Networking Gear by stefan @ 2017-05-31
By combining powerful hardware which does include a 1.7Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Krait IPQ8065 SoC, 512MB of RAM, AC2600 capabilities (MU-MIMO & Beamforming) with a trimmed-down version of the DSM which has now been adapted for the router environment and is called SRM, Synology has obtained one of the most feature-rich and configurable routers on the market.
At first we would like to thank Synology for offering a sample of their RT2600ac Wi-Fi Router for testing and reviewing.
"Founded in 2000, Synology is a young and energetic company dedicated to developing high-performance, reliable, versatile, and environmentally-friendly Network Attached Storage (NAS) products. Our goal is to deliver user-friendly solutions and solid customer service to satisfy the needs of businesses, home offices, individual users and families."
Engineered for performance
Supporting MU-MIMO and the latest 802.11ac wave 2 standard, RT2600ac enables up to 800Mbps and 1733Mbps on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz radios respectively. Reach 2Gbps combined bandwidth with Dual WAN, and easily optimize your network with minimal performance loss even with Layer 7 traffic control.
CPU
1.7GHz Dual Core
Powerful Wi-Fi
Quad Stream, Dual Band
AC2600, Wave 2
With MU-MIMO & Beamforming
Layer 4 & 7
Hardware Acceleration Engine
Top software experience
Synology Router Manager (SRM) powers the RT2600ac to keep things simplified yet extensively tunable. Easily monitor and adjust your network, even on mobile devices with DS router.
VPN Plus
Keep your network’s internal services and resources hardened against direct access while still allowing work from home or a remote location with VPNs. Easily deploy a wide range of VPN solutions and manage access permissions and bandwidth allowances. Learn more
Synology SSL VPN
Secure and fast, Synology’s SSL VPN1 solution requires minimal setup on Windows, Mac, Ubuntu, iOS, and Android, making rapid deployment as easy as logging into a web portal.
WebVPN
Clientless WebVP1 for centralized access to company intranets and web backends. Easily login from anywhere with only a browser for a secured connection.
Comprehensive protocols
Additionally supports SSTP1, OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, and PPTP VPN server options to satisfy your specific network requirements.
Powerful connectivity management
SRM delivers easy-to-use connectivity management tools to ensure your network always runs smoothly.
Smart WAN
SRM’s Smart WAN capability on the RT2600ac supports 2Gbps Dual WAN combined bandwidth when multiple connections are established2. If one of the connections goes offline due to ISP or cable problems, traffic can failover to the other interface. Load balancing can be used in addition to failover, spreading traffic across both interfaces. Policy route allows traffic routing based on destination or source address.
Smart Connect
Not sure which devices should connect to the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz bands? With Synology’s Smart Connect, devices are connected to the most appropriate band automatically, letting users experience simplified management without worrying about range or speed issues.
Content filtering & monitoring
Application Layer QoS and Traffic Report
Application Layer or Layer 7, Quality of Service control shows the bandwidth consumed by individual applications and devices. Restrict the amount of bandwidth for specific applications, without affecting the rest, and generate traffic usage reports sorted by application and device.
Intelligent Web Filtering and Parental Controls
Instead of traditional URL-based web filtering, SRM does so during DNS lookup. Easily block out thousands of sites with built-in Google SafeSearch integration and a constantly updated database of customizable website categories.
Stay protected
In addition to standard security tools like denial-of-service protection and firewall management, SRM delivers innovative tools and features to help protect your network from outside attacks.
Intrusion Prevention
Intrusion Detection System analyzes network traffic and logs all intrusion attempts, allowing for fine-tuning of your firewall rules with minimal performance impact. Intrusion Prevention System additionally blocks suspicious traffic based on customizable rules.
Security Advisor & QualysGuard
Monitor and check settings and system files for security issues and automatically apply recommended fixes. Synology utilizes the industry leading Qualysguard platform to detect and enhance security across all Synology operating systems. Learn more
Continuously updated
New vulnerabilities and exploits are discovered in the wild every day. Synology is committed to providing fast updates to keep device security up to date for maximum protection. SRM can automatically perform upgrades on a schedule for maximum convenience.
Manage, sync, back up, and more
With an external storage device or SD card, RT2600ac can become a private cloud server with Synology’s Cloud Station Suite3, allowing easy access to files, photos, and even backups for multiple devices. Mac users also enjoy Time Machine compatibility. Connect devices with USB 3.0 to take advantage of RT2600ac’s powerful connectivity.
Add-on Packages
SRM’s modular design allows for a tailored and optimized experience to suit your needs.
Wi-Fi and DLNA Certified
Wave 2 AC and DLNA certified for maximum compatibility with your other devices.
Synology QuickConnect & DDNS
Simplified access management and connectivity.
Synology is a company widely-known for their award-winning NAS solutions, which do cover home, small business and enterprise segments. Recently, they have expanded on a new segment, which is wireless routers! The first model that was launched has arrived with the RT1900ac code name, but we will concentrate our attention upon a newer, updated model that is the RT2600ac. The product is a quad-stream dual-band, supporting AC2600 Wave 2 standard (MU-MIMO and Beamforming), does have Layer 4 & 7 hardware acceleration, while at its heart we’ve got a 1.7GHz dual-core SoC.
The box in which the router is shipped does sport the usual appearance we have seen with the Synology routers; on the top area we can spot a sticker, which does feature a photo of the product, along with some of its main highlights:
Some of the product functions can be also spotted on the sides of the packaging:
Even more details are available on the back, which do include the technical specifications, but also a product usage example:
After lifting the top cover, we will get to see that the RT2600ac along with its bundle are well separated, so there won’t be any issues during transit:
Speaking of the bundle, the customer will receive four antennas, the Quick Installation Guide, one power adapter, but also one LAN cable:
The power adapter was manufactured by Channel Well Technology, and is rated on the output as 12V at 3.5A:
The removable antennas have an interesting shape and are fully adjustable so they would fit with the environment the router will be used in:
The Quick Installation Guide, does show the user how to perform the initial installation steps, in order to have an operational wired and wireless network in no time!
The RT2600ac router does feature a nice looking plastic chassis, with plenty of ventilation grills all-around so the necessary cooling is provided to the internal components during operation; in the center we can spot the usual Synology logo, but further down we’ve got plenty of LEDs:
We’ve got one LED for the overall System status, the 2.4GHz wireless band LED, the 5GHz wireless band LED, one LED for each WAN interface, but also one separate LED for each LAN interface:
If we do take a look on the side of the product, we will get to see that it is disposed at an angle, allowing quite a bit of ventilation space; on the left side we’ve got one antenna port, along with an extra button and USB 3.0 port:
A closer look does reveal an Eject button (for USB storage), which does also sport a small green LED in the middle, which does signal the HDD/SSD/USB Flash activity LED:
The right side of the product does have a similar appearance:
Here we do also have the WPS button (with LED), but also a Wi-Fi interface enable/disable button:
On the back side of the interface, Synology has placed a small On/Off button, the DC-IN port, one Reset button hole, an USB 2.0 port for connecting extra storage, printers or even 3G/4G dongles, a WAN port, but also the usual four LAN ports. The first LAN port from the four can also double up as a secondary WAN, for load balancing purposes or failover, very useful in enterprise environments! Of course, two extra antenna ports are also available here:
In the frontal area of the router, we can spot the product code name, but also one SD Card reader:
On the back side of the router, besides plenty of ventilation grills we do also have a central sticker; on the sticker we can read the product power rating, its MAC address, serial number, PIN code, but also the supported standards:
RT2600ac can be also fixed to a wall, given its mounts:
After mounting the antennas, we can go on with the testing procedure!
Right after the router has booted up, we will be welcomed by a wizard in order to easily perform the initial setup steps:
First, we do have to set an username, along with its password:
Afterwards, we will be prompted to define the SSID name, along with the password, but also select the country we do live in, so the proper frequencies will be displayed for selection:
Next, we can select one of the available router operation modes, but also allow or disallow external access to the router OS:
The type of Internet connection must be also specified, depending on our ISP:
During the time the settings are applied, we will be shown the status of the progress:
A final message is displayed after the setup has been completed:
Users familiar to Synology’s DSM will be right at home with the SRM, which is their new operating system for the router segment; it is basically a toned-down version of the more complex DSM, but presents itself with the same ease of use! After connecting to the router IP inside a browser window, we are prompted to authenticate:
The SRM interface looks similar to the desktop of a regular operating system, which does feature a top bar (with a left button in order to show all applications, several other interfaces on the right side, but also a Search button), but also several icons on the main desktop. The thing that is missing here but is included with the regular DSM is the widget area:
By clicking on the small “dialogue” pictogram on the top right, we can access the notifications:
First, we can go to the Network Center, in order to configure both wired and wireless interfaces; a Status sub-section is present here from where we can easily turn on/off the Wi-Fi (per each band), see the connection details but also check out the Upload/Download WAN status, connected devices list, CPU resources consumption, but also memory utilization:
The dedicated Wireless menu allows the user to set more in-depth the 2.4GHz and 5GHz interfaces:
WPS setup is also available for configuration from the same menu:
Guest Networks can be enabled for both bands, and here we can also specify if the APs should be isolated or if to enable MU-MIMO or not:
A MAC filter can be also enabled:
The Internet connection settings can be further configured in the dedicated area:
We can enable the second WAN and its functionality from the Smart WAN area:
QuickConnect & DDNS services do assist when we do need to connect to the router from outside the LAN:
IPv6 Tunneling options are next:
If a compatible 3G/4G dongle is installed, we can configure it from the next section:
Port Forwarding as well as Port Triggering options can be further defined from the respective sub-section; we can also enable DMZ:
The LAN options can be configured in detail from the next menu area:
Also here we do have the IPv6 settings available, we can define Static Routes, check out the current DHCP clients and add the selected one to reservation, check out the currently reserved IPs for respective clients, but also work with IPTV & VoIP settings:
Parental Control area does allow customization per each station, we can enable a Web Filter but also choose a design for the web page which does appear when accessing blocked resources:
Traffic Control options do follow:
Custom Security options are also available, which do also contain protection against attacks from the Internet:
The enabled services can be also seen from the dedicated tab, and from here we can also select which are allowed through the Firewall:
Auto Block function is next:
The Network Center has a dedicated area for selecting one of the available RT2600ac function modes:
As we have seen with DSM, the SRM does also have a Control Panel; the first sub-section does allow us to define multiple users, adjust Advanced options, join a Domain or enable LDAP client:
The Storage area is available when we do have connected a drive to the router; here we can define new shared folders, assign user permissions for each one, enable Network Recycle Bin, format the drive or eject it when not used, check out the connection parameters in order to access the resources from the drive more easily, work with multimedia content indexing or set the Hybernation timer:
File Services can be enabled depending on the environment we work with:
We do also have a dedicated Services menu for working with SSH, SNMP, NTP, adjust Application Privileges or work with Certificates:
Same notification types seen with the DSM can be found with the SRM too:
More information regarding the router can be found inside the Device menu; here we can find out of the serial number, SoC name, number of CPU cores, installed RAM and many more; we can also customized the LED behavior, work with installed Printers or set a Reboot schedule:
SRM Updates can be done automatically or manually (via a specified file); in the same menu we can back up the current SRM configuration to a file, restore it when necessary, adjust the connection to the GUI settings, set Regional Options, modify the login screen style (including a custom logo), but also login to a Synology account:
The Package Center allows us to install different other application modules or perform updates:
SRM Help is there for us when we need clarifications regarding a specific setting/configuration area:
Cloud Station Server assists us when we want to sync the connected drive with different other storage devices:
The router can operate as a DNS server when the dedicated application is installed; plenty of options are available to be configured from the sub-menus:
As we have seen with the Synology NASes, Download Station is here for us when we do want to perform downloads from different sources, onto the connected storage device:
The Intrusion Prevention package does detect and can drop malicious Internet packets, in order to ensure optimal network security:
The Router can also function as a DLNA device, when the Media Server package is installed:
RADIUS Server options can be also enabled with the respective package:
VPN Plus does allow the users to connect to the local network from the Internet via different VPN solutions:
The free VPN license does allow only one user to be connected to the service at once, but for multiple users we need to purchase additional licenses:
File Station does allow easy browsing through the files from our connected storage devices:
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 testing the RT2600ac Wi-Fi Router, 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.
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 resulted transfer speeds are sufficient for a device of this type.
By combining powerful hardware which does include a 1.7Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Krait IPQ8065 SoC, 512MB of RAM, AC2600 capabilities (MU-MIMO & Beamforming) with a trimmed-down version of the DSM which has now been adapted for the router environment and is called SRM, Synology has obtained one of the most feature-rich and configurable routers on the market.
SRM is easy to work with, features a catchy look and multiple modules can be installed optionally free in order to enhance the router functionality. We could remind of VPN Plus that does allow connecting securely to the local network from a remote location, Smart WAN feature that can transform one LAN port into a second WAN for Failover or Load Balancing, the Intrusion Prevention module which guards the network against various network threats, DNS Server, Media Server or the Download Station which are also present on the regular DSM version.
The router is continuously updated in order to contain the latest vulnerability fixes; this can be done manually but also automatically on a schedule, depending on the administrator’s preferences.
The extra included USB ports do allow for external storage to be plugged in to the RT2600ac, but also printers or compatible 3G/4G dongles. Thanks to the well-known File Station utility, we can also browse the connected storage contents, without the need of browsing to the shared folders from our computer.
The feature-rich RT2600ac router from Synology can be found online for about 235 Euros. Given the multitude of configuration options, easy to use software and installable application modules, we can say that the sale price is well worth it!
We would like to thank again to Synology for making this review possible!