Synology wireless routers

Soldato
Joined
19 Apr 2012
Posts
5,182
Does anyone on here own any of the Synology wireless routers?
I've been swaying between just going full Ubiquiti USG setup or going for a Synology RT2600AC device.
Any feedback on the RT2600AC would be good.
 
Associate
Joined
6 Jun 2016
Posts
1,558
I've got an RT2600AC in one of our offices at work. It's generally a reliable router has good performance and a decent web interface.

USG is definitely better though.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
19 Apr 2012
Posts
5,182
I've got an RT2600AC in one of our offices at work. It's generally a reliable router has good performance and a decent web interface.

USG is definitely better though.
Thanks for your feedback.
Better as in the settings available?
Would the USG not be a tad overkill for a single user on a network? I do like the idea of having everything being modular as such so if a part fails you don't have to swap the lot.
 
Associate
Joined
6 Jun 2016
Posts
1,558
Thanks for your feedback.
Better as in the settings available?
Would the USG not be a tad overkill for a single user on a network? I do like the idea of having everything being modular as such so if a part fails you don't have to swap the lot.

The USG has a lot more features and if you are going the UniFi route this is definitely the best option.
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jul 2005
Posts
19,205
Location
Norfolk, South Scotland
While I would always suggest a USG where Unifi was involved, I suspect it doesn’t have as many features or the ability to handle as fast streams of traffic as the RT2600ac.

I’ve not used the RT2600ac but from a quick skim through the manual it appears to do everything the USG does (including a form of DPI) and it also offers native failover and load balancing from the GUI, multi-WAN from the GUI, IPS/IDS using the same Suricata database as the USG, IPV6 looks to be fully implemented, IPTV from the GUI, traffic filtering by domain, country and Google SafeSearch, native support for 3G/4G dongles, pretty much every VPN system and the ability to combine two incoming WAN sources (up to 1Gbps each) into one stream. Bear in mind the USGwill just about handle one 1Gbps stream with all the features switched off.

That’s pretty feature-rich. Now, it could all be marketing spiel, and not work very well at all.

It does look (on paper) like it has the USG beat for features though.
 
Associate
Joined
6 Jun 2016
Posts
1,558
That’s pretty feature-rich. Now, it could all be marketing spiel, and not work very well at all.
It does look (on paper) like it has the USG beat for features though.

The IPS/IDS is flaky they still call it beta in the package center, you have to install an SD card for it to fully function too. There is also a "Pro" version hidden behind a paywall. It really kills performance when enabled, my 350 Mbps virgin business connection dropped to 50 Mbps ish. I haven't tried in it some time so it could have improved but it's certainly not up to current USG standards.

There are also a few irritating things in the config, you can't change the wireless channels if you have band steering enabled and stuff like that.

Overall they are pretty decent for a basic home/business user.
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jul 2005
Posts
19,205
Location
Norfolk, South Scotland
To be fair, IPS/IDS is Beta on the USG as well. And it drops my 1Gbps connection to 110Mbps on a USG, 400Mbps on a USG-4P and it does run at Line speed on their USG-XG-8.

Far too many Unifi features are still ‘Beta’. I love the Unifi concept and I keep buying and installing the kit. It’s just getting increasingly difficult to ignore the unresolved basic issues.

The NAT/DNAT/Multi-WAN IP GUI configuration issue has been promised and not delivered for almost 2 years. That’s 1 year and 18 months after Chris Buechler said he’d have it implemented. It’s hard to ignore that sort of time slip on a project.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
19 Apr 2012
Posts
5,182
Hi WJA96.
Thanks for your input.
What attracted me to the RT2600AC was the regular updates and support From the manufacturer, it seems feature rich even though some may still be beta functions just now.
The reviews seem good. It would be more simple for me to use.
I keep going over my previous thread you commented in. I was initially sold on the Unifi items and would love to get it but I keep thinking I'm over complicating a setup for a home network for one person. As I said in the previous thread, I'm not much of a tinkerer. Usually just setup and leave it.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
19 Apr 2012
Posts
5,182
I keep telling you, just get a BT Smart Hub or a Mikrotik hAP AC. Both are great options for much less money.

Im sure I also told you there is no chance I would buy a smart hub. My brother's have it and it's absolutely rubbish. Plus I've already got a standalone modem.
Mikrotik is in the short list though.
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jul 2005
Posts
19,205
Location
Norfolk, South Scotland
Im sure I also told you there is no chance I would buy a smart hub. My brother's have it and it's absolutely rubbish. Plus I've already got a standalone modem.
Mikrotik is in the short list though.

Lol. If you really think the Smart Hub is absolutely rubbish then you’ll probably be disappointed with most AC routers. The Smart Hub is consistently a top performer in all WiFi speed tests carried out and it has some of the best channel hopping routines to select the correct Wi-fi channel in your environment. To get that functionality on a Ubiquiti Access Point you have to buy the AP-AC-SHD which is in the region of £400.

There is no magic with WiFi. It’s a transmitter that can’t put out any transmit power (including antennae) than legally allowed so that leaves receiver antenna design as the only way to improve range.

Beyond that a modem is a modem is a modem and although we’re discussing some pretty fancy features don’t forget that the Smart Hub is designed from the ground up to handle IPV6 and IPTV. Because you need those for BT’s TV offering. While I understand that the Smart Hub doesn’t have screens and screens of options it has most of the options anyone could need. It’s just deeply unfashionable because it’s the freebie one that BT give you when you sign up and everyone sticks it behind the tv (where they specifically say not to put it) and then complains about poor WiFi performance. So they get a Unifi Access Point and stick it high on a wall or ceiling and it’s the second coming of WiFi. If you put the Smart Hub in the same location you’d probably see no difference.

But you don’t want one so I won’t mention it again
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
19 Apr 2012
Posts
5,182
Lol. If you really think the Smart Hub is absolutely rubbish then you’ll probably be disappointed with most AC routers. The Smart Hub is consistently a top performer in all WiFi speed tests carried out and it has some of the best channel hopping routines to select the correct Wi-fi channel in your environment. To get that functionality on a Ubiquiti Access Point you have to buy the AP-AC-SHD which is in the region of £400.

There is no magic with WiFi. It’s a transmitter that can’t put out any transmit power (including antennae) than legally allowed so that leaves receiver antenna design as the only way to improve range.

Beyond that a modem is a modem is a modem and although we’re discussing some pretty fancy features don’t forget that the Smart Hub is designed from the ground up to handle IPV6 and IPTV. Because you need those for BT’s TV offering. While I understand that the Smart Hub doesn’t have screens and screens of options it has most of the options anyone could need. It’s just deeply unfashionable because it’s the freebie one that BT give you when you sign up and everyone sticks it behind the tv (where they specifically say not to put it) and then complains about poor WiFi performance. So they get a Unifi Access Point and stick it high on a wall or ceiling and it’s the second coming of WiFi. If you put the Smart Hub in the same location you’d probably see no difference.

But you don’t want one so I won’t mention it again

It is possible their one is being reduced by interference. I'm just going by what they have said with the two units and different locations they have put it.

I seem to have varying sync speeds with different modems though. An HG612 will give me about 67Mbps where as my D7000 would give approx 69Mbps sync. The Zyxel gives a fraction under 73Mbps probably due to a built in filter on the DSL line side.

For the price of a homehub, I have no issues trying one to handle the routing and wireless. It would be a lot cheaper than other options I'm looking at as you say.

I understand Wireless can only be transmitted at given frequencies and it's basically down to design and location of antennas now.

Thanks for your input though, it definitely makes a lot of sense. Definitely making me explore more options.
 
Back
Top Bottom