ASUS RT-N66U Dual Band Gigabit Router Review

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Advertised Features and SpecificationsWe've covered the hardware and software in a preview earlier this month, and heres a quick recap of what the RT-N66U is capable of:

Designed for Class-Leading Speed and Range

Dual-Band Connectivity for Lag-Free Entertainment

Separate and Secure Wi-Fi Network via Guest Network Access

Powerful Online Multitasking up to 300,000 Data Sessions

VPN Server Enabled

Specifications
Network Standard	IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, IPv4, IPv6
Data Rate	802.11a : 6,9,12,18,24,36,48,54Mbps 802.11b : 1, 2, 5.5, 11Mbps 802.11g : 6,9,12,18,24,36,48,54Mbps 802.11n : up to 450Mbps
Antenna	Detachable Dipole RP-SMA antenna x 3
Operating Frequency	2.4G~2.4835GHz /5.1~5.8GHz
WAN Connection Type	Internet connection type : Automatic IP, Static IP, PPPoE(MPPE supported), PPTP, L2TP Dual Link support Multicast Proxy support
Utilities	Download master - support BT, NZB, HTTP, ED2K - support encryption, DHT, PEX and magnet link - upload and download bandwidth control - download scheduling Media server: Image: JPEG Audio: mp3, wma, wav, pcm, mp4, lpcm, ogg Video: asf, avi, divx, mpeg, mpg, ts, vob, wmv, mkv, mov QoS: WMM User definable rules for IP/MAC/Port. Upload and Download bandwidth management. ACK/SYN/FIN/RST/ICMP with Highest priority Guest Network 2.4GHz guest network x 3, 5GHz guest network x 3 Printer Server: multifunctional printer support(Windows nly), LPR protocol support File server: Samba and FTP server with account management PPTP VPN server Network map Traffic monitor
Ports	4 x RJ45 for 10/100/1000/Gigabits BaseT for LAN, 1 x RJ45 for 10/100/1000/Gigabits BaseT for WAN, Support Ethernet and 802.3 with max. bit rate 10/100/1000/Gigabits Mbps and auto cross-over function(MDI-X) USB 2.0 x 2
Button	WPS Button, Reset Button, Power Button
LED Indicator	LAN x 4 WAN x 1 AIR x 2 USB x 1
Power Supply	AC Input : 110V~240V(50~60Hz) DC Output : 19 V with max. 1.58 A current
Weight / Dimensions	450g / 207 x 148.8 x 35.5 mm (WxDxH)

Read more: ASUS RT-N66U Dual Band Gigabit Router Review by VR-Zone.com

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User Interface Highlights





The Network map provides the user with graphical information of the router.





Users could set-up up to three wireless guest networks for each band. That's a total of eight different wireless networks.





The Traffic Monitor tab provides real time traffic graph for each interface.





Verbose system log and DHCP/Routing table viewer

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Test Setup


Figure 1.1

We decided to revamp our testing procedure in order to accommodate additional features such as network file sharing and VPN. We will be using this testing methodology in future reviews.The router was flashed to the latest firmware, SPI firewall disabled and the machine on the LAN side is placed in the DMZ.

For the testing of the router's routing throughput, we will be using two machines, one connected to the WAN port of the router and the other to the LAN port as shown in Figure 1.1. For both WAN to LAN and LAN to WAN tests, we will be running two benchmark software, PassMark Performance Test and IPerf. Each test are repeated three times and the average is taken as the final result. Figure 1.2 shows the following parameters used on the IPerf.



Server
>iperf -s -w 128k
Client
>ipert -c [server address] -w 128k -P 5
Figure 1.2


Figure 1.3

We will be using Matrix21 Max Session Tool to test for the maximum number of sessions. Since the maximum connection the machine could generate is 41,000 sessions, which is far lesser that what some of the router manufacturer claims they are able to handle. With reference from Figure 1.3, we devised a method to run a number of server-client pairs simultaneously. This is accomplished through the use of virtualization. So, 41,000 per pair multiply the total number of pair would give the total number of simultaneous sessions.


Figure 1.4

For testing of VPN throughput, we came up a scenario where the VPN client is on a different subnet from the router WAN. We accomplished this by creating a virtualized environment. RT_A, RT_B and GW are running Vyatta. Figure 1.4 shows the network topology for this setup.


Figure 1.5

For wireless throughput tests, one machine is connected to the LAN port and the other by wireless. A 200MB file is then transfered from the LAN machine over to the wireless machine and vice versa. This is to test the upstream and downstream quality of the wireless link. The wireless connection is encrypted with WPA2-AES. The test is performed on both the 20MHz channel and the 40MHz channel. The wireless client is then moved to different rooms (Figure 1.5) and the tests are repeated again. This is to compare the transfer quality when the signal line of sight is being obstructed.

These are the hardware specs of the machines used in this testing.

PC A

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Sp1 64-bit
CPU: Dual Xeon E5335 2.0GHz
RAM: 4GB FB-Dimm
NIC: Intel Pro/1000 ET Dual

PC B

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Sp1 64-bit
CPU: AMD Turion X2 RM-74 2.2GHz
RAM: 3GB DDR2
NIC: Realtek 8111B
WiFi: Asus USB-N53 Dual Band USB adapter

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Test Setup



The router claims it could handled up to 300,000 simultaneous connections. In order to generate 300,000 sessions we would requires 8 pairs of server-client which unfortunately requires more memory than what the machine has. So we could only ran two pairs.

As seen on Figure 2.1, routing throughput is almost near wire speed, which is not surprising as it was expected it to perform as good or better than the RT-N56U router.



Figure 2.1



For this test we attached a 2.5" portable hard drive to the USB port. The drive was formatted to NTFS. We then transfer a 200MB data payload to the drive. From the results, it looks like writing data to the drive using FTP yield higher speeds as compared to SAMBA. However, reading data using SAMBA yield higher speeds as compared to FTP.



Apparently, after checking with Asus engineers, it seems that the VPN server will not work properly if DMZ is enabled. Hopefully, there would be future firmware release that would fix this issue. Throughput is expected to drop when encryption is turned on. However, there are no significant difference in performance between the 40bit MPPE and the 128bit MPPE. Figure 2.2 shows the VPN status on the client.


Figure 2.2



At location A, where the wireless client is within the same room as the router, yields the highest results. At location C which was the furthest from the wireless router, faces a drop is wireless throughput. Although, we know that 40Mhz mode may not play nice in an environment where there are plenty of 20MHz neighboring wireless access points, it seems that the 40MHz still yields better throughput throughout the test.



With lesser interference from the surroundings as compared to the 2.4GHz, the 5GHz band is expected to give a much higher results than the 2.4GHz band. At location A, the wireless clients is able to achieved much higher throughput, about 23% higher than the 2.4GHz band. Location B and C both have good signals though location B has a higher result. At location E seems to suffer poor signal quality resulting in a lower throughput on its 20MHz downstream and upstream.

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Features / Quality (30%)

The Asus RT-N66U dual band, the Dark Knight, wireless router was a highly anticipated product ever since it was announced at CES last year. Features such as VPN server, download utilities and the multifunctional USB ports are what makes this product unique to the rest. We seen that the cooling was changed from using a cooling fan to a large aluminum heatsink. This not only eliminate noise but also mechanical wear and tear in the long run.

The built in VPN server is fairly easy to set up and use. Though, we're hoping that the DMZ issue will be fixed in future firmware released. Also, it would be nice if they were to include VPN client feature. The DLNA server feature provides an ideal low powered media server solution. Its physical power switch allows easy access for power cycling the device. The dark grey color on the web interfaces also goes well together with the Dark Knight theme. The RT-N66U is definitely worthy to be the successor to the RT-N56U.

Quality Score 9/10



Performance (40%)

We seen this router is capable of achieving near wire speeds on both LAN to WAN and WAN to LAN routing throughput. It's also capable of up to 300,000 simultaneous sessions which is great for users running intensive P2P applications. VPN performance is fairly good for an embedded device. Average performance on file sharing but we feel that two USB ports may not be enough if users would want to connect more devices. Wireless throughput are within the reasonable range. Though better performance could be achieved when used together with the up coming Asus USB-66N wireless adaptor. The three removable antennas allows for easy upgrades.

Performance Score 9.5/10



Price / Package (15%)

Retail price is still not known at the current moment. It is expected to launch on mid-Febuary on local market. Packaging contains user manual CD, quick install guide, vertical stand, a flat LAN cable and warranty card.

Value Score 8/10



Aesthetics (15%)

The Asus RT-N66U still follows the 'black diamond' design from the RT-N56U. Sleek and simple design makes this router pleasing to the eye. This product is not just limited to tabletop placement. Its adjustable position allows it to be wall mounted or vertical stand which allows a much wider placement range.

Aesthetics Score 9/10

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