At first we would like to thank Sitecom for offering a sample of their Greyhound AC2600 Wi-Fi Router for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About Sitecom:

 

“Do you want to get the most out of the web and your home network? Then we are here for you. Every day we make every effort to make your digital life more fun and above all easier. At Sitecom we develop networking products to allow anyone to get started easily and instantly.

 

With our products you can quickly and easily set up a home network in which you can share music and photos, email, stream videos, play games, communicate and work.

 

At Sitecom we make it easy to find a product that meets your needs from our extensive range. With all our solutions you can start in an instant. Online security is always a priority. As well as convenience, we offer comprehensive service and support. That is why all Sitecom products come with a 10 year warranty.

 

Sitecom has grown into one of the leading and fastest growing computer network brands for home and small business use. Just by keeping things simple.”

 

Blazing-fast Wi-Fi speeds for all devices

 

With AC2600 Wi-Fi speeds, a 1.4 GHz Dual-Core Qualcomm® Internet Processor up to 8 times more powerful than the average router and Qualcomm® MU| EFX, Greyhound is able to deliver not only incredible Wi-Fi speeds for your newest ac-devices but also a real improvement for older wireless-n devices. Instead of serving one device at a time, as routers equipped with Single-User MIMO have to do, Greyhound can serve multiple devices at once and deliver up to 3x faster Wi-Fi to every phone, computer and device in your home. Greyhound also makes sure, that time-sensitive applications such as streaming and gaming are automatically assigned a higher priority than others. Unlike traditional Quality of Service (QoS) which treats every device and application the same, Greyhound is equipped with Qualcomm® StreamBoost™, which responds individually to applications such as Skype, Netflix and Spotify and automatically provides each application with the bandwidth it needs. With Greyhound all applications run smoothly without buffering, even in situations where a multitude of devices demands the router’s processing power.

 

Bigger range and more stable Wi-Fi connections

 

Greyhound’s four antennas can be adjusted to deliver an optimized Wi-Fi range throughout every home, even very large ones. In combination with Beamforming, Greyhound maximizes range, eliminates dead zones and creates more reliable Wi-Fi connections for all devices. The smart feature localizes your device and points the Wi-Fi signal directly at it instead of sending it out in a general direction. When you move, Beamforming adjusts the signal so you can keep streaming and gaming without glitches. Greyhound’s Band Steering feature can detect how many devices are in the network, which band they are on and if they are dual-band capable. It then automatically assigns them to the ideal band.

 

Unprecedented connectivity

 

Greyhound isn’t just a router. With four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an SD-card slot and analog and digital audio connectors it is also a NAS, an audio bridge and so much more. Connect 4K Ultra HD TVs or game consoles to Greyhound’s Gigabit Ethernet ports and experience lag-free gaming and smooth HD video streaming. With printers or hard drives connected to Greyhound’s USB ports, you can share them across the network. Thanks to SuperSpeed USB 3.0 and the powerful 1.4 GHz Dual-Core Qualcomm® Internet Processor, transfer speeds are up to 10 times faster than with USB 2.0. Greyhound’s SD-card slot comes in handy to stream your photos directly from your camera’s SD-card to the big screen of the TV. Greyhound also lets you connect your stereo and turn it into a Wi-Fi stereo! Plug it into the analog or digital audio port and start streaming music right away. With Greyhound supporting both AirPlay and DLNA, wireless music streaming is possible from practically any of your iOS, Mac OS, Android or Windows devices.

 

Endless software features

 

AirPlay & DLNA streaming, printer server, FTP server, download client, Time Machine support, Greyhound has it all. Easily stream movies, music and photos wirelessly to your Apple TV, DLNA-capable TV or game console. With the download client you can download files directly to devices in the network. Greyhound also seamlessly integrates with Apple’s Time Machine feature to automatically backup incremental changes on your Mac and restore your system or specific files whenever you need to. As the first router with a fully customized OpenWrt user interface, Greyhound offers almost endless possibilities. With 128MB NAND Flash and 16MB SPI Flash, Greyhound has up to 8 times more memory than the average router and plenty of room to install new OpenWrt packages to add additional features. The user interface comes with a clean and intuitive design and offers a basic mode that works like a shortcut to the most popular settings and an expert mode with access to all settings. Alternatively, you can download the free MyWiFi app and access the most popular features from your iOS or Android phone.

 

WIRELESS FEATURES

 

Standards : IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, , IEEE 802.11ac

Frequency : 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz

Signal Rate : GHz: up to 1750 Mbps, 2.4 GHz: up to 800 Mbps

Functions : Enable/Disable wireless radio, Wireless statistics, Guest networks (1x 2.4 GHz, 1x 5 GHz), Auto-Channel-Selection

Security : 64/128-bit WEP, WPA / WPA2, WPA-PSK/ WPA2-PSK encryption

Advanced functions : Qualcomm® MU|EFX Multi-User MIMO, Beamforming, Band steering

 

HARDWARE FEATURES

 

Interfaces : 4x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN Ports, 1x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN Port, 2x USB 3.0 Port, 1x S/PDIF Port, 1x 3.5mm Jack Port, 1x SD Card

Buttons : 1x Power On/Off, 1x Reset, 2x OPS (1x 2.4 GHz, 1x 5 GHz)

LED Indicators : 4x LAN, 1x WAN, 1x OPS, 1x Power, 1x 2.4 GHz, 1x 5 GHz, 1x SD Card, 2x USB 3.0

Antennas : 4x adjustable high-gain (5 dBi), high-power (400/800mW) dual-band antennas

CPU : 1.4 GHz Dual-Core Qualcomm® Internet Processor

Memory : 512 MB DDR3 RAM memory, 128 MB NAND Flash memory, 16 MB SPI Flash memory

Product size : 26,5 x 18 x 3 cm

 

SOFTWARE FEATURES

 

Operating System : Customized OpenWrt firmware, Sitecom MyWiFi app for iOS and Android

Audio Playback : AirPlay and DLNA

WAN Type : IPv4: Compatible with Dynamic IP, Static IP, PPPoE, PPTP internet connections IPv6: Compatible with Native, PPPoX (PPPoA and PPPoE), DS-Lite, 6RD internet connections

DHCP : Server/Client/DHCP client list, Address reservation

Quality of Service : Qualcomm® StreamBoost for fully automatic QoS

Port Forwarding : Virtual server, Port triggering, UPnP, DMZ

Dynamic DNS : More than 15 options including DynDns and NO-IP VPN Support IPSec Pass-Through, PPTP Pass-Through, L2TP Pass-Through, VPN client

Access Control : URL filter, Port filter

Firewall Security : DoS/SPI firewall, IP address filter/MAC address filter/Domain filter, IP & MAC address binding

USB Sharing : Support Samba (supports hard drives with up to 4TB) / Printer Server / Virtual USB / FTP

Print Server : Multifunctional printer support (Windows/MacOS), LPR protocol support, AirPrint support

Media Server : Samba, DLNA

Back-up Feature : Supports Apple Time Machine

Operating modes : Router/AP/Client bridge

 

Greyhound is actually the first router we are testing which does sport MU-MIMO technology; traditional Wi-Fi routers with SU-MIMO serve only one user at a time while other that rely on that specific connection are forced to wait which practically minimizes the overall performance. The new MU-MIMO standard is solving this problem by creating three simultaneous connections to serve several users with three data streams at the same time; this way, the router overall capacity will be used more efficiently. Greyhound is Sitecoms’ flagship router at the time of the review and also incorporates a custom OpenWrt version with lots of options available inside the GUI, but let’s take it slower and look first at the packaging of the product! On the top side of the box (which is rather large) we will get to see a photo of the product in operation, along with a presentation of the main highlights:

 

 

 

The router does have at its heart one Qualcomm Internet Processor with its dual Krait 300 cores at 1.4GHz (IPQ8064 code name) and is paired with 512MB of DDR3 RAM.

 

 

 

On the side we will learn about a more complete list of features, in multiple languages:

 

 

 

Sitecom likes to remind the user that they are dealing with a customized OpenWrt firmware:

 

 

 

The rest of the product details can be found on the back side of the box including a detailed explanation on how MU-MIMO works and also regarding Qualcomm Streamboost (QoS):

 

 

 

After removing the top packaging layer, we will end up with another all-black cardboard enclosure:

 

 

 

The inside compartments are a mix between sponge-like material and cardboard so the product will be unharmed during transit:

 

 

 

On the lower layer we will get to see the documentation which sits in a transparent plastic envelope, but also the router bundle that is located in a separate enclosure:

 

 

 

Greyhound comes pre-encrypted so our data is safe even before the first configuration:

 

 

 

We will also get an Installation Guide, a leaflet with a list of installed modules, but also one disk:

 

 

 

The guide will let us know with intuitive drawings and text on how to perform the installation:

 

 

 

Coming back to the bundle box, we will receive one power adapter, the stands, one LAN cable but also necessary screws for mounting the product on the wall:

 

 

 

The stand pieces are a combination of aluminum and plastic; at the same they follow the color scheme of the Greyhound:

 

 

 

The power adapter is quite compact:

 

 

 

It is also provided with a small LED so we would know when it is operating properly:

 

 

 

The power adapter was manufactured by Powertron Electronics Corp. and is rated on the output as 12V, 3.3A:

 

 

 

Additionally, we will get to see that Sitecom has also wrapped the Greyhound router in a transparent plastic bag:

 

 

 

Greyhound comes with a pretty large footprint and its design/quality of materials offer a professional look; the four top adjustable high-gain 5 dBi antennas are non-removable:

 

 

 

The middle logo is also LED lighted and it will pulsate during router initialization (we have a small clip set up just to show that):

 

 

 

The activity LEDs for all available interfaces can be found on the top left area of the router:

 

 

 

We can enable OPS by pressing the respective button for each network; 2.4GHz and 5GHz network activity is also signaled by the respective white LEDs:

 

 

 

A Greyhound product logo can be spotted at the base of each antenna:

 

 

 

On the laterals of the router we will be able to spot ventilation holes:

 

 

 

Two different designs are available for this specific router: the top is covered by a grey paint which imitates brushed aluminum while the bottom features a rubberized layer:

 

 

 

On the back area of the router we will spot most of the interfaces; most of this area features again the Greyhound logos:

 

 

 

In the middle Sitecom has placed one sticker with the pre-encrypted network details along with the two wall mounts:

 

 

 

One element of novelty for routers in general represents the SPDIF out and analog audio out ports; the audio CODEC inside is manufactured by Cirrus Logic and can output 24bit at 192KHz maximum (limited to stereo output). Nearby we do also have one USB 3.0 port:

 

 

 

Moving on to the right, we do have four LAN ports and one WAN:

 

 

 

The On/Off button is located near the DC-IN port and here we will also get to see the Reset button hole:

 

 

 

On the right side of the router, we do have the secondary USB 3.0 port along with one SD card reader:

 

 

 

The bottom portion of the router does feature the mount holes for the feet:

 

 

 

The Greyhound feet can be attached in a snap so we will have the product ready to operate in no-time:

 

 

 

Right after we have connected to the GUI, we will get to see that the interface follows the color scheme (brushed aluminum texture) of the product and it is also clean and pleasant to the eye; as we have seen with other manufacturers, we do get one Basic and one Advanced mode for working with the router features and the main page also displays the router resources consumption. We would like to remind people again that Greyhound does feature a custom OpenWrt firmware so it is quite configurable, capable and supports easy firmware updates:

 

 

First we will cover the Basic area of the interface and begin with Wi-Fi Settings option, where we can enable/disable the interfaces but also edit security options:

 

 

 

Guest network settings can be configured from the next menu:

 

 

Next we have OPS connectivity options (WPS):

 

 

When we do have connected a storage drive to the router, we will be asked for which services it will be used; we have to click on the services we need and then “Save” in order for the modifications to be performed successfully; here we will be also able to check the total free space remaining on the drive:

 

 

Print Server and Airprint services are next:

 

 

Audio / Music Player options can be configured from the respective menu; we can either have the Audio jack operating or the SPDIF, but not both at the same time:

 

 

As we have seen with the last tested TRENDnet router, this one too features the StreamBoost Technology (Qos) from Qualcomm; in the Basic menu we can specify our connection properties from the provider:

 

 

Whenever we need to perform a firmware update and check if a new one is available, we can go to the respective menu:

 

 

Let’s navigate now to the Advanced mode, where we have the menus available on the top side; most of the menus also feature sub-sections. In the Home area, we can check system details, memory allocation information, network details, DHCP leases and Wi-Fi interface options:

 

 

 

The Wireless Overview area allows us to work with the 2.4GHz/5GHz wireless controllers but also see the associated stations:

 

 

 

2.4GHz network details are next, from where we can change both basic and advanced options:

 

 

 

The Guest network menu is separate:

 

 

 

We can say the same about OPS services for both frequencies:

 

 

 

 

5GHz wireless menu is similar:

 

 

 

The Interfaces menu takes care of the LAN/WAN and WAN6(IPV6) interfaces:

 

 

 

LAN options can be customized from the next menu:

 

 

 

WAN menu is next:

 

 

 

WAN6 has its own menu ready (useful when our Internet provider does offer IPV6 services):

 

 

 

Switch menu is no news for users familiar with OpenWrt:

 

 

 

Static IPV4 routes can be specified from the next menu:

 

 

 

Following next, we do have an in-depth description of the router mounted file systems, along with mount points and swap area:

 

 

 

FTP settings can be operated if we do have storage device available:

 

 

 

We can enable SAMBA so the router will be seen as a regular network share for accessing the data:

 

 

 

Transmission is the available torrent client pre-installed on the Greyhound; the “Open Web Interface” button will appear only when we have a storage device available and specified to be used for torrents:

 

 

 

Unfortunately, in our case the Transmission interface could not be accessed:

 

 

 

A so called Software area is available for us to install additional OpenWrt packages or remove some of the already installed ones:

 

 

 

Firewall options can be enabled from the next menu:

 

 

 

DMZ IPs can be specified from the next menu:

 

 

 

DoS protection is embedded into the router firmware:

 

 

 

We can also set up a MAC Filtering and IP Filtering table to restrict access to the network:

 

 

 

URL Blocking is next:

 

 

 

Virtual Server options are available in most router firmwares we have checked out in the past:

 

 

 

We can say about the same for ALG:

 

 

 

System logs are available for us to read in detail; we can also save these to a remote server:

 

 

 

Like system logs were not enough, we do also have access to kernel logs:

 

 

 

As we have seen on many NAS interfaces, the Greyhound displays a list of running services and from here we can also terminate each of them:

 

 

 

 

A detailed Realtime Load chart can be checked out from the next menu:

 

 

 

Initialization scripts can be also messed with:

 

 

Scheduled tasks can be also checked out next:

 

 

Time zone menu is pretty self-explanatory:

 

 

Account settings will allow us to define an administrator username and alter its password:

 

 

Flash operations area is in charge of saving current settings to a file, restore and from here we can also force a firmware update via uploaded file:

 

 

SSH access can be configured next:

 

 

LEDs can be enabled or disabled at will from the LED Control menu:

 

 

Next, we do have the WoL menu:

 

 

Dynamic DNS options are available for us to enter in the respective fields, in case we are using services like this one:

 

 

We can also perform diagnostics from the next menu:

 

 

We can enable UPnP from the respective sub-section:

 

 

The last menu is in charge of enabling remote access to the router:

 

 

Wired Station

 

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: Crucial MX100

Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840

For this new breed of routers, we have used a mix of PerformanceTest 8.0 and LAN Speed Test in order to test performances. Our wired server had a public shared folder on it and with the help of the wireless station (i7 6700K, ECS Z170 Claymore, 8GB RAM DDR 2133MHz, OCZ Vector SSD) we have operated the test software (LAN Speed Test for measuring wireless download/upload and PerformanceTest 8.0 for checking out the wired station-to-station switch performances).

For the wired client tests, both stations were linked to the router via UTP wire.

 

Wired Test

 

 

 

We have tested the router while using all available modes from the interface, on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies:

 

 

 

 

To test the USB Storage speeds, we have connected one Corsair Flash Voyager GTX USB 3.0 Flash Drive to the router and performed file transfers both ways. The transfer speeds are very good, maxing out the LAN interface in the read department.

 

Copy

Read

 

The latest flagship router from Sitecom, Greyhound really brings some new and interesting features to the table like the audio output ports on both analog and optical, MU-MIMO capabilities, a sleek design with an attractive LED setup, OpenWrt custom interface but also a SD Card slot for fitting extra storage to it. This is not all! We do also get two USB 3.0 ports for connecting more devices and the product seems to deliver nice speeds on the 5GHz interface as it has resulted from our tests.

 

Speaking of the external Wi-Fi high-gain antennas though, we could not say that we were impressed a lot, meaning that while the 2.4GHz coverage was good, on the 5GHz we have had some issues getting the signal properly to our TP-LINK RE850 range extender two rooms away; the extender worked properly with the TP-LINK Touch P5 router while with the Greyhound we were getting very frequent disconnects. Also, when we have checked the range extender interface, the signal strength was reported as “Average” and we could confirm the weaker signal in the exact same spot while trying to connect with a laptop in the same area. Of course, we have also tried to change the signal strength level from Auto to the maximum value, but it did not seem to make a difference; this is not an isolated issue on our sample it seems because after a quick check-up some other reviewers have experienced the same situation.

 

Now on the good side of things again, with this router we have succeeded to obtain good read/write speeds while we have had storage connected on the USB port so we won’t hesitate to say that it could be also used as an entry-level NAS.

 

While the product brings a lot of interesting features to the market, it is not very accessible to regular users because it can be found in shops for about 272 Euros at the time of the review. When it will drop in the 200 Euros range we do guess that it will be a much better buy! However, we will not hesitate giving it a Novelty award for the new things it brings to the table.

 

Sitecom Greyhound AC2600 Wi-Fi Router is Recommended For:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Sitecom for making this review possible!