Networking Gear by stefan @ 2013-12-17
The X8 AC1750 router from Sitecom is concurrent dual band and supports the latest AC standard; this is the first router which has entered in our lab to feature both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 interfaces and all antennas are internal. The router can be paired with the new AC1200 WLA-7100 Wi-Fi adapter in order to achieve transfer speeds over 200Mbps.
At first we would like to thank Sitecom for offering me a sample of their X8 AC1750 WLR-8100 router along with the USB 3.0 AC1200 WLA-7100 adapter for testing and reviewing.
“ Sitecom is one of the leading and fastest growing computer network brands for home and small business use. The Sitecom brand has a clear mission statement: “make it easy”. Sitecom makes it easy to set up a home network and to expand it, since it converts technical products into user-friendly solutions which can be used immediately without any problems.
Simplicity is what it is all about! The mission statement “make it easy” is put into practice throughout the organization and is expressed in both the solutions and the service which Sitecom offers. All of Sitecom's products, therefore, have a 10-year warranty. Making the latest technology simple, understandable and accessible is what Sitecom stands for and we make no concessions to that.”
Wireless speed: 450 Mbps + 1300 Mbps
Simultaneous Dual-Band: use two frequencies
Ultimate wireless coverage: 6 internal antennas
Wired speed: 4 Gigabit (1000 Mbps) ports
1 USB 3.0 port, 1 USB 2.0 port & DLNA-server
Sitecom Cloud Security
Upgrade your notebook or desktop PC to support 802.11ac
Wireless speed: 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz frequency, 900 Mbps on the 5 GHz frequency
Dual-Band technology
USB 3.0 interface: USB-throughput of up to 5 Gbps, allows for full AC-speed to reach your PC
1 internal and 1 external high performance antennas
External antenna to boost the wireless performance
OPS button to create a secure connection to the router
In this article we will take a look upon the latest high-performance Wi-Fi router from Sitecom, the X8 AC1750 model to be more precise. This one is shipped inside a medium-sized cardboard box, with the necessary information printed on the external layer:
On one of the box laterals we will be able to see a list of package contents and system requirements, in different languages:
The opposite side has a description of SCS (Sitecom Cloud Security), which is an extra layer of protection against the viruses and phishing while browsing the Internet:
Nearby we will also find the list of product specifications and examples of product positioning:
On the back side of the box we will get to see a comparison of different router models, benefits, but also a small description of the routers’ ports and LEDs:
By removing the external packaging, we will find another plain cardboard box:
Inside we will find the main product, along with a leaflet which stores the initial login details:
The rest of the bundle is located on the bottom layer:
The power adapter is accompanied by a blue LAN cable, one plastic dock and also a pair of wall mounting screws:
The adapter is manufactured by DVE and is rated on the output 12V, 2A:
The dock is the same as the one we have seen with the WLR-6100 and allows the router to stay vertically, by using two plastic clips:
On the bottom of the dock we will get to see some small rubber feet:
The router chassis is quite modern and was built to be mounted in three different positions:
On the sides of the chassis we will find lots of ventilation grills:
The bottom area comes with a sticker which holds details regarding the Wi-Fi initial login details, but also the mounting points for the dock:
In the front we will get to see LEDs for OPS (WPS), Power, 2.4GHz band activity, 5GHz band activity, 4 LEDs for the LAN ports, but also one for the WAN interface:
In the back we have the Power On/Off switch, DC-IN port, one blue WAN port along with four yellow LAN ports, one USB 2.0 port and one USB 3.0:
On the top we have the OPS buttons for each Wi-Fi network and these can be also utilized for resetting the router to default settings:
The router also comes with four angled rubber feet for when it sits in a horizontal position:
As documentation, we will receive a Declaration of Conformity leaflet, SCS in-depth presentation document, the disk with USB software, one Installation Guide but also a document referring to the Licensing Information:
The Installation Guide is clear and concise with drawings so we can set everything in a snap:
Wi-Fi USB 3.0 AC1200 WLA-7100 Adapter
The router works hand-in-hand with the AC1200 adapter, code name WLA-7100. This one is shipped inside a semi-transparent plastic enclosure, which holds quite a few technical details on the outside:
An installation example can be seen on one of the box sides:
Also here we will get to see the technical specifications, written in different languages:
Inside the box we will get to find the dongle itself along with documentation, which is placed in a separate cardboard enclosure:
As documentation we have an Installation Guide for both PC and Mac platforms, one Declaration of Conformity leaflet, along with a disk with drivers:
The dongle looks like an oversized USB Flash Drive and is also equipped with a non-removable external antenna, placed on the top:
On the back side we can find some product serial numbers, along with the hardware MAC:
In the front we will see the USB 3.0 port, which does not have a protective cover:
In order to get more coverage, a better signal, it is recommended to lift the antenna:
The dongle is also equipped with a green activity LED:
The X8 AC1750 router from Sitecom sports a very similar GUI compared to the previous iteration we have reviewed from them. The Menus are placed on a grey bar on top, while each of them opens a separate set of tabs. The System Status section informs us of the hardware and software version numbers, along with the total Uptime:
From the DHCP Server tab we can change the router IP address, enable the DHCP server and also set its range:
Device Status shows us the current operating mode of the router, but also additional details regarding the Wi-Fi and LAN interfaces:
Inside the IPv4 tab we will be able to observe the current connection details:
IPv6 status can be seen in the next tab:
Next we have the DHCP Status tab where we can see the assigned IP addresses and expiration for each one of them:
In order to see what is happening “under the hood”, we will have to check out the Log tab:
We also have Statistics where we can check the Sent/Received packages per each interface:
The Internet Settings menu comes with IPv4/IPv6 Settings menu:
The 2.4GHz WiFi interface settings can be customized from the next menu. Enable tab allows to enable/disable the WiFi module:
The Basic tab allows setting of the operating mode, band, enable a Guest network, SSID name and current channel:
Here are the bands we can set:
Next we have the Advanced tab where we can modify miscellaneous options:
From the Security tab, we will be able to choose if we will broadcast the SSID or not, enable WMM or set up encryption:
ACL will allow us to filter the stations by MAC which will have access to the network:
WPS can be also enabled from the next tab:
5GHz WiFi menu has similar sub-sections:
The Basic tab has now been adapted for the 5GHz frequency:
Here are the bands we can choose from:
Inside the Firewall menu we have the option to disable or enable this function:
We can also set up Demilitarized IPs for servers which need full access to WAN:
The router comes with DoS protection features which can be enabled or disabled depending on our choice:
With Access Control we can permit or deny certain traffic inside the LAN:
URL Blocking can be easily enabled from the next tab:
Next we have Advanced Settings; NAT tab comes with options to enable or disable this function, but it is also possible to enable hardware capability:
Port Forwarding will allow us to redirect network services to a specific PC behind the firewall:
Virtual Server function allows remote users to access services such as web, FTP which are offered by our local PC:
Special Applications section permits communication on specific ports when needed:
From the ALG section we can select the preset applications which we are using and need special support when operating under NAT:
Next we have UPnP menu which only has an enable/disable switch:
QoS will allow us to prioritize traffic to specific applications:
The USB ports can be configure in two ways: Server mode when external storage will be accessible via SMB or NetUSB Mode which will show the connected devices as they would have been connected directly to the computer:
The last tab, Toolbox, comes with the possibility to enable the well-known Sitecom Cloud Security and from here we will be also able to access the configuration of the additional security filter:
The router password can be customized from the next tab:
In order to configure the current date and time for the router, we’ll have to access the Timezone tab:
By accessing the Remote tab, we will be able to designate a host from WAN which can connect to the GUI of the router:
The router software can be updated manually, but also has an automatic update function:
From the Backup tab, we will be able to save the configuration file to our computer in order to restore at a later date or simply reset the equipment to the factory defaults:
A simpler equipment software reset can be also performed from the next tab:
DDNS services can be specified in the next tab:
The last menu configures the Wake on LAN capability:
CPU: Intel I5 3570K Retail
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Professional
RAM: GeIL Black Dragon 2x4GB DDR2133 (@1600)
Video: Sparkle X560 Calibre
Power Supply: Cooler Master 850W
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200.10
Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840
For testing the router on wireless, we have used a Dell 7520 laptop to which we have connected two different wireless AC adapters, the TRENDnet TEW-805UB, but also the latest Sitecom WLA-7100. The throughput was measured by using PerformanceTest 8.0, by uploading data to the wired server.
For the wired client tests, both stations were linked to the router via UTP wire.
When the role of the server was set to the wired station, we will consider download, while when the server was the laptop, we will consider upload. Here are the results:
To test the USB Storage speeds, we have connected one Patriot Memory 32GB Supersonic Rage XT USB 3.0 Flash Drive to the router and performed file transfers both ways.
The X8 AC1750 router from Sitecom shares the same external design as the previous model we have tested from them, having internal antennas for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. We also have available one USB 3.0 port and also one USB 2.0 for connecting printers or storage devices.
The router sports the latest AC technology and we have conducted the tests while using two compatible adapters, one from TRENDnet and the latest AC1200 WLA-7100 which features an external antenna. As we have expected, on the AC standard the Sitecom adapter has exceeded the performances from TRENDnets’ TEW-805UB offering, succeeding to go over 213Mbps. However, we have tested this adapter before with the Archer C7 router from TRENDnet and got speeds up to 258.5Mbps.
The TRENDnet Archer C7 router has also won in the 2.4Ghz coverage department, while trying the connection with a tablet at the farthest distance, 2 rooms away. With the TRENDnet we have got steady 4 signal lines from a total of 5 while with the X8 AC1750 we have got a maximum of two and the connection was dropping from time to time.
One thing we are missing from the GUI is the ability to set custom DNS servers when the connection is on Auto mode; this one would be pretty handy at times when ISP DNS servers has issues and we can fix this with replacements like OpenDNS or Google DNS.
Sitecom Cloud Security protection layer is offered with a 6-month free trial with the possibility of extension. The layer protects us against viruses, phishing, malicious websites and software vulnerabilities and allows us to block advertisements and website tracking.
The Sitecom WLR-8100 router is available online for about 142 Euros while the TP-LINK Archer C7 can be found for about 104 Euros.
We would like to thank again to Sitecom for making this review possible!