One of the reasons I love, like, still use (I kid, but our relationship is a bit rocky right now) Ubiquiti Unifi kit is the feature set per dollar. With this new PoE powered five port managed switch setting a new standard at $29. Yeah, $29 for a managed switch. I’ve already ordered one, but could see myself selling off […]
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If you use an ISP provided, low-end, or older Wi-Fi router, the options for network management are often quite limited. There is simply no way to find out who is connected to your network or control which devices have access when. Devices which add this capability have recently started popping up on the market; each with a different set […]
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NETGEAR touts the Nighthawk X8 AC5300 (R8500) Smart Wi-Fi router as “the next wave in Wi-Fi”. Generally, I am inclined to dismiss this sort of hyperbole, but the $350/£350 802.11AC includes features that are a reasonable step up from other models including: quad-streams, two 802.11AC radios, Wave 2 enhancements , and six Gigabit Ethernet ports, with two 802.3ad (link […]
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It’s probably a bit too early for wide adoption of 10GbE in the home, but it is becoming more important for small and medium sized business (large has been there for quite a while). Pricing is also still very business oriented, but it is nice to monitor and see what’s available. There are three new managed switches available ranging from […]
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@RMerlinDev maintains a custom firmware for ASUS routers that adds that extra bit of polish, so he definitely has a level of expertise in this area. Which is why I follow him on Twitter and why I followed his link to see where current gen flagships fall out – unfortunately most didn’t do well. The really sad thing about all […]
Read moreIt came out a few months ago that the FCC was seeking to ban the ability for users to install custom/third-party firmware on their routers, specifically calling out DD-WRT. Now they’re back tracking a little; no longer is DD-WRT specifically called out, or that third-party firmware specifically banned, just that it isn’t OK unless OEMs can guarentee that these won’t […]
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First thing, let’s get it out of the way that managed switches aren’t for everyone. The vast majority of users won’t require features, like port mirroring, VLANs, QoS, or link aggregation which are typically offered by a managed switch, but for those who do there is simply no substitute. With that said, given the $70 price, flexible “Click Switch” mounting, […]
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As convenient as wireless networking is, there are some situations where it either doesn’t work or isn’t the most efficient mechanism to bring networking support into a remote location of the home. PowerLine devices generally fill this void quite nicely, but haven’t done a great job of keeping up with what is possible with modern 802.11AC. With the announcement of […]
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I’ve never been a big fan of D-Link’s cylinder router device because it makes it hard to wall mount and external antennas perform better, so it has been good to see them shift away from that recently. I was surprised to see their stylish new line up of high-end 802.11AC routers including a three radio AC3200 available now, and two […]
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NETGEAR didn’t have a ton to show in the consumer space at CES, but they did have two very interesting 802.11AC range extenders on hand and their Trek travel router on hand. There are a few things that make these devices interesting. First off, until now if you wanted to bridge an 802.11AC network it required two routers – […]
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