS used in networking devices. These are usually dedicated co-processors like DSPs, cryptographic processors, media accelerators and so on.

ARM

ARM Cortex-A refers to a series of microprocessors designed by ARM Holdings PLC. The company doesn't manufacture the hardware, but instead licenses its designs. The suffix "A" stands for "applications," hinting that the A series is meant for general-purpose use. There are also "M" (for microcontroller) and "R" (for real-time) families.

The implementations most commonly found in modern networking devices are the older Cortex-A9 or Cortex-A5 chips. Both are based on the 32-bit ARMv7 architecture.

The Cortex-A9 was introduced in 2007. It features L1 instruction and data caches that can be configured independently to 16, 32 or 64KB; up to 8MB of L2 cache and clock rates as high as 2GHz. Cortex-A9 processors are included in many current SoCs, including the Apple A5 and A5X; Broadcom BCM11311; Nvidia Tegra 2, 3 and 4i; and even Sony's PlayStation Vita.

The Cortex-A5 hit the market in 2009 as a less powerful alternative to the A9 for low-end and mid-range consumer devices. It's available with between one and four cores, and includes from 4KB to 64KB of L1 instruction/data cache. It is used on many transceiver SoCs.

MIPS

The MIPS architecture (short for microprocessor without interlocked pipeline stages) was introduced in 1981 by John L. Hennessy of Stanford University. It is currently developed by MIPS Technologies, which has been part of the UK-based Imagination Technologies group since 2013. MIPS uses a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) architecture, enabling specialized chips with low power consumption that are widely used in embedded systems for routers. There are two instruction set versions currently in use: the 32-bit MIPS32 and 64-bit MIPS64. Both were introduced in 1999.

MIPS32 is used in various microarchitecture families—namely, 4K/E, 24K/E, 34K, 74K, 1004K, 1074K/f, microAptiv, interAptiv and proAptiv. The latter three are the most current, introduced in 2012.

The microAptiv, interAptiv and proAptiv microarchitectures typically come with 32x 32-bit general-purpose registers (up to 64x are allowed). The architecture allows for up to 8MB L2 cache, and current implementations operate at frequencies as high as 1.5GHz. MIPS32 is meant to be upward-compatible with MIPS64, which means its features are supposed to be a subset of what MIPS64 offers. Both utilize fixed-length commands in a three-operand format and a load/store data model, catering to high-level programming languages.

Chips based on MIP32 include Broadcom's BMIPS3000, BMIPS4000 and BMIPS 5000; BCM53001 and BCM1255; Ingenic Semiconductor XBurst 1; and Baikal Electronics P5600. Chips using the 64-bit MIP64 architecture include Broadcom's BCM1125H and BCM1255; the Cavium octa-core processors CN30xx, CN31xx, CN36xx and CN38xx; Octeon Plus: CN5xxx, Octeon II: CN6xxx, and Octeon III: CN7xxx; Ingenic Semiconductor XBurst 2, NEC VR4305 and VR4310.

Transceivers

A transceiver is a device that combines a data transmitter and receiver in a single package. Most commercial routers have transceivers with integrated radio/antenna systems, and most often, a small controller or dedicated chip on the board handles radio functions. While "transceivers" are most commonly associated with radio frequency (RF) signals, they have analogs in other transmission standards, though few (if any) of these analogs will be seen in a commercial router for home/small-business use. The Ethernet versions of transceivers are MAUs (medium attachment units), while fiber and 10GbE have their own set of acronyms (GBIC, XAUI, etc.) to describe transceiver devices.

Although the trend toward complete SoC solutions continues unabated, many new devices tend to take the transceiver plus processor card approach. Ensuring backward compatibility with older 802.11b/g/n networks—and avoiding a complete redesign with a router refresh, where new functionality can be thrown in just by adding another card—is a big factor. It should also be noted that many packages called "SoCs" omit the actual transmission-receipt function, instead providing a PCI/PCIe slot for the router manufacturer to fill with a network card.

Chipsets

Chipsets

The landscape of networking device manufacturers has changed drastically within the past five years. The big names—Ralink, Ubicom, Atheros—are gone, absorbed by bigger companies. The ground is now held by two giants: Broadcom and Qualcomm. A relative newcomer to the field, MediaTek, is holding its own through the strength of acquisitions. Smaller manufacturers like Marvell and Quantenna have also introduced SoCs used in many mid- and high-end routers, while the networking division of RealTek supplies D-Link and Huawei with chips.

In 2015, there were some new technologies that affected the giant-dominated line-up, including 5G Wi-Fi Wave 2, 4x4 and 8x8 MU-MIMO. All of the players have exciting offerings, and some of the smaller companies (Quantenna, specifically, with its 10G SoCs) had a lead on Broadcom and Qualcomm at CES 2015.

Chipset Vendors: Broadcom

Broadcom is the wireless and broadband component manufacturing industry's leader. Its undisputed strength lies in its transceivers and radios, which are even used in conjunction with competing router SoCs.

Broadcom Router SoCs

Introduced in 2013, the StrataGX BCM5862X series is part of Broadcom’s Northstar Plus family, featuring single- or dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processors at 1.2GHz. They connect to two transceivers via PCIe, and are designed for 5G Wi-Fi in combination with capable transceivers. With two SATA 6Gb/s interfaces, a cryptographic accelerator and fast memory, the BCM5862X series is intended for storage appliances.

The BCM5301x and BCM470X lines brought 802.11ac-specific support to the Broadcom portfolio in 2012. The 5301x is the enterprise/small business version of the 470x series suitable for residential routers and gateways, and both are manufactured on a 40nm processes. The 4709/AO/CO chips succeeded the popular 4708 series; the AO model was released in 2013, followed by a base model in 2014. The newest member of the family, the BCM4709CO, came out in 2015 (and is also listed as the BCM47094).

Broadcom's latest and greatest for "affordable and mid-tier" residential/small-business routers, the BCM47189 and the BCM53573, were introduced in January 2015 at CES. They are (probably) meant to be paired with the BCM4366 5G Wi-Fi 4x4 MU-MIMO transceiver (radio) chip. Broadcom also announced its enterprise- and cloud-oriented SoCs from the same family, the 43465/43525 and the 47452.

An ADSL router SoC, the BCM6318 is designed for integration with entry-level networking devices, providing an all-in-one solution for turnkey router development.

Another integrated modem/router solution with an external wireless NIC, the BCM63268, is one of the most widely used chips for xDSL platforms. It is designed to work in conjunction with the BCM2057 radio. The 63168 provides VoIP support (multi-channel HD voice) and is designed for use with the BCM4360 5G Wi-Fi transceiver.

The BCM4706 sits right at the edge of obsolescence, but a number of popular, low-end routers from 2012 and 2013 use this chipset. Its dual PCIe interfaces are designed to pair with a BCM4331 802.11n 3x3 Wi-Fi transceiver, and it operates both in selectable and simultaneous dual-band configurations.

Broadcom Transceivers

The BCM4352, BCM4360, BCM43526 and BCM43516 were a family of Gigabit 5G chips introduced in 2012 meant for the consumer market. They differ mostly in nominal speeds; the BCM4360 is the fastest, at 1.3 Gb/s via three streams, the BCM4352 and BCM43526 offer two streams at 867 Mb/s and the BCM43516 comes in last, providing 433 Mb/s. The BCM43526 comes with USB instead of a PCIe interface and targets set-top boxes and televisions. The BCM4360 is widely used in wireless routers like Asus' RT-AC56S and RT-AC56U; D-Link's DIR-860L; Linksys' EA6200, EA6300 and EA6350; and Netgear's D6200, EX6200 and R6200, among others.

The BCM43131 is a Wi-Fi chipset from 2013 with PCIe interface and support for Wi-Fi standards 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n. Equipped with a BCM2057 radio chip, it is used in wireless routers from Tenda, namely the D152, W150D v6 and W311E.

An earlier incarnation of this chipset, the BCM43217 (2012) is equipped with the BCM2055 radio, and supports b/g/n. It was used in wireless routers from a number of vendors, including Asus' RT-AC56S and –U; Belkin's F9K1113 and 1118; Linksys' EA6200, EA6300, EA6350 and EA6400; and Netgear's DGN2200, R6200 and R6250.

Introduced in 2014 as a 3x3 MIMO 802.11ac chip for routers, the BCM43602 is equipped with a 320MHz single-core processor and comes with a PCIe interface. Broadcom rates its peak performance at 900 Mb/s. The chip has been used in multiple routers, including Asus' RT-AC3200; the Linksys EA9200; Netgear's D7000 and R8000; and the TP-Link Archer C3200.

Announced in January 2015 as Broadcom's then-fastest 4x4 MU-MIMO chip, the BCM4366 is a 5G radio unit meant to be used in high-end consumer devices. The BCM4366 comes with an 800MHz Cortex-A7 processor. Its Wi-Fi speed is a nominal 5.4 Gb/s (in theory, since, in practice, most consumer devices are unable to saturate it). More important is the MU-MIMO capability, allowing the BCM4366 to handle up to eight clients simultaneously. The radio spans 160MHz, which, unfortunately, also means that only two such networks fit in the 5GHz band without overlap.

Chipset Vendors: Qualcomm

Atheros absorbed Airgo Networks in 2006, making it a heavyweight in the wireless domain. Qualcomm, originally not a player in the commercial networking field, announced a takeover of Atheros in 2011, and Atheros became a subsidiary named Qualcomm Atheros. Qualcomm Atheros went on to acquire Ubicom for its SoC IP in 2012, and Wilocity in 2014 for its 802.11ad expertise. Another interesting Qualcomm Atheros acquisition from September 2011—Bigfoot Networks, a manufacturer of networking solutions for gaming applications—struck out on its own as Rivet Networks. Its SoCs and NICs are marketed under Killer Networking's name, and show up in high-performance gaming motherboards.

Qualcomm Router SoCs

The IPQ40X8/X9 is Qualcomm's latest Wave 2 MU-MIMO SoC. Because it was introduced in October 2015, information on this chipset is still scarce. But we do have some of its specifications.

The A/IPQ806X chipset family is designed to enable "smart-home" platforms, and it borrows from the MSM8974's mobile pedigree to do it. The 2012 APQ8064 used the same Snapdragon S4 processor as the MSM8974 and had a 3G/4G modem, whereas the IPQ8064/62 looks more like a traditional router platform but with a plethora of slots and ports, as well as SDIO support.

We wouldn't normally include the QC401X and QCA4531 chipsets, since they're targeted at low-power devices for IoT networks, but their newness merits a mention. Qualcomm’s newest WiSoCs, the low-end RTOS-driven QCA401X family and the QCA4531 SoC that runs OpenWrt Linux, support the AllJoyn IoT standard running off a 650MHz, MIPS 24Kc-based processor.

A very popular chipset family, the QCA95xx was introduced in 2013 and was refreshed in 2014. It's found in routers from pretty much every vendor.

Qualcomm Transceivers

The QCA9880 is a 3x3 dual-band radio chip introduced in 2013. It's meant to be paired with the QCA9558 SoC, providing up to 1.7 Gb/s. It is used in various routers, including Cisco's DPC3941; D-Link's DIR-859, DIR-862L and DIR-863; Linksys' E8350; Netgear's C6300 and R7500; and TP-Link Archer's C5, C7, D7, TGR1900 and TL-WDR7500.

The QCA9882 is a 2x2 dual-band radio chip introduced in 2013; its the QCA9880's "little brother," despite its higher model number, and it complements the QCA9880 for home networking. The QCA9890 and QCA9892 are their counterparts for enterprise solutions. The QCA9882 is rated for up to 1.3 Gb/s and is used in various routers, including Asus' RT-AC55U and RT-AC55UHP; D-Link's DAP-2660 and DGL-5500; and Netgear's D6200, JR6100, R6000 and R6100.

In the same family, the QCA9890 and the QCA9892 were also introduced in 2013 as 2x2 and 3x3 dual-band radio chips. They both provide up to 1.3 Gb/s utilizing the 802.11ac standard. The difference between them lies in their number of streams. QCA9890 is the "bigger" of the two, complementing chips for enterprise solutions featuring three streams. The QCA9890 only offers two streams. The QCA9890 has been used in AirTight Networks C-75 and -E, as well as Gateworks Ventana GW3056.

The QCA9860 and the QCA9862 are stand-alone combo chips that complement the above families of radio chips introduced in 2013. The bigger of the couple is the QCA9860, offering three streams, whereas the smaller one, the QCA9862, only offers two. Both reach up to 1.3 Gb/s. Unlike the QCA9880/82 and QCA9890/92, which are meant to be paired with an SoC solution, the QCA9860 and QCA9862 are stand-alone SoCs.

Chipset Vendors: MediaTek

Taiwanese chipset manufacturer MediaTek started out in the optical drive and home entertainment segments, then moved to dominate the smartphone and mobile chipset markets. In 2011, the company bought Wi-Fi chipset manufacturer Ralink, whose chips could be found in every router vendor's devices, marking its entry into the networking chipset space. Ralink itself had previously purchased its major competitor TrendChip in 2010, acquiring ADSL SoC expertise.

MediaTek Router SoCs

MediaTek's integrated SoC offering, the MT7623A/N, was announced in Q2 2015, with optimizations for audio/video streaming. With a storage accelerator and the OpenWrt standard, this chip has the flexibility to enable very capable NAS setups as well.

Intended for IoT gateways and media routers, the MT7683 was announced in Q3 2015, and it differs from the MT7623A/N systems in some key areas—noticeably, the introduction of a Mali 450 GPU. This allows the 7683 to display the status of connected IoT devices on a monitor or TV. IoT control is provided by the MT7687 SoC, MediaTek's first ARM Cortex-M4-based IoT Wi-Fi solution.

The MT7683/23 chips support a number of content streams over cable, Bluetooth and BLE for wearable devices. NFC is enabled for quick setup. Wi-Fi is delivered via the powerful 802.11ac Wave 2 MTC7615 transceiver, announced in Q1 2015.

A power-efficient IoT SoC, the MT7687, was announced in Q2 2015. With a maximum power output of 21 dBm, this chip works as a stand-alone IoT gateway or with the MT7683 as a powerful smart-home solution.

MediaTek's most popular offerings are MIPS-based SoCs. The MT7621 A/N/S powers everything from mid-tier routers to access points. Another comprehensive low- to mid-range SoC, the MT7620, is also used in a variety of networking applications, and is extremely popular across all market segments. The MT7628 family is an update to the popular 7620.

An integrated xDSL (VDSL2/ADSL2+ IAD) and router solution, the MT751x series, is designed for a flexible networking system design, also containing a little bit of everything. Interestingly, these chips adopt a twin-CPU solution consisting of a 32-bit MIPS CPU and an xDSL Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT) engine.

Although Ralink was absorbed by MediaTek, its last few chips were showing up in routers as late as 2013. And the sheer number of devices powered by Ralink silicon means you can't quite forget about the company's SoCs. The 6855 was the last Ralink chip to show up for FCC approval in 2013. Both the 6856 and the 6855 were powered by the dual-core MIPS 34KEc 700 processor. The RT63XXX family of xDSL router SoCs were still being used for new devices as late as 2014 by a loyal TP-Link (in one case, married to a MediaTek transceiver; TP-Link's TD-W8951ND v6 was powered by Ralink's RT63365E and MediaTek's MT7601E).

Smaller Chipset Manufactures

Marvell Technology Group creates SoCs for networking devices, often pairing them with Broadcom transceivers. Chips in Marvell's Armada 38x family are equipped with ARMv7 Cortex-A9 dual-core processors (with the 88F6810 chip, Armada 380, being an exception). They feature GbE, DDR3/3L/4, PCIe 2.0 links and a host of other features that make Marvell competitive. We're not seeing many devices with the company's hardware, though. Armada XP (MV78XXX) chips, with up to a quad-core ARM v7 PJ4 processors, seem to share the same fate.

A new addition to Marvell's Avastar SoC family was announced in Q1 2015, targeted at enterprise APs, hotspots and residential multi-stream (video or gaming) applications. An earlier iteration, the 88W8864, supported up to 1.3 Gb/s and 4x4 MIMO. It was used in the Linksys WRT1200AC and WRT1900AC wireless routers.

We're calling it a "smaller" manufacturer, but in reality, Realtek is one of the largest chip makers in the world. But the company's networking segment peaked with its 10/100 Ethernet controllers. Its wireless offering haven't enjoyed the same level of market penetration. So it's not the most popular chip on the block, but it does deserve a mention: the 2013 ADSL2+ modem/router from RealTek, based on its Lextra LX processor (a 32-bit implementation of the MIPS architecture) held its own for a while. It was used in D-Link's DSL-2740E, Huawei's WS319 and other routers.

Quantenna specializes in wireless SoC transceivers. Its R&D focused on high-end 802.11ac and 802.11n devices. Competing neck and neck with the giants of the industry, Quantenna introduced a number of new devices in 2015, all on the cutting edge. It was first to launch a 4x4 MU-MIMO 802.11ac chipset, and has demonstrated a 10G system. The QSR2000 Wave 2 is a transceiver designed for high-speed Wi-Fi routers. It is marketed as an integrated chipset for 802.11an/ac or 802.11b/g/n Wave 2 applications, dual-band switchable, with 4x4 MU-MIMO four spatial streams. It has 80MHz channels (for the 5GHz band), PCIe 2.0 connectivity and a peak PHY of 1700 Mb/s.

The QSR10G family of chipsets supports 10Gb speeds. There are four variants, ranging from the "U"—a top-tier 12-stream, dual-band device with a peak PHY rate of 10 Gb/s—down to the "5" variant, with eight-stream 5GHz single-band operation with a peak PHY rate of 8.6 Gb/s.

The Future Of Router SoCs

Just as in-home HD video and game streaming drove the innovations behind MU-MIMO and Wave 2 wireless, IoT and smart-home initiatives are poised to drive capabilities in the next generation of routers. Expect to see more and more devices capable of handling low-power, low-data rate, always-on clients in addition to existing high-end capabilities. Qualcomm is already making forays into this area, and Broadcom will not be far behind. Intel is also collaborating with cellular modem manufacturers and has a grand IoT vision, so expect to see new players in the field.

Another series of innovations will target mobile routers—those with integrated cellular modems. With the number of travelers carrying two or more computing devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets, smartwatches), the demand for small, integrated wireless router/cellular modem combination devices is expected to rise. MediaTek has a solid lead here, with its dominance of the cellular modem/device market, but expect to see solutions pairing MediaTek, Quantenna and Broadcom modems with other router SoCs, whereas Qualcomm will probably provide fully integrated solutions out of the box. We even expect to see Western Digital add more high-end devices to its current mobile line-up.

Another paradigm change is the use of the OpenWrt OS, as more manufacturers embrace its standards and compatibility. Also expect to see greater emphasis on security, in parallel with hardware features designed to support "smart router" functions (i.e., remote administration via smartphone or Web apps, which at the moment, is a feature solely up to individual router manufacturers to implement).

On the negative side, the 2.4 and 5GHz bands used for Wi-Fi are becoming more crowded. Interference from multiple devices on these bands, especially in public and enterprise Wi-Fi spaces, means interference and higher error rates, all of which serve to slow down individual connections regardless of actual hardware capabilities. As this is somewhat of a physics-imposed limitation, expect to see active workarounds that include the shunting of smart-home-appliance and IoT connections to other transmission bands.

The 802.11ah extension to the 802.11 Wi-Fi standard allows the use of sub-1GHz bands for Wi-Fi communications, and will be up for approval in its entirety in March 2016. A sub-component to the “ah” extension, the “HaLow” standard operates on the 900MHz band and was recently approved by the Wi-Fi Alliance. It allows for low-power and high-obstacle-penetration operations.

The next iteration of conventional 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi is expected to be the 802.11ax standard, still in early stages of development, but which promises 10 Gb/s speeds. Finally, expect further work on all the other iterations of 802.11 standards that utilize bands other than the 2.4GHz and 5GHz, specifically 802.11af that uses the unused TV bands (UHF/VHF white-space spectrum) between 54 and 790MHz.

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Introduction

A wireless router is the central piece of gear for a residential network. It manages network traffic between the Internet (via the modem) and a wide variety of client devices, both wired and wireless. Many of today's consumer routers are loaded with features, incorporating wireless connectivity, switching, I/O for external storage devices as well as comprehensive security functionality. A wired switch, often taking the form of four gigabit Ethernet ports on the back of most routers, is largely standard these days. A network switch negotiates network traffic, sending data to a specific device, whereas network hubs simply retransmit data to all of the recipients. Although dedicated switches can be added to your network, most home networks don't incorporate them as standalone appliances. Then there's the wireless access point capability. Most wireless router models support dual bands, communicating over 2.4 and 5GHz and many are also able to connect to several networks simultaneously.

Part of trusting our always-on Internet connections is the belief that private information is protected at the router, which incorporates features to limit home network access. These security features can include a firewall, parental controls, access scheduling, guest networks and even a demilitarized zone (DMZ), referring to the military concept of a buffer zone between neighboring countries). The DMZ, also called a perimeter network, is a subnetwork where vulnerable processes like mail, Web and FTP servers can be placed so that, if it is breached, the rest of the network isn't compromised. The firewall is a core component in today's story. In fact, what differentiates a wireless router from a dedicated switch or wireless access point is the firewall. Although Windows has its own software-based firewall, the router's hardware firewall forms the first line of defense in keeping malicious content off the home network. The router's firewall works by making sure packets were actually requested by the user before allowing them to pass through to the local network.

Finally, you have peripheral connectivity like USB and eSATA. These ports make it possible to share external hard drives or even printers. They offer a convenient way to access networked storage without the need for a dedicated PC with a shared disk or NAS running 24/7.

Some Internet service providers (ISPs) integrate routers into their modems, yielding an "all-in-one" device. This is done to simplify setup, so the ISP has less hardware to support. It can also be advantageous to space-constrained customers. However, in general, these integrated routers do not get firmware updates as frequently, and they're often not as robust as stand-alone routers. An example of a combo modem/router is Netgear's Nighthawk AC1900 Wi-Fi cable modem router. In addition to its 802.11ac wireless connectivity, it offers a DOCSIS 3.0 24 x 8 broadband cable modem.

DOCSIS stands for "data over cable service interface specifications," and version 3.0 is the current cable modem spec. DOCSIS 1.0 and 2.0 defines a single channel for data transfers, while DOCSIS 3.0 specifies the use of multiple channels to allow for faster speeds. Current DOCSIS 3.0 modems commonly use 8, 12 or 16 channels, with 24-channel modems also available. Each channel offers a theoretical maximum download speed of 38 Mb/s and a maximum upload speed of 27 Mb/s. The standard's next update, DOCSIS 3.1, promises to offer download speeds of up to 10 Gb/s and upload speeds of up to 1 Gb/s.

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Wi-Fi Standards

The oldest wireless routers supported 802.11b, which worked on the 2.4GHz band and topped out at 11 Mb/s. This original Wi-Fi standard was approved in 1999, hence the name 802.11b-1999 (later it was shortened to 802.11b).

Another early Wi-Fi standard was 802.11a, also ratified by the IEEE in 1999. It operated on the less congested 5GHz band and maxed out at 54 Mb/s, although real-world throughput was closer to half that number. Given a shorter wavelength than 2.4GHz, the range of 802.11a was shorter, which may have contributed to less uptake. While 802.11a enjoyed popularity in some enterprise applications, it was largely eclipsed by the more pervasive 802.11b in homes and small businesses. Notably, 802.11a's 5GHz band became part of later standards.

Eventually, 802.11b was replaced by 802.11g on the 2.4GHz band, upping throughput to 54 Mb/s. It all makes for an interesting history lesson, but if your wireless equipment is old enough for that information to be relevant, it's time to consider an upgrade.

802.11n

In the fall of 2009, 802.11n was ratified, paving the way for one device to operate on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Speeds topped out at 600 Mb/s. With N600 and N900 gear, two separate service set identifiers (SSIDs) were transmitted—one on 2.4GHz and the other on 5GHz—while less expensive N150 and N300 routers cut costs by transmitting only on the 2.4GHz band.

Wireless N networking introduced an important advancement called MIMO, an acronym for "multiple input/multiple output." This technology divides the data stream between multiple antennas. We'll go into more depth on MIMO shortly.

If you're satisfied with the performance of your N wireless gear, then hold onto it for now. After all, it does still exceed the maximum throughput offered by most ISPs. Here are some examples of available 802.11n product speeds:

802.11ac

The 802.11ac standard, also known as Wireless AC, was released in January 2014. It broadcasts and receives on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, but the 2.4GHz frequency on an 802.11ac router is really a carryover of 802.11n. That older standard maxed out at 150 Mb/s on each spatial stream, with up to four simultaneous streams, for a total throughput of 600 Mb/s.

In 802.11ac MIMO was also refined with increased channel bandwidth and support for up to eight spatial streams. Beamforming was introduced with Wireless N gear, but it was proprietary, and with AC, it was standardized to work across different manufacturers' products. Beamforming is a technology designed to optimize the transmission of Wi-Fi around obstacles by using the antennas to direct and focus the transmission to where it is needed.

With 802.11ac firmly established as the current Wi-Fi standard, enthusiasts shopping for routers should consider one of these devices, as they offer a host of improvements over N gear. Here are some examples of available 802.11ac product speeds:

The maximum throughput achieved is the same on AC1900 and AC3200 for both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. The difference is that AC3200 can transmit two simultaneous 5GHz networks to achieve such a high total throughput.

The latest wireless standard with products currently hitting the market is 802.11ac Wave 2. It implements multiple-user, multiple-input, multiple-output, popularly referred to as MU-MIMO. In broad terms, this technology provides dedicated bandwidth to more devices than was previously possible.

Wi-Fi Features

SU-MIMO And MU-MIMO

Multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), first seen on 802.11n devices, takes advantage of a radio phenomenon known as multipath propagation, which increases the range and speed of Wi-Fi. Multipath propagation is based on the ability of a radio signal to take slightly different pathways between the router and client, including bouncing off intervening objects as well as floors and ceilings. With multiple antennas on both the router as well as the client—and provided they both support MIMO—then using antenna diversity can combine simultaneous data streams to increase throughput.

When MIMO was originally implemented, it was SU-MIMO, designed for a Single User. In SU-MIMO, all of the router's bandwidth is devoted to a single client, maximizing throughput to that one device. While this is certainly useful, today's routers communicate with multiple clients at one time, limiting the SU-MIMO's technology's utility.

The next step in MIMO's evolution is MU-MIMO, which stands for Multiple User-MIMO. Whereas SU-MIMO was restricted to a single client, MU-MIMO can now extend the benefit to up to four. The first MU-MIMO router released, the Linksys EA8500, features four external antennas that facilitate MU-MIMO technology allowing the router to provide four simultaneous continuous data streams to clients.

Before MU-MIMO, a Wi-Fi network was the equivalent of a wired network connected through a hub. This was inefficient; a lot of bandwidth is wasted when data is sent to clients that don't need it. With MU-MIMO, the wireless network becomes the equivalent of a wired network controlled by a switch. With data transmission able to occur simultaneously across multiple channels, it is significantly faster, and the next client can "talk" sooner. Therefore, just as the transition from hub to switch was a huge leap forward for wired networks, so will MU-MIMO be for wireless technology.

Beamforming

Beamforming was originally implemented in 802.11n, but was not standardized between routers and clients; it essentially did not work between different manufacturers' products. This was rectified with 802.11ac, and now beamforming works across different manufacturers' gear.

What beamforming does is, rather than have the router transmit its Wi-Fi signal in all directions, it allows the router to focus the signal to where it is needed to increase its strength. Using light as an analogy, beamforming takes the camping lantern and turns it into a flashlight that focuses its beam. In some cases, the Wi-Fi client can also support beamforming to focus the signal of the client back to the router.

While beamforming is implemented in 802.11ac, manufacturers are still allowed to innovate in their own way. For example, Netgear offers Beamforming+ in some of its devices, which enhances throughput and range between the router and client when they are both Netgear products and support Beamforming+.

Other Wi-Fi Features

When folks visit your house, they often want to jump on your wireless network, whether to save on cellular data costs or to connect a notebook/tablet. Rather than hand out your Wi-Fi password, try configuring a Guest Network. This facilitates access to network bandwidth, while keeping guests off of other networked resources. In a way, the Guest Network is a security feature, and feature-rich routers offer this option.

Another feature to look for is QoS, which stands for Quality of Service. This capability serves to prioritize network traffic from the router to a client. It's particularly useful in situations where a continuous data stream is required; for example, with services like Netflix or multi-player games. In fact, routers advertised as gaming-optimized typically include provisions for QoS, though you can find the functionality on non-gaming routers as well.

Another option is Parental Control, which allows you to act as an administrator for the network, controlling your child's Internet access. The limits can include blocking certain websites, as well as shutting down network access at bedtime.

Wireless Router Security

There are two types of firewalls: hardware and software. Microsoft's Windows operating system has a software firewall built into it. Third-party firewalls can be installed as well. Unfortunately, these only protect the device they're installed on. While they're an essential part of a Windows-based PC, the rest of your network is otherwise exposed.

An essential function of the router is its hardware firewall, known as a network perimeter firewall. The router serves to block incoming traffic that was not requested, thereby operating as an initial line of defense. In an enterprise setup, the hardware firewall is a dedicated box; in a residential router, it's integrated.

A router is also designed to look for the address source in packets traveling over the network, relating them to address requests. When the packets aren't requested, the firewall rejects them. In addition, a router can apply filtering policies, using rules to allow and restrict packets before they traverse the home network. The rules consider the source of a packet's IP address and its destination. Moreover, packets are matched to the port they should be on. This is all done at the router to keep unwanted data off the home network.

The wireless router is responsible for the Wi-Fi signal's security, too. There are various protocols for this, including WEP, WPA and WPA2. WEP, which stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy, is the oldest standard, dating back to 1999. It uses 64-bit, and subsequently 128-bit encryption. As a result of its fixed key, WEP is widely considered quite insecure. Back in 2005, the FBI showed how WEP could be broken in minutes using publicly available software.

WEP was supplanted by WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) featuring 256-bit encryption. Addressing the significant shortcoming of WEP, a fixed key, WPA's improvement was based on the Temporal Key Integrity Program (TKIP). This security protocol uses a per-packet key system that offers a significant upgrade over WEP. WPA for home routers is implemented as WPA-PSK, which uses a pre-shared key (PSK, better known as the Wi-Fi password that folks tend to lose and forget). While the security of WPA-PSK via TKIP was definitely better than WEP, it also proved vulnerable to attack and is not considered secure.

Introduced in 2006, WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) is the more robust security specification. Like its predecessor, WPA2 uses a pre-shared key. However, unlike WPA's TKIP, WPA2 utilizes AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), a standard approved by the NSA for use with top secret information.

Any modern router will support all of these security standards for the purpose of compatibility, as none of them are new, but ideally, you want to configure your router to employ WPA2/AES. There is no WPA3 on the horizon because WPA2 is still considered secure. However, there are published methods for compromising it, so accept that no network is impenetrable.

All of these Wi-Fi security standards rely on your choice of a strong password. It used to be that an eight-character sequence was considered sufficient. But given the compute power available today (particularly from GPUs), even longer passwords are sometimes recommended. Use a combination of numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and special characters. The password should also avoid dictionary words or easy substitutions, such as "p@$$word," or simple additions—for example, "password123" or "passwordabc."

While most enthusiasts know to change the router's Wi-Fi password from its factory default, not everyone knows to change the router's admin password, thus inviting anyone to come along and manipulate the router's settings. Use a different password for the Wi-Fi network and router log-in page.

In the event that you lose your password, don't fret. Simply reset the router to its factory state, reverting the log-in information to its default. Manufacturers have different methods for doing this, but many routers have a physical reset button, usually located on the rear of the device. After resetting, all custom settings are lost, and you'll need to set a new password.

Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) is another popular feature on higher-end routers. Rather than manually typing in a password, WPS lets you press a button on the router and adapter, triggering a brief discovery period. Another approach is the WPS PIN method, which facilitates discovery through the entry of a short code on either the router or client. It's vulnerable to brute-force attack, though, so many enthusiasts recommend simply disabling WPS altogether.

Software

Web And Mobile Interfaces

Wireless routers are typically controlled through a software interface built into their firmware, which can be accessed through the router's network address. Through this interface you can enable the router's features, define the parameters and configure security settings. Routers employ a variety of custom operating environments, though most are Web-based. Some manufacturers do offer smartphone-enabled apps for iOS and Android, too. Here's is an example of a software interface for the Netis WF2780, seen on a Windows desktop. While not easy to use for amateurs, it does allow for control over all the settings. Here we can see the Bandwidth Control Configuration in the Advanced Settings.

Routers offer a wide range of features, and each vendor has its own set of unique capabilities. Overall, though, they do share generally similar feature sets, including:

• Quick Setup: For the less experienced user, Quick Setup is quite useful. This gets the device up and running with pre-configured settings, and does not require advanced networking knowledge. Of course, experienced users will want more control.

• Wireless Configuration: This setting allows channel configuration. In some cases, the router's power can be adjusted, depending on the application. Finally, the RF bandwidth can be selected as well. Analogous settings for 5GHz are available on a separate page.

• Guest Network: The router software will provide the option to set up a separate Guest Network. This has the advantage of allowing visitors to use your Internet, without getting access to the entire network.

• Security: This is where the SSIDs for each of the configured networks, as well as their passwords, can be configured.

• Bandwidth Control: Since there is limited bandwidth, it can be controlled to provide the best experience for all (or at least the one who pays the bills). The amount of bandwidth that any user has, both on the download and upload sides, can be limited so one user does not monopolize all the bandwidth.

• System Tools: Using this collection of tools, the router's firmware can be upgraded and the time settings specified. This also provides a log of sites visited and stats on bandwidth used.

Here is a screenshot of a mobile app called QRSMobile for Android, which can simplify the setup of a wireless router, in this case the D-Link 820L.

This screenshot shows the smartphone app for the Google OnHub.

Open-Source Firmware

Historically, some of these vendor-provided software interfaces did not allow full control of all possible settings. Out of frustration, a community for open source router firmware development took shape. One popular example of its work is DD-WRT, which can be applied to a significant number of routers, letting you tinker with options in a granular fashion. In fact, some manufacturers even sell routers with DD-WRT installed. The AirStation Extreme AC 1750 is one such model.

Another advantage of open firmware is that you're not at the mercy of a vendor in between updates. Older products don't receive much attention, but DD-WRT is a constant work in progress. Other open source firmware projects in this space include OpenWRT and Tomato, but be mindful that not all routers support open firmware.

Hardware

System Board Components

Inside a wireless router is a purpose-built system, complete with a processor, memory, power circuitry and a printed circuit board. These are all proprietary components, with closed specifications, and are not upgradeable.

The above image shows the internals of Netis' N300 Gaming Router (WF2631). We see the following components:

1. Status LEDs that indicate network/router activity
2. Heat sink for the processor—these CPUs don't use much power, and are cooled without a fan
3. Antenna leads for the three external antennas to connect to the PCB
4. Four Ethernet LAN ports for the home network
5. WPS Button
6. Ethernet WAN port that connects to a provider's modem
7. Power jack
8. Factory reset button
9. 10/100BASE-TX transformer modules — these support the RJ45 connectors, which are the Ethernet ports.
10. 100 Base-T dual-port through-hole magnetics. These are designed for IEEE802.3u (Ethernet ports).
11. Memory chip (DRAM)

Antenna Types

As routers send and receive data across the 2.4 and 5GHz bands, they need antennas. There are multiple antenna choices: external versus internal designs, routers with one antenna and others with several. If a single antenna is good, then more must be better, right? And this is the current trend, with flagship routers like the Nighthawk X6 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router featuring as many as six antennas, which can each be fine-tuned in terms of positioning to optimize performance. A setup like that facilitates three simultaneous network signals: one 2.4GHz and two 5GHz.

While a router with an internal antenna might look sleeker, these designs are built to blend into a living area. The range and throughput of external antennas are typically superior. They also have the advantages of reaching up to a higher position, operating at a greater distance from the router's electronics, reducing interference, and offering some degree of configurability to tune signal transmission. This makes a better argument for function over form.

The more antennas you see on a router, the more transmit and receive radios there are, corresponding to the number of supported spatial streams. For example, a 3x3 router employs three antennas and handles three simultaneous spatial streams. Using current standards, these additional spatial streams account for much of how performance is multiplied. The Netis N300 router, pictured on the left, features three external antennae for better signal strength.

Ethernet Ports

While the wireless aspect of a wireless router gets most of the attention, a majority also enable wired connectivity. A popular configuration is one WAN port for connecting to an externally-facing modem and four LAN ports for attaching local devices.

The LAN ports top out at either 100 Mb/s or 1 Gb/s, also referred to as gigabit Ethernet or GbE. While older hardware can still be found with 10/100 ports, the faster 10/100/1000 ports are preferred to avoid bottlenecking wired transfer speeds over category 5e or 6 cables. If you have the choice between a physical or wireless connection, go the wired route. It's more secure and frees up wireless bandwidth for other devices.

While four Ethernet ports on consumer-oriented routers is standard, certain manufacturers are changing things up. For example, the TP-Link/Google OnHub router only has one Ethernet port. This could be the start of a trend toward slimmer profiles at the expense of expansion. The OnHub router, pictured on the right, features a profile designed to be displayed, and not hidden in a closet, but this comes at the expense of external antennas, and the router has only a single Ethernet port. Asus' RT-AC88U goes the other direction, incorporating eight Ethernet ports.

USB Ports

Some routers come with one or two USB ports. It is still common to find second-gen ports capable of speeds of up to 480 Mb/s (60 MB/s). Higher-end models implement USB 3.0, though. Though they cost more, the third-gen spec is capable 5 Gb/s (640 MB/s). The D-Link DIR-820L features a rear-mounted USB port. Also seen are the four LAN ports, as well as the Internet connection input (WAN).

One intended use of USB ports is to connect storage. All of them support flash drives; however, some routers output enough current for external enclosures with mechanical disks. If you don't need a ton of capacity, you can use a feature like that to create an integrated NAS appliance. In some models, the storage is only accessible over a home network. In other cases, you can reach it remotely.

The other application of USB on a router is shared printing. Networked printers make it easy to consolidate to just one peripheral. Many new printers do come with Wi-Fi controllers built-in. But for those that don't, it's easy to run a USB cable from the device to your router and share it across the network. Just keep in mind that you might lose certain features if you hook your printer up to a router. For instance, you might not see warnings about low ink levels or paper jams.

Conclusion

The Future Of Wi-Fi

Wireless routers continue to evolve as Wi-Fi standards get ratified and implemented. One rapidly expanding area is the Connected Home space, with devices like thermostats, fire alarms, front door locks, lights and security cameras all piping in to the Internet. Some of these devices connect directly to the router, while others connect to a hub device—for example, the SmartThings Hub, which then connects to the router.

One upcoming standard is known as 802.11ad, also referred to as WiGig. Actual products based on the technology are just starting to appear. It operates on the 60GHz spectrum, which promises high bandwidth across short distances. Think of it akin to Bluetooth with a roughly 10 meter range, but performance on steroids. Look for docking stations without wires and 802.11ad as a protocol for linking our smartphones and desktops.

Used in the enterprise segment, 802.11k and 802.11r are being developed for the consumer market. The home networking industry plans to address the problem of using multiple access points to deal with Wi-Fi dead spots, and the trouble client devices have with hand-offs between multiple APs. 802.11k allows client devices to track APs for where they weaken, and 802.11r brings Fast Basic Service Set Transition (F-BSST) to facilitate authentication with APs. When 802.11k and 802.11r are combined, they will enable a technology known as Seamless Roaming. Seamless Roaming will facilitate client handoffs between routers and access points.

Beyond that will be 802.11ah, which is being developed to use on the 900MHz band. It is a low-bandwidth frequency, but is expected to double the range of 2.4GHz transmissions with the added benefit of low power. The envisioned application of it is connecting Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Out on the distant horizon is 802.11ax, which is tentatively expected to roll out in 2019 (although remember that 802.11n and 802.11ac were years late). While the standard is still being worked on, its goal is 10 Gb/s throughput. The 802.11ax standard will focus on increasing speeds to individual devices by slicing up the frequency into smaller segments. This will be done via MIMO-OFDA, which stands for multiple-input, multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, which will incorporate new standards to pack additional data into the 5GHz data stream.

What To Look For In A Router

Choosing a router can get complicated. You have tons of choices across a range of price points. You'll want to evaluate your needs and consider variables like the speed of your Internet connection, the devices you intend to connect and the features you anticipate using. My own personal recommendation would be to look for a minimum wireless rating of AC1200, USB connectivity and management through a smartphone app.

Netis' WF2780 Wireless AC1200 offers an inexpensive way to get plenty of wireless performance at an extremely low price. While it lacks USB, you do get four external antennas (two for 2.4GHz and two for 5GHz), four gigabit Ethernet ports and the flexibility to use this device as a router, access point or repeater. Certain features are notably missing, but at under $60, this is an entry-level upgrade that most can afford.

Moving up to the mid-range, we find the TP-Link Archer C9. It features AC1900 wireless capable of 600 Mb/s on the 2.4GHz band and 1300 Mb/s on the 5GHz band. It has three antennas and a pair of USB ports, one of which is USB 3.0. There's a 1GHz dual-core processor at the router's heart and a TP-Link Tether smartphone app to ease setup and management. You'll find the device for $130.

At the top end of the market is AC3200 wireless. There are several routers in this tier, including D-Link's AC3200 Ultra Wi-Fi Router (DIR-890L/R). It features Tri-Band technology, which supports a 2.4GHz network at 600 Mb/s and two 5GHz networks at 1300 Mb/s. To accomplish this, it has a dual-core processor and no less than six antennas. There's also an available app for network management, dual USB ports and GbE wired connectivity. The Smart Connect feature can dynamically balance the wireless clients among the available bands to optimize performance and prevent older devices from slowing down the rest of the network. Plus, this router has the aesthetics of a stealth destroyer and the red metallic paint job of a sports car! Such specs do not come cheap; expect to pay $300.

Conclusion

Wireless routers are assuming an ever-important role as the centerpiece of a residential home network. With the increasing need for multiple, simultaneous continuous data streams, robust throughput is no longer a nice feature, but rather a necessity. This becomes even more imperative as streaming 4K video moves from a high-end niche into the mainstream. By taking into consideration such factors as the data load as well as the number of simultaneous users, enthusiasts shopping for wireless routers will get the help they need to choose the router that best fits their needs and budget.

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Jonas DeMuro is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware.
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WiFi is almost ubiquitous in this day and age. Almost. Sometimes, there are environments where WiFi is obstructed. On the other hand, a wired connection can only go so far (in most cases, as far as your Ethernet cable). On the rare occasion where these common connections fail, a powerline solution may go a long way; to the other end of your home, in fact. However, the best case scenario would be a networking solution that has it all.

At CES, Netgear announced the availability of the PLW1000 PowerLINE WiFi 1000 Adapter Kit, consisting of an adapter and access point that can provide WiFi coverage anywhere through a powerline connection.

Powerline adapters work via sending data over your home's power grid. Two or more adapters are connected via a wall outlet, sending data back and forth to each other through the powerline. Powerline kits bypass the limitations of both wireless and wired connections. For example, what if you wanted to connect your wireless devices to your WiFi network, but your home is built out of solid concrete? Good luck getting any coverage, even if your router was in the next room over. Drilling holes just so you can route wires for access points would prove problematic. Luckily, Netgear's PLW1000 offers the best of both worlds.

The PLW1000 provides the functionality of a powerline adapter. It features an easy PnP setup; simply connect the adapter to an outlet and route a wired Gigabit Ethernet connection to the Ethernet port. Gigabit Ethernet speeds are sent to its access point counterpart over the powerline. The PLW1000's access point typically offers coverage of up to 500 square meters. LED indicators illustrate which outlet provides the optimal amount of performance. Establishing and securing network connections is as simple as pressing a button. The access point's two external antennas are capable of providing reliable speeds to wireless devices gaming online and streaming 4K content.

Netgear's PLW1000 PowerLINE WiFi 1000 Adapter Kit is available now for $119.99 at major online retailers and in physical stores.

Alexander Quejado is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Alexander Quejado on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.

2016 is undoubtedly the year of MU-MIMO. A few products of this nature appeared late last year, but here at CES, the number of MU-MIMO products that will hit the market soon is staggering.

Traditional MIMO products provide coverage by sending packets of data to a single device at once. Even just a few years ago this was more than adequate, but in the age of smartphones, tablets and other connected devices using data-intensive applications, single user MIMO just wasn't cutting it. MU-MIMO entered the market at a much needed time. Multiple MU-MIMO compatible clients connected to a MU-MIMO router or range extender will receive data simultaneously.

Netgear has jumped on the MU-MIMO trend with the EX7300 Nighthawk X4 AC2200 WiFi Range Extender and the EX6400 AC1900 WiFi Range Extender. Both the EX7300 and the EX6400 feature four internal antennas, 802.11ac Wave 2 to provide MU-MIMO, Netgear FastLane to use two WiFi bands simultaneously to establish one fast connection, beamforming technology to increase the range and stability of connections and low ranged amplifiers that increase the quality of transmissions.

Both range extenders are wall extenders, meaning they can be plugged directly into wall outlets for discreet and space efficient operation. They feature LED indicators that help illustrate the optimal location for maximum performance. Setup is easy; simply push the button to establish a secure connection.

The EX6400 and the EX7300 both extend WiFi range up to 10,000 square feet and may cycle between range extender and access point. The similarities stop here. The EX6400 offers wireless speeds of 1.9Gbps; the EX7300 is part of Netgear's enthusiast Nighthawk line, offering speeds of up to 2.2Gbps. Its Gigabit Ethernet port has two functions: it features an auto-sensor that simplifies setup with wired devices and increases WiFi speeds up to AC2200 when connected to a wired internet connection.

Netgear's EX6400 AC1900 WiFi Range Extender and the EX7300 Nighthawk X4 AC2200 WiFi Range Extender are available now on Netgear's website and major retailers for $139.99 and $169.99 respectively.

Alexander Quejado is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Alexander Quejado on Twitter. Follow us on  Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.

It appears that 2016 will be the year of MU-MIMO. Linksys is expanding the MU-MIMO market with the announcement of four new products in its Max-Stream series:

• EA7500 AC1900 Dual-Band MU-MIMO Gigabit Router,
• EA9500 AC5400 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router with MU-MIMO,
• RE7000 AC1900+ MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Range Extender,
• WUSB6100M AC600 USB MU-MIMO Adapter.

MU-MIMO is a wireless technology that bypasses the traditional round-robin limitation of sending packets of data by sending data simultaneously. Overcoming this bottleneck leads to an increase in performance, particularly in environments with multiple wireless devices using data intensive applications, such as online gaming or streaming content.

This past year, networking vendors tested the waters with MU-MIMO; we only saw a handful of MU-MIMO products, but this year at CES, vendors are giving us their all, and Linksys is no exception. Linksys has added two new Max-Stream routers to the fray.

The EA7500 might appeal to potential customers looking to add a router that can provide solid MU-MIMO coverage to their entire home network without extra frills. The EA7500 will feature a Qualcomm IPQ 1.4GHz Dual Core Processor, 802.11ac Wave 2 with MU-MIMO, AC1900 speeds of up to 1300Mbps on 5GHz and 600Mbps on 2.4GHz, four Gigabit LAN ports, one Gigabit WAN, one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0 port.

The EA9500, which also features Wave 2 with MU-MIMO, should appeal to the enthusiast crowd, offering tri-band speeds of 2166Mbps on both of its 5GHz bands and 1000Mbps on 2.4GHz. The EA9500 will feature a 1.4 GHz Dual Core Processor, eight Gigabit LAN ports, one Gigabit WAN port, eight external antennas, WPA/WPA2 encryption and an SPI firewall.

The Linksys RE7000 is an outlet range extender that may extend the range of an existing MU-MIMO setup or compliment a home network that doesn't currently have MU-MIMO. On top of its Spot Finding technology, which will help users find the optimal installation location, the RE7000 will feature wireless speeds of AC1733 and N300, seamless roaming, crossband technology, a multi-mode to switch between repeater and access point, an easy connect button and one Gigabit Ethernet port.

Now a MU-MIMO setup is great, but users won't reap the benefits it provides if their wireless devices aren't MU-MIMO compatible. Rather than buy a new laptop or tablet with MU-MIMO technology, why not use a USB adapter? Linksys responded with WUSB6100M, an AC Wave 2 with MU-MIMO enabled USB 2.0 adapter with speeds of AC433 and N150, Beamforming technology and simple PnP pairing. The WUSB6100M will work with any adapter, but ideally should be used with a MU-MIMO setup.

Finally, Linksys announced changes to its Smart Wi-Fi app. Smart-Wi-Fi allows users to monitor their home network from the web or on their phone and tablet, protect child activity and monitor the status of connected devices. Certain connected devices may also be given priority through the app. Smart-Wi-Fi is due for an update this Spring, which will include changes to the user interface, making setting up a home network easier.

Linksys's new Max-Stream MU-MIMO products will hit the market soon. The EA7500 AC1900 Dual-Band MU-MIMO Gigabit Router will launch this February for $199.99. The EA9500 AC5400 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router with MU-MIMO will launch in April for $399.99. Both the RE7000 AC1900+ MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Range Extender and the WUSB6100M AC600 USB MU-MIMO Adapter are set to launch this Spring for $149.99 and $59.99 respectively.

Alexander Quejado is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Alexander Quejado on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.

Linksys announced two new range extenders, the AC750 Boost Wi-Fi Range Extender (RE6300) and the AC1200 Boost EX Wi-Fi Range Extender (RE6400). Linksys' new products offer expanded wireless coverage in a compact and easy to use package.

Walls and furniture disrupt your wireless coverage, creating dead spots within your wireless network. A wireless range extender's job is to cover said dead spots by extending an access point's wireless signal, making data-intensive activities such as streaming video and gaming possible in even the furthest or most interference-ridden areas in your home possible, and perhaps even outdoors (if you're into that). The Linksys RE6300 and RE6400 can cover up to 6,500 square feet and 7,500 square feet, respectively.

The RE6300 is an AC750 range extender, and it will extend signals for routers and access points of up to 300 Mbps at 2.4 GHz and 433 Mbps at 5 GHz, while the RE6400 supports up to 300 Mbps at 2.4 GHz and 867 Mbps at 5 GHz.

The RE6300 and RE6400 are physically nearly identical, with the main differentiating factor being the product names on the front of the device. Both range extenders include two antennas on the sides, a gigabit Ethernet port on the bottom, and a WPS button.

The RE6300 and RE6400 both provide simple plug-and-play functionality and can be set up with either the WPS button or with Linksys' Spot Finder app (both pictured below).

Other features include beamforming and Linksys' Cross-Band, a speed and signal enhancing function in the company's range extenders that maximizes simultaneous use between the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands by allowing the range extender to receive on one band and transmit off of another.

The RE6300 and RE6400 have MSRPs of $89.99 and $99.99, respectively. These are reasonable prices compared to the rest of Linksys' range extender line; the lower-end RE4100W is offered at $79.99, but it provides no wireless AC capability. The RE6500 is the same price as the RE6400, offers 10,000 square feet of coverage and four gigabit Ethernet ports, but it is a desktop range extender, meaning it will not be as space-friendly as the RE6400.

The Linksys RE6300 AC750 Boost Wi-Fi Range Extender is available for preorder and starts shipping this Friday, October 30. The Linksys RE6400 AC1200 Boost EX Wi-Fi Range Extender is available at Best Buy on November 8 and other retailers later in November.

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Networking hardware subsidiary, Tenda, announced the availability of its 8-port TEF1008P unmanaged switch in the U.S. More than just a Fast Ethernet desktop device, the switch is enhanced with the inclusion of PoE (Power over Ethernet) functionality in four of its eight Ethernet ports. Designed for the SOHO environment, the auto-negotiable TEF1008P is as close to plug-and-play as a networking device can be, with setup being as easy as connecting devices to the switch's Ethernet ports. Connecting PoE-powered devices is convenient with the four AT/AF compliant ports that can supply connected devices with up to a total of 58 W of injected power allocated across the four PoE ports. By using PoE devices connected through the switch's powered ports, users eliminate the need for separate power and networking cables, allowing for more placement options without worrying about being out of reach of available power outlets.

The Tenda TEF1008P automatically adjusts the amount of power supplied to devices connected through its PoE ports. Tenda's announcement added that by using a PoE switch, connected devices can also be remotely restarted and power-cycled without having to physically press a button.

Speaking of devices, the TEF1009P supports products with the following protocols: IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u, IEEE 802.3x, IEEE 802.3af, IEEE 802.3at; PoE switches specifically support IEEE 802.3at/af on connected devices. 

Built for ease of use, the TEF1008P's fanless design is very minimal. The front panel includes 14 LED indicators corresponding to Power, PoE Max, PoE Status x 4 and Ethernet port connectivity x 8 (PoE ports have 2 LED indicators each).

The back of the switch includes a power jack and eight Ethernet ports, four of which can be used to connect PoE-enabled devices, such as wireless access points or surveillance cameras, for distances up to 150 meters when using Cat 5e Ethernet cable. The Tenda TEF1008P 8-port desktop unmanaged switch is now available at Micro Center for $49.99.

This morning, Amped Wireless introduced the third installment to its "Titan" line of networking products, the Titan-AP High Power AC1900 Wi-Fi Access Point. Amped Wireless is aiming the Titan-AP at households and offices with demanding wireless needs beyond what a typical pre-existing router can provide.  

The Amped Wireless Titan-AP has an output power of up to 800 mW and an operating wireless range of up to 10,000 square feet. The Titan-AP's features include smart security, WPA, WPA2 and WPS, guest Wi-Fi networks, adjustable Wi-Fi coverage and an advertised "plug and play" setup. Amped Wireless also suggested managing the Titan-AP with its free Wi-Fi Analytics Tool app. 

Pushing maximum throughput speeds of up to 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 1300 Mbps on the 5 GHz band, the Titan-AP is powered by a 1 GHz dual core processor and 128 MB of DDR memory. The Titan-AP includes a total of 14 amplifiers: three 2.4 GHz amplifiers, three 5 GHz amplifiers and eight low-noise amplifiers. Four detachable, high-gain, omni-directional 5dBi dual band antennas are attached to the back. Amped Wireless boasted that the antennas, along with Amped's Antenna-Rx technology, will provide both reliable signal strength and maximum speeds throughout the access point's effective area.

The top of the Titan-AP sports five LEDs corresponding to power, 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, USB connectivity and what appears to be Internet connectivity.

The rear I/O port includes four RJ-45 LAN ports, one RJ-45 WAN port, an on/off switch, a USB 2.0 port, an LED on/off switch, a WPS button and a reset switch.

Similar to the other items in the Titan line, the left side of the Titan-AP has a rather discreet USB 3.0 port.

Also included with the Amped Wireless Titan-AP is a 240v power adapter, one Ethernet cable, a setup guide and a CD-ROM user's guide. It's worth noting that the Titan-AP is the spitting image of the Titan router and the Titan-EX wireless extender, which were released recently.

Setting up the access point requires a router or network switch with a LAN port and computers with Ethernet adapters. Once setup within a comparable home network, the Titan-AP operates like a wireless router, and with its rated AC1900 speeds, it lets users with connected devices enjoy data-intensive activities such as gaming and 4K content.

The Amped Wireless Titan-AP High Power AC1900 Wi-Fi Access point is currently available for $189.99.

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When a tech company known for its gaming motherboards goes out and introduces its first router, the news is sure to turn heads. That's exactly what happened at Computex when the board-maker, ASRock, introduced its new MU-MIMO powered G10 Gaming Router.

Designed with gaming in mind, the sleek-looking G10 is getting released at a time when MU-MIMO devices are really hitting the market. CES 2015 in Las Vegas showed us several upcoming product releases from the usual suspects that are using the Wireless AC Wave 2 tech, but now we're getting a little surprise from ASRock, a company that we weren't expecting to see networking products from in the first place.

MU-MIMO is the latest Wi-Fi technology that provides simultaneous access for mobile, computing or networked appliances to a router or access point, whereas previous routing technologies only allowed devices to access the network one device at a time. Older wireless products can still work with MU-MIMO, but to experience the full benefits, MU-MIMO needs to be on both the router-end and the client-end of the wireless network. As the spec matures and grows in the market, we'll definitely be seeing the MU-MIMO tech on more consumer and enterprise hardware.

The ASRock G10 Gaming Router is a 4x4 dual band 802.11ac Gigabit router powered by a Qualcomm's dual-core 1.4 GHz processor. Speeds on the new router are 800 Mbps for the 2.4 GHz band and 1733 Mbps on the 5 GHz band. Running on 512 MB of DRAM, the G10 supports several contemporary router features, including an application prioritization control for those who want to manage the amount of network bandwidth that's used for gaming or other apps. The G10 also has an offloading network engine that helps take some of the work off of the router's CPU.

By far, the most interesting part of the G10 Gaming Router is the black HDMI dongle seated at the top of the router's case. The dongle can be detached from the router, plugged into a display's HDMI port and used for Miracast and Airplay. And since the dongle is a 2x2 Wireless N device, it can also be used as a travel router powered by its 5V power source. This travel router function lets you convert a broadband connection into Wi-Fi for out-of-home and out-of-office wireless networking.

Additional features in the ASRock G10 Gaming Router include:

• Five Gigabit Ethernet ports (one WAN, four LAN);
• Two USB 3.0 ports for additional USB devices like storage or video;
• Eight internal omnidirectional antennas;
• Beamforming that helps to accurately hone in signal transmission to wireless devices;
• Adjustable power output;
• Built-in IR tech can learn codes from other IR devices giving centralized control of home appliances;
• Cloud and app controlled management for remote administration.

Interestingly enough, ASRock touts the G10 Gaming Router as a device designed for Windows 10, however, no specific details were given to support how or what about the router is Windows 10 specific.

Details on pricing and availability were not given, but with all the new MU-MIMO gear being released, it's a fair guess to say that pricing should be over $200 and availability should coincide with all the other MU-MIMO products being released this year.

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Introduction

Wireless networking is ubiquitous in homes and businesses alike. The rise of devices that rely on these wireless networks – smart phones, tablets, smart TVs, gaming consoles, digital set top boxes and even thermostats – make wireless coverage throughout your home increasingly important. The quickest and easiest way to achieve this is through the use of a wireless range extender.

Networks and the devices that connect to them have evolved greatly over the last decade. It used to be that stationary desktops were connected together through wires, while access points supported a handful of mobile devices. Now, HD video is being streamed to multiple wireless clients simultaneously in the far corners of the average home. These wireless network connections must deliver offer optimal performance in order to support the amount of bandwidth consumed by streaming content, as well as the range and reliability needed to reach tablets and set-top boxes.

Frequencies

By definition, the 802.11ac standard improves range and bandwidth by offering dual-band support, beamforming and improved performance over its predecessors. (You can get more information on the technical aspects of 802.11ac in our story on 802.11ac-capable routers.) Just remember that optimal performance on ac's 5GHz band requires a strong signal, which limits range compared to 2.4GHz. A potential solution to this conundrum is to implement an 802.11ac-capable wireless range extender, which will expand the reach of your network to the dark corners of your home.

Note

802.11ac-enabled routers come in various speed ratings determined by the Mb/s transmission of the combined 2.4 and 5GHz frequencies.

802.11ac range extenders support 2.4 and 5GHz, both for connecting to existing wireless networks and ensuring client connectivity. In most cases, range extenders pass network traffic using the wireless client's band – 2.4GHz devices naturally go through the 2.4GHz connection and 5GHz clients through a 5GHz link to the router (though in some cases you can configure the range extender to use one band or clients and the other for connectivity back to the router). 802.11ac range extenders, like wireless routers and other Wi-Fi hardware, are marketed based on their advertised data rates. AC750 devices support 300Mb/s through 2.4GHz and 433Mb/s using the 5GHz signal, while AC1200 offers 300Mb/s for 2.4GHz and 867 Mb/s on 5GHz, though actual data rates are a fraction of those advertised rates.

802.11ac Speed Ratings

Functionality And Placement

Range extenders are often physically similar to other wireless networking products you would typically find in a home or office, but they differ significantly in configuration and functionality. Wireless routers – perhaps the most common wireless networking product found in homes – connect directly to the broadband modem, sharing the Internet connection to wired and wireless devices, as well as providing basic network services like DHCP, NAT and a basic firewall. Access points also connect to existing wired networks, but simply provide access to an existing local network and its associated services. Wireless access points are often used in conjunction with an existing router – either wired or wireless – and wireless clients connect to the internet through this device.

Another type of wireless networking device is a media bridge, which allows a device without wireless connectivity to connect to a wireless network without having to run Ethernet cable. Media bridges connect to the wireless network as clients, and share the network connectivity through an RJ45 port. Range extenders share characteristics of both media bridges and wireless access points – connecting to an existing wireless network and then extending the wireless network as an access point and typically offering Ethernet connectivity as well. In most cases a router is needed on the network to provide DHCP and NAT, which allow network devices to reach the Internet.

The physical placement of your wireless range extender will depend largely on the nature of your environment and the devices leveraging the expanded wireless footprint. A central location between the wireless router and wireless clients is ideal, however the location of wired computers could influence placement of the range extender as well. Other areas of potential interference like large metal objects should be avoided, as should large electronic devices. If your intent is to utilize 5GHz frequencies for optimal performance, you should remember that your range is more limited than 2.4GHz networks.

Software And Firmware

Many modern hardware devices have embedded software, commonly known as firmware, which allows the manufacturer to patch bugs or add features. Some common examples of firmware you may be familiar with are cellular phone ROMs and your motherboard's BIOS. In most cases, firmware is read-only to the device, and specific steps must be followed in order to perform an upgrade. The read-only nature of firmware provides a layer of security by helping ensure malicious code doesn’t get applied to the device. Firmware updates should be handled with care, as misapplied firmware updates are a common reason for device failure (known as bricking).

In general, the biggest difference between a wireless range extender and a wireless router or access point is its firmware, as this determines the capabilities that are enabled on the device and ultimately drives the hardware. Unfortunately, firmware is rarely interchangeable between devices, so don’t plan on applying a router firmware to your range extender anytime soon.

For the adventurous types there is an open-source firmware alternative for Wi-Fi routers, which is beginning to offer support for range extender hardware. DD-WRT is a Linux distribution designed for use on wireless networking hardware. A list of supported devices is maintained on the project website, so check there in order to determine if your hardware is supported. If you’d prefer to re-purpose an old router to perform range extender duties, DD-WRT offers comparable functionality. Be aware that flashing a custom firmware to your device could potentially void your warranty.

Hardware

Range extenders commonly come in two form factors: devices designed to sit on a shelf or mount on a wall like a wireless access point or router, and those that mount directly on a power outlet. Both form factors offer some basic functionality that you can expect to find on any range extender. Antennas for the wireless network can be either internal or external, though external antennas can be expected to provide better signal. LED indicators are usually made available in order to be able to see the status of your network connectivity or provide other troubleshooting information.

Most range extenders designed to sit on a shelf offer connectivity for wired devices in the form of four or five gigabit Ethernet ports. Additionally, many of these devices provide a USB port to accommodate storage for file sharing or media server purposes, or even the option to share a USB printer on your network. Because of their size, these range extenders often provide increased performance over their outlet-mounted cousins through more robust processors or higher-powered amplifiers.

Outlet-mounted range extenders are often smaller in order to reduce weight and not place stress on the outlet. Because of size restrictions, these range extenders usually offer only one Ethernet port for wired devices and no USB port, and may not have the same performance capabilities as larger shelf-mounted units. What they give up in performance and capability they make up for in convenience. They're perfect for placing in a closet, hallway or behind furniture.

External And Internal Components

Most range extenders feature similar components – and often a similar form factor – as what you’d expect from a wireless router or access point. Many of the hardware features that make up a range extender are comparable across devices and vendors, but there are also features that only make an appearance occasionally.

In general, it’s safe to assume that a range extender will include core components like a processor and memory (both RAM and ROM) to store and run the device’s firmware, and to handle network traffic and other device functions. As with any piece of electronics, better performance from those components is always desirable, so some attention should be paid to their specifications.

Another component always found in a wireless range extender is the radio that handle wireless communication. Dual-band range extenders that offer support for both 2.4 and 5 GHz frequencies will typically have a wireless chipset and one or more amplifiers for each frequency, as well as the antennas used to optimize the signal. The size and placement of the antennas often has an impact on signal strength, and can be a major selling point.

Externally, range extenders often provide at least one Ethernet port, but some models offer four to six ports for wired connectivity. USB ports are also common, though their usage can vary wildly between devices, facilitating media server functionality, file sharing or print serving. Other options available on some range extenders include audio outputs for streaming music or other I/O like eSATA.

Some range extenders have on/off buttons, though others automatically power on when you plug them in. A button to enable the WPS feature (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) is common, as is a button (typically recessed) to reset the device to factory defaults.

Configuration

Most range extenders offer one of two configuration methods. The first and by far the simplest uses WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup), which involves pressing physical buttons on the wireless access point and range extender in order to securely pair the two devices. WPS provides easy setup but offers limited configuration options without further tweaking. Power users are better served walking through the manual configuration method, which typically involves a fairly straightforward setup process:

1. Connect your computer to the range extender using a wired or wireless interface.
2. Access the configuration website by name or IP address.
3. Configure the range extender to connect to your existing wireless network – preferably using both 2.4 and 5GHz connections.
4. Set up a new SSID for both frequencies.
5. Connect your wireless clients to the new range extender SSIDs.

The most difficult step in configuring your range extender is usually connecting to the configuration page, particularly after the device has been connected to your network and it pulls an IP address using DHCP. Most range extenders offer a method of connecting to your range extender without having to guess at the IP address. One of the most common methods used to provide access to your range extender configuration is using a DNS domain name (such as myrangeextender.com) that resolves only if your computer is connected to the range extender. Other devices use the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) standard, which allows your computer to recognize the range extender as a configurable wireless networking device. In some cases, you may have to look through your router’s DHCP client table, but you should consult your range extender’s documentation in order to determine the preferred method of accessing the configuration page.

It’s worth noting that a wireless range extender functions differently than an access point configured using Wireless Distribution System (WDS). WDS functions at a lower level – using the devices radios but not Wi-Fi – and is typically vendor-specific. Wireless range extenders use existing Wi-Fi networks, allowing them to support connection to any wireless access point that supports the proper bands.

The Future

It’s interesting to consider how extenders will fare in the future. Designed to make up for the range-related shortcomings of Wi-Fi, it doesn’t seem that extenders will be going anywhere in the short term thanks to WiGig. Considered an in-room technology, WiGig, also known 802.11ad, may have transfer speeds of up to 7 Gb/s, but throughput suffers dramatically as soon as you step out of a room. Because of this range limitation, 802.11ac will have a continuing role as a backbone for the home network, extending the need for Wi-Fi extenders, at least for a little while longer until 802.11ax comes along.

If anything, two current enterprise standards that are now in development for the consumer market, 802.11k and 802.11r, are being geared up to improve roaming between access points, routers and extenders. With current extenders, a second set of SSIDs is created so that the extender can service devices out of range of the main router, which works great for stationary wireless devices. However, roaming devices would need reassigned SSIDs to stay connected. Used together, 802.11k and r provide a service called Seamless Roaming; 802.11k lets the client device quickly identify and remember an available access point when a signal weakens, while 802.11k uses a feature called Fast Basic Service Set Transition (F-BSST) to streamline the authentication process between access points. Once established as a consumer feature, Seamless Roaming can eliminate the need of having more than one or two SSIDs.

Another wireless networking technology that may have an impact on where extenders are used is mesh networking. Made up of small, individual networking nodes, mesh networks for the home are designed to produce reliable coverage. Each node in the network acts like a relay providing coverage for its particular zone and can back up a neighboring mesh node in case the latter stops working. The concept of mesh networking is not too new as it’s used in both enterprise and metropolitan environments. However, home usage is still in its infancy. If priced correctly and the performance is competitive enough, we can see mesh networking, in one form or another, affecting the Wi-Fi extender market.

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Smaller form factor PCs such as HTPCs are on the rise, as evidenced by our interview with Steiger CEO Martin Gossner in March. They seem to fulfill the need of an all-in-one living room entertainment system while still providing the same functions as a regular PC. ASRock, which is mainly known for its motherboards, has its own lineup of mini PCs and is adding a NUC device called the Beebox to its roster.

The Beebox comes in two "L10" models. Another model, the L6, is a barebones device for enthusiasts. It features some of the same specs as the L10 but doesn't include a processor, memory or an operating system.

One of the more notable aspects of the Beebox is the addition of a USB Type-C port. The new connector was recently added to some of ASRock's motherboards in an effort to meet early demand of the rising USB standard. Placing it on the Beebox is another step in that plan.

For such a small device, the Beebox has the ability to perform just as well as its larger counterparts, at least in terms of display output. Two HDMI ports and a DisplayPort onboard means that you can use the Beebox across three screens at the same time, and it can display in 2K and 4K resolutions for each output.

Aside from functioning as a living room PC, it can also act as another access point with its 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ Wi-Fi connection. Bluetooth 4.0 also allows connection of wireless devices such as a mouse and keyboard. All models also come with a handy remote in case you don't want to use other peripherals.

ASRock also included its own software called Power Gear. Just like a sports car, the Beebox will have three different performance modes: Sport, Normal, and Eco. Sport is used during heavy use such as gaming, while Normal can be utilized for daily activities such as browsing the Internet or using a word processor. Eco is more suited for less intensive applications such as downloading updates.

The Beebox comes in black, white and gold. There is no word yet on a release date or price, but with the specs finalized, the Beebox should be arriving soon. The Beebox might yet be another SFF PC on the market, but features such as a USB Type-C connector, ASRock's Power Gear modes and triple-screen capabilities with up to 4K resolution support have the potential to make it stand out from the rest.

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Looking to expand your networking coverage but plain ole Wi-Fi just isn't cutting it? Netgear may have the solution you need with the launch of its Powerline 1200 Adapter Kit (PL1200). The company also plans to launch a second Powerline 1200 kit (PLP1200) next month that includes built-in electrical sockets.

Unlike Wi-Fi and Ethernet cable setups, the PL1200 kit establishes a network by using the existing electrical wiring in a home or office. Users simply plug one adapter into a wall outlet and connect it to a router or modem via an Ethernet cable. The second adapter can be plugged in anywhere on the same electrical system, providing a wired device such as a computer, gaming console or an HDTV access to the Internet without the hassles of long cords and spotty Wi-Fi connections.

The specifications of the PL1200 kit show that the adapters provide speeds of up to 1200 Mbps across the electrical system. The adapters are also HomePlug AV2 compliant, IEEE 802.3 compliant, and compatible with HomePlug AV and HomePlug Green PHY. Users can install up to 16 adapters on one electrical system.

However, the drawback to these adapters is that they don't provide built-in electrical outlets; thus, you'll lose an outlet when the adapters are plugged into the wall. That's where the PLP1200 comes into play.

The adapters in the PLP1200 kit provide a built-in noise-filtered pass-through electrical outlet, allowing users to plug in their PC, game console or other device without the adapter hogging up an electrical outlet. And like the previous kit, the PLP1200 provides speeds of up to 1200 Mbps. There's also a "pick-a-plug" LED that visually indicates the best possible connection to the network.

Unfortunately, these two kits can't serve as wireless access points. Instead, they each have a one gigabit Ethernet port. Netgear indicated that setup can be completed in mere minutes, and there's no software to install. All adapters power down when they're not in use, saving energy.

If you're looking for a Powerline solution that comes packed with Wi-Fi connectivity, check out Netgear’s Powerline 500 + WiFi series instead. These two kits provide 500 Mbps across the electrical line and up to 300 Mbps over the air (Wireless N). These adapters also have the pick-a-plug LED, a push-and-secure button and a gigabit Ethernet port. One kit provides a pass-through electrical socket (XWNB5602), while the other (XWNB5201) does not.

As for pricing of the two kits, the PL1200 will set you back $79.99, whereas the PLP1200 will cost $89.99 when it launches next month. Each kit contains two adapters along with two Ethernet cables.

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Ruckus Wireless may cause a ruckus in the mobile access point industry with today's unveiling of the ZoneFlex R710, a device designed to extend Wi-Fi to enable multi-gigabit performance and offer unprecedented capacity for enterprise users and service providers.

The Ruckus ZoneFlex R710 is one of the first Wi-Fi access points based on Wave 2 features of the 802.11ac standard, including multi-user multiple input/multiple output (MU-MIMO) technology. MU-MIMO enables more than twice the number of mobile devices allowed than the previous generation, and it aggregates data rates exceeding two gigabits per second.

The Ruckus ZoneFlex R710 supports up to four spatial streams and up to 500 concurrent clients, and it has a built-in USB port to accommodate Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The City of San Jose, CA, was one of the first to deploy the new tech, and they saw dramatic improvements in performance, reportedly reaching over 445 megabits per second on two–stream-devices and over 200 megabits per second with single-stream smartphones.

"We are at an inflection point in the industry as we deal with insatiable demand for wireless capacity and speed," said Vijay Sammeta, Chief Information Officer for the City of San Jose, in the press release. "We need to be able to plan and prepare for devices and services we haven't even seen yet. Wave 2 represents an investment in a platform that not only meets our current needs, it will also meet those in the future that we can't even predict."

With municipal and public Wi-Fi becoming more common, the need for high capacity and speed from our access points has never been higher, and Wave 2 802.11ac technology seems to give us a fairly high ceiling for potentially game changing innovation in the wireless segment.

Speaking of innovative features, the R710 includes the patented BeamFlex+ Adaptive Antenna Technology, which claims to deliver up to three times the performance and range, eight times the expanded coverage, maximum power efficiency, and interference mitigation. The dual-polarized antennas are capable of dynamically creating over 4,000 unique directional antenna patterns per radio, allowing the R710 to adapt to the changing physical orientation of mobile devices, improving connectivity and performance.

The Ruckus ZoneFlex R710 will be available this quarter from authorized Ruckus BiG DOG resellers with an MSRP of $1,295.

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Virgin Atlantic announced that it partnered with GoGo to offer high-speed 70 Mbps Internet on its flights. Gogo has a new satellite-based 2ku system that offers increased Internet speeds from the previously, much slower 3.1 Mbps connection (which it upgraded last year to 9.8 Mbps), to an unprecedented 70 Mbps in-flight connection.

"We're always looking at ways to enhance the on-board experience for our customers, and expanding in-flight connectivity across our fleet is just one of the ways in which we are doing this," Virgin Atlantic's brand and customer engagement director, Reuben Arnold, said in a statement. "We were impressed with Gogo's connectivity solution and look forward to all of our customers being able to enjoy this service whilst they fly."

Right now there are over 2,000 commercial aircrafts from 10 major airlines and 6,000 business aircrafts that are equipped with Gogo's Internet services.

Virgin Atlantic is one of the first European airplane companies to take advantage of this service, but Delta Air Lines will soon use it, too. Gogo's 70 Mbps service will appear in European airplanes starting next year.

"Virgin Atlantic is on the cutting edge when it comes to delivering technology solutions to their passengers and we're extremely excited to deliver the best connectivity solutions to keep their passengers connected anywhere they fly around the world," Michael Small, Gogo's president and CEO, said in a press release. "Virgin Atlantic's relationship with Delta Air Lines will also allow us to build a seamless experience for passengers who fly both airlines."

T-mobile recently announced that it partnered with Gogo to offer unlimited texting on flights on a limited range of devices that include Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8, iPhone 5S and LG G3. Gogo also announced that it will bring high-speed Internet to Vietnam Airlines.

We're living in an increasingly connected world, so having great Internet speeds wherever we are, even when flying in an airplane, is becoming a vital feature that airlines can use to their advantage to attract customers from the competition. This, of course, leads to airline customers having a better in-flight experience, too.

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Asus claimed a “world’s first” on Tuesday with the introduction of its RT-AC87 Wave 2 Wireless AC consumer networking router. This upcoming device will be capable of providing speeds of up to 1.73 Gbps on the 5 GHz band, the fastest we’ve seen yet since Wireless AC routers began springing up on store shelves last year.

The upcoming router will use Quantenna’s QSR1000 4x4 Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) chipset. There will also be four external antennas and Universal Beamforming, providing a wide range and focused network connectivity. Ideal for low-latency gaming and HD video streaming, the router will even form groups of multiple devices that can be served simultaneously, where different connections are assigned to different spatial streams, thereby speeding up connectivity -- but that's only if the devices support Wave 2 technology.

“MU-MIMO greatly increases the efficiency of the Wi-Fi network, mitigating potential bottlenecks as more devices are connected to the access point,” the press release stated. “Furthermore, the RT-AC87’s multiple antennas, coupled with its advanced Beamforming, reduce the transmission’s signal-to-noise ratio and improve the reliability of the Wi-Fi signal, providing a better overall wireless experience.”

This new router will have AiProtection with Trend Micro pre-installed, which will use real-time network monitoring to keep the network free from unwanted bugs and hackers. There will also be parental controls to keep the kids safe from questionable websites, an enhanced ASUSWRT user interface, and AiCloud 2.0, which allows users to share and stream files stored on the network, on attached external drives, or on Asus WebStorage.

Unfortunately, Asus didn’t provide a list of specifications although it’s probably a given that the router will provide a few Gigabit Ethernet ports and one or two USB ports. The device will be made available in North America “shortly” for $269.99.

Currently, one of the closest competitors is TRENDnet’s AC1900 dual-band router, the TEW-818DRU. This Wireless AC router is slower on the 5 GHz band, providing speeds up to 1300 Mbps, and 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. The router provides five Gigabit ports, a USB 3.0 port and a USB 2.0 port, support for isolated guest networking, high power amplifiers, parental controls and more. This router is available now and retails for $232.99.

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Kingston Digital on Wednesday revealed the MobileLite Wireless G2, an updated version of its popular wireless media reader that enables customers to wirelessly transfer files from their smartphones, tablets and so on. The device also has a 4640 mAh 3.8 volt battery, allowing users to recharge their phone or tablet twice before the MobileLite's battery needs a recharge.

Unlike the company's Wi-Drive, the MobileLite line doesn't provide storage, but instead includes an SD card reader and a USB port for attaching external drives and USB sticks. However, because the MobileLite has a built-in Wireless N router, tablets and smartphones can connect directly to whatever is plugged into Kingston's device through the MobileLite Wireless app.

The new MobileLite Wireless G2 also includes an Ethernet port for broadband Internet on the go, and a USB port that supports a 3G dongle. Because of these two features, the company boasts that users can stay constantly connected.

"The device supports a direct connection from a 3G wireless Internet dongle and also has a direct Ethernet connection thus allowing MobileLite Wireless G2 to serve both as a portable router or shared network (NAS) drive," the PR explains.

The MobileLite Wireless G2 will ship later this month for an unknown price. We expect to have more details about the streamer by then, including how many devices can connect to the streamer simultaneously.

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Asus revealed the RT-N18U, a Wireless N single-band router capable of speeds up to 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. Typical routers only see a max of 450 Mbps, but thanks to the company's TurboQAM technology, this model boasts a speed boost of up to 33 percent.

According to the company, this router features an ARM Coretex-A9 processor clocked at 800 MHz, 128 MB of internal storage, and 256 MB of DDR3 RAM, all of which enables fast, responsive performance and multitasking. The router is even capable of up to 300,000 concurrent data sessions.

The RT-N18U is a Wireless N router by default, but the device can be configured as a range extender, meaning it will take the wireless signal offered by the network's existing router and transmit the stream to areas of the home or office that the router can't reach. The RT-N18U can also be configured as an access point and as a media bridge for wired-based devices.

The new router comes equipped with Gigabit Ethernet ports, and a hardware NAT acceleration engine. The company says that the throughput of the hardware NAT is between "two and five times faster than a traditional software-based NAT." There are also two USB ports: one USB 3.0 port mounted on the front, and a USB 2.0 port on the back.

The router also packs the company's AiRadar technology, an "intelligent combination of high-power amplification, RF tuning and universal beamforming." Thanks to this tech, wireless coverage is improved by up to 150 percent when compared to other Wireless N models on the market. This makes the router an ideal solution for multi-room usage, the company indicates.

The company also didn't provide a price, or when this router will be made available. If you're looking for a powerful single-band router solution, then keep your eyes locked on the company's website. Additional information about the company's wireless routers can be accessed here.

Looking to spice up your desktop with flashy new colors? D-Link has you covered with its new line of AC750 Wi-Fi Routers (DIR-818LW). This new batch has a cylinder form factor and four different colors to choose from: Red, Teal, Black and White. They'll be sold exclusively through Amazon throughout May for a mere $79.99 USD.

"Wi-Fi routers have never had the reputation of being the most aesthetically pleasing products in the home, and we set out to change that with our color routers," said Daniel Kelley, vice president of marketing, D-Link Systems, Inc.

As the name and price indicates, these colorful routers won't be pushing the 1300 Mbps theoretical speeds. Instead, customers will see up to 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and up to 433 Mbps on the 5 GHz band. There are also five Gigabit Ethernet ports for fast wired connectivity (one is dedicated to WAN), and a USB 2.0 port for sharing files up to 250 GB across the network.

According to D-Link, the routers are compatible with the company's mydlink Lite application for iPhone, iPad and Android. This app allows users to see via their smartphone or tablet what websites are accessed, to set up email notifications if unauthorized connections are made on the network, block unwanted connections and more. Desktops and laptops can access this information through a browser-based client.

The company also provides a SharePoint app, which has a remote access mode and a local mode for accessing files while out on the town or vegging on the couch. Developed for Android and iOS, this app grants access to the connected USB drive and to any device connected to the Gigabit ports. As with the previous app, desktops and laptops can access these files using a browser.

"With the launch of our new line of AC750 Wi-Fi Routers, customers not only get a powerful home network capable of supporting the most demanding applications, they also have a stylish device they can proudly display on the desk rather than buried underneath it," Kelley adds.

Additional information about the new routers from D-Link can be accessed here.

In addition to announcing its new 15nm process technology, Toshiba this week announced the launch of its Canvio AeroMobile, a wireless SSD that offers greater durability, faster performance and lower power consumption than external hard drives. The drive is available now at select retailers and Toshiba's website for $209.99 for the 128 GB model.

"Toshiba strives to ensure that all of our storage products are simple to use and powerful in this ever changing technological environment," said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of product marketing and development, Branded Storage Products, Toshiba Digital Products Division. "The Canvio AeroMobile Wireless SSD makes the process of uploading and accessing content easier than ever."

The new drive is pocket-sized, lightweight and easy to carry, measuring less than half an inch thin and weighing a mere 4.23 ounces. The drive also comes with a built-in SD card slot to store pictures taken with a digital camera, and its own wireless access, allowing up to eight devices to connect simultaneously. A built-in rechargeable battery provides up to 8 hours of battery life.

According to the company, the external SSD can take some jostling and stands up well to shocks and vibrations. That means the drive can go places that external hard drives can't, including the beach. This drive would be ideal on vacations or long business trips, allowing the user to offload pictures taken with a smartphone or tablet, stream movies during the long drive, and so on.

"Thanks to solid state technology, the Canvio AeroMobile Wireless SSD offers greater durability, faster performance and a longer battery life rating than external hard drives, resisting impact and vibration, too. It slips right into your pocket and is amazingly light," reads the product page.

For more information about the new wireless SSD, head here.

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On Monday, TP-Link launched the N600 Entertainment Adapter (TL-WA890EA), a media bridge that allows Ethernet-based devices to have wireless access to the network. The device is available now for a not-too-shabby price of $59.99 USD.

According to the specs, the "Entertainment Adapter" provides Wireless N speeds of up to 300 Mbps on the 5 GHz band, and up to 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. On the back are four 10/100 Ethernet ports, allowing the user to plug in a game console, Blu-ray player, set-top-box and other "wired" devices that don't have Wi-Fi capabilities.

This media bridge is definitely ideal for devices that are on the other side of the house, residing on the outskirts of the wireless network, for example. The media bridge essentially acts like one large wireless adapter, except in this case, there are four connections made with the router instead of just one.

Complimenting this media bridge would be TP-Link's N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router (TL-WDR3600), which provides the same speeds on both bands as the Entertainment Adapter. This router also provides Gigabit Ethernet ports, two USB ports for sharing media and a printer, guest network access and more.

There's also the N600 Wireless Dual Band Router (TL-WDR3500), which doesn't have Gigabit Ethernet ports, and only one USB port. This router has guest access as well as an on/off switch so that users can save energy by turning off the router when it's not in use (like in a vacation home). Other features include a one-button setup and IP Quality of Service.

For more information about TP-Link's dual-band wireless solutions for the home and office, head here.

TRENDnet said on that it has shipped the Powerline 500 AV Wireless Kit, model TPL-410APK. This starter kit allows users to extend a network using existing electrical lines in the home or office. This starter kit sells for $124.99, and includes the Powerline 500 AV Nano adapter and the Powerline 500 AV Wireless Access Point.

"The TPL-410APK is well suited to extend a wireless network in large homes or homes built with concrete or masonry construction which degrades wireless signals," stated Zak Wood, director of global marketing for TRENDnet. "Installation couldn't be easier. Simply plug in the adapters and you're up and running."

The idea behind this bundle is to extend your home or office wireless network into areas the router can't reach. Thanks to an Ethernet port, users can plug the AV Nano adapter into an electrical outlet on a wall, and connect the Ethernet port to one of the router's four wired ports.

The Wireless Access Point is then plugged into another electrical outlet 5000 square feet away (980 ft. linear distance over electrical power lines), which will automatically connect to the Nano adapter. There are two Ethernet ports on this model too in case you have a device that doesn't do wireless (desktop, console, Smart TV, etc.). The wireless aspect provides speeds up to 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band (Wireless N). Need an extra Powerline 500 AV Wireless Access Point? These can be purchased for $72.99 each.

If the Powerline 500 AV series is too expensive, the company also provides the Powerline 500 AV2 series, with a kit of two (TPL-408E2K) costing $92.99. The difference, it seems, is that this bundle includes two TPL-408E adapters; there's no nano-sized adapter, there's only one Ethernet port on each device, and there's no wireless connectivity.

For more information about TRENDnet's Powerline 500 networking solutions, head here.

Amped Wireless has introduced the REC15A High Power Compact 802.11ac Wi-Fi Range Extender. As the name implies, this device will grab the wireless signal of a home or office router and re-transmit that signal to places where the router just can't reach.

Standard Wi-Fi devices have an output power of a mere 50 milliwatts (mW). However, the REC15A provides up to 500 milliwatts (mW) of Wi-Fi output power while keeping its slim 3 x 5 inch form factor figure. The device also packs four amplifiers (one 2.4 GHz, one 5.0 GHz, two low noise) and a high gain, dual band antenna, which help provide up to 5,000 square feet of extended coverage.

This little extender plugs directly into any electrical outlet and provides an Ethernet port for connecting wired devices to the local network including PCs, TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles and other devices. However, for the initial setup, users can connect with a wireless device like a smartphone or tablet; a wired connection is not necessary.  

The specs show that the REC15A will provide up to 150 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and up to 433 Mbps on the 5 GHz band. The extender also provides parental controls such as restricting access to specific users and time of day schedules for limiting access. Users can even "reel in" the signal strength just in case the network is invading the neighbor's space.

"As more devices like tablets, smartphones, laptops and routers supporting the new 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard become available the need for faster, longer range Wi-Fi continues to grow," stated Jason Owen, CEO of Amped Wireless. "With the introduction of the REC15A, Amped remains at the forefront of Wi-Fi extending solutions by offering another high performance more affordable option for extending AC Wi-Fi coverage."

The new REC15A is available now through Amped Wireless for $99.99, and will be made available at major brick and mortar retailers any day now.