ASUS RT-N56U Wireless-N Dual-Band Router - Bringing Sexy Back
Following up on the success of the RT-N16 model, ASUS has gone from strength to strength with the dual-band wireless-N RT-N56U which boasts of more efficient signal coverage and data throughput speeds. Is it worth its salts? Dig in to our 'dazzling' review now!
Dark Diamond
How do you increase your market share in a crowded networking space? Do something different, some of you might say. Sexy routers are rare as with most drab-looking networking peripherals you see around you. There's the occasional anomaly, of course, such as those from Linksys with their signature UFO-esque form factor, or D-Link's DIR-685 which sports a nifty LCD panel. However, ASUS takes the cake this time for engineering a router with a simple yet elegant styling. You'll have to agree that the "RT-56U" moniker is terribly boring. On the bright side, ASUS' "Dark Diamond" nick does sound more appealing and justifiable towards its fashionable and radical looks.
The dual-band RT-N56U is fresh out of the oven; it's so new that we didn't get its pricing until just before publishing this article. Let's see how the swanky black 802.11n router can handle itself.
Fancy names aside, this 802.11n router is obviously more than just a pretty face. The N56U boasts of simultaneous dual-band radios, meaning you get to use the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands concurrently which is ideal for streaming purposes, no doubt. Two USB ports also suggest that sharing of data on storage devices is possible over the network. Apparently, ASUS is also hard selling the router as a P2P maestro with its supposed ability to handle up to 300,000 data sessions. And with the advent of internet on fibre, ASUS is also touting improved wired WAN to LAN throughput speeds of over 900Mbps. There's more, but we'll save them for our latter pages. First up, more dips on its design and features following the jump.
Design
Do we dig the RT-N56U's slim and unique frame? Yes, and we think the criss-crossing pattern is a nice touch on the piano-black finishing too. The router comes with a trapezoid-shaped stand, which is an absolute must if you want to show off the router's good looks.Anyhow, there are six blue indicators on the front panel including one for each frequency band and USB devices. Connectivity wise, the router caries four Gigabit LAN and two USB ports behind the unit, along with a Gigabit WAN offering for your cable or xDSL modem. We didn't spot any on/off switch, but a Reset button is present to return the configurations to factory settings.
The ASUS RT-N56U cuts a razor-slim profile when viewed at the appropriate angle, doesn't it? Don't be fooled though, for more will be revealed in the next few pics. By the way, does the router's design remind you of an expensive door chime?
It's not so slim now, is it? Anyway, expect an array of Gigabit LAN and WAN ports plus two USB 2.0 slots behind the router. See if you can spot the Reset button.
It's best to mount the router on the trapezoidal stand since it looks terrible when laid horizontally. Our only other gripe is that it comes off a little too easily. We would have liked it better if ASUS could offer some form of locking mechanism.
Internally, the RT-N56U houses five antennas; two for the 2.4GHz spectrum and three for the 5GHz band. Other specs include a Ralink RT3662 workhorse (or controller) and 128MB DDR2 memory. While it still packs a decent memory capacity, the jump to Ralink is a noticeable departure from ASUS' usual Broadcom controller solution found in previous offerings. Furthermore, the N56U also supports ASUS' "Ai Radar" technology. According to our Taiwanese friends, it's designed to optimize 802.11n 5GHz beam patterns within the local environment to conserve power and increase data throughput. We shall see how this pans out later during our tests. Also, the bundled CD includes a PDF manual and utilities wizard for the less savvy.
ASUS is bundling the router with a Quick Start Guide which comes with basic setup instructions. If it is too brief or simple for you, there is a more concise edition waiting in the CD.
Features
Before beginning our tests proper, we discovered the router's erratic behavior with the given 9.0.6.4 firmware. Thankfully, ASUS was quick to provide us with a revised version (1.0.0.7) which was less prone to hiccups. For starters, ASUS has retained a similar GUI as the previous generation RT-N16, with a mix of pleasing icons and a pastel blue background. By default, the Home page features a "Network Map" which displays the router's established clients, encryption levels, and Internet status. What's notably different, however, is the inclusion of 2.4GHz and 5GHz buttons on the web interface. They'd bring you to the "Wireless" page with comprehensive Wi-Fi settings for both bands. Observably, ASUS offers dedicated or mixed wireless modes, 20MHz or 40MHz bandwidth options, plus encryption tweaks for WPA and WEP. Yup, all on the same page. To connect to devices supporting the UPnP protocol, such as the PS3 for instance, enable the UPnP Media Server found on one of the left tabs.
ASUS has stuck with the same web interface since its last generation of routers, now with a Network Map gracing its home page. However, that isn't necessarily a bad thing since useful features such as AiDisk and UPnP Media Server are visibly retained.
We like the fact that dedicated wireless modes and channel bandwidth are available on the RT-N56U. The Help list even warns you of a 54Mbps cap should you attempt to connect an N-client to the router's b/g mixed mode.
There are two ways of prioritizing network traffic on the RT-N56U. You may either use the user-friendly EzQoS tab, or the customizable QoS alternative (under WAN settings) by specifying your own set of service rules for bandwidth management. Another useful feature is the AiDisk Wizard designed for file sharing. Apart from turning your USB drive into a makeshift FTP server, you also get to register a unique domain name to dynamic IP addresses. However, you'll need to configure the ASUS DDNS (Dynamic Domain Name Service) before you get to enjoy these benefits. The service is free, by the way. The router's firewall offers DoS (Denial-of-service) protection, along with a bunch of URL, MAC and LAN to WAN filters. Moving on, we discovered only two applications on the Port Triggering list; Quicktime 4 and Real Audio. As such, you'll need to get your hands dirty by keying in the relevant trigger ports and protocols, say, for certain gaming titles for instance. To configure the N56U as a print server, simply run the Printer Setup Utility found on the CD. Note that the printer has to support print-sharing functions though.
To prioritize applications on EzQoS, click on the relevant icon to give it precedence over the others as shown. By default, priority is given to P2P applications if nothing is selected.
The router supports TCP and UDP port triggering. You'll have to specify your own set of trigger ports though, since only a Quicktime and Real Audio clients are provided under its "Well-Known Applications" drop list.
Test Setup
To create a wireless network scenario, our routine test setup typically includes a desktop PC, the reviewed router, and a wireless client. The desktop system (with a Gigabit Ethernet port) is designed to simulate a host machine, while the router in question acts as the gateway. And lastly, a notebook plugged with a dual band Wireless-N USB adapter fulfills the role of a wireless remote client.
To gauge the router's peak potential and to prevent any possibility of varying wireless standards used, the evaluated router is locked down at the 802.11n-only mode if its features allow us to do so. The QCheck application provides an indication of the wireless throughput (TCP) and streaming (UDP) finesse between the host and client endpoints. TCP throughputs are measured against a 1MB data packet, whilst any significant packet loss is registered with the UDP test. On the other hand, NetIQ's Chariot benchmark offers a more detailed account with average throughput and response time readings recorded over 30 seconds, based on a High Performance throughput script. Range is determined by the distance between the router and wireless client. Now, let's run through the results proper.
Chariot and QCheck Performance Testing
Average Downlink Throughput (Mbps) - Chariot | Average Uplink Throughput (Mbps) - Chariot | Downlink TCP Throughput of 1MB (Mbps) | Uplink TCP Throughput of 1MB (Mbps) | UDP Streaming (kbps) | Time to transfer 1GB Zip file |
2m | |||||
77.584 | 84.225 | 91.954 | 96.386 | 998.837 (0.0% loss) | 1 min 52 seconds |
10m | |||||
89.714 | 116.271 | 88.889 | 67.797 | 1,000,136 (0.0% loss) | 1 min 26 seconds |
25m | |||||
36.878 | 37.541 | 13.769 | 11.958 | 997.343 (0.0% loss) | N.A. |
2m with WPA2-AES | |||||
60.933 | 65.302 | 15.873 | 16.667 | 997.045 (0.0% loss) | N.A. |
As you can see from our table of results, the ASUS RT-N56U managed to deliver robust downstream throughputs within the 10 meter range. Interestingly, a faster data speed of 89.714Mbps was measured at the 10-meter mark, compared to a cozier range of two meters with a smaller figure of 77.584Mbps. Note that these numbers are crunched on the 2.4GHz band without any encryption. Also, the router offers 13 radio channels, and we've locked on the fifth channel for our tests. Moving on, even at a further throw of 25 meters, the N56U did hold its own with a stable throughput of 36Mbps for both uplink and downlink tests on the Chariot benchmark. Furthermore, it showed further resilience for UDP Streaming, which was a lossless affair with data arriving intact at the end points. That's right, no signal dropouts were encountered across. Most of all, the RT-N56U managed to transfer a 1GB file below two minutes when tested at 2 and 10 meters. This is by far one of the most impressive results we have observed with a ratified N-router. If you think the networking device did well on the 2.4GHz band, well, wait till you check out the router's 5GHz performance.
A summary of the RT-N56U's downstream throughputs on the 2.4GHz band. Data speeds fell within the 50Mbps to 100Mbps range across the tested distances. Notice how results gathered at 10 meters actually surpassed those measured at a closer range of 2 meters. Click on image for a larger picture.
Summary of uplink throughputs - Yet again, the router fared better at 10 meters than point blank range. This is rather encouraging since most of us tend to negotiate our wireless clients at that range within our home network.
Chariot and QCheck Performance Testing
Average Downlink Throughput (Mbps) - Chariot | Average Uplink Throughput (Mbps) - Chariot | Downlink TCP Throughput of 1MB (Mbps) | Uplink TCP Throughput of 1MB (Mbps) | UDP Streaming (kbps) | Time to transfer 1GB Zip file |
2m | |||||
100.955 | 139.658 | 89.888 | 103.896 | 997.144 (0.0% loss) | 1 min 43 seconds |
10m | |||||
72.522 | 134.780 | 27.586 | 115.942 | 997.045 (0.0% loss) | 1 min 12 seconds |
25m | |||||
89.449 | 97.535 | 68.376 | 115.942 | 997.144 (0.0% loss) | N.A. |
2m with WPA2-AES | |||||
108.013 | 140.517 | 98.766 | 114.286 | 997.442 (0.0% loss) | N.A. |
When we first heard about ASUS' Ai Radar technology, we were a little doubtful if it was merely marketing speak or did the Taiwanese "directional transmission" technology really hold water. After giving the router a good shake up on Chariot and QCheck, however, it appears that higher signal gains and faster throughput speeds were indeed a possibility. With regards to data speeds, we rarely record more than 100Mbps during our real world tests, even with wireless-N routers. On the contrary, it appears that ASUS is going to break that mold with its solid performance quotient. If you could glance through our results above, the N56U did come up with better than decent data speeds, both, at close and long range. In fact, the relatively newer and tighter WPA2-AES encryption didn't seem to affect the router's performance as well. The only anomaly is downlink speeds recorded at 10 meters were significantly lower than the rest. What is most evident, realistically, is that the RT-N56U's upstream prowess on the 5GHz band is truly commendable amongst the current breed of wireless-N contenders.
Judging from the Chariot graph for the 5GHz band, downstream throughput levels were more efficient at close range (2m), hovering between the 100 and 120 Mbps window mostly. However, the signal was visibly more prone to interference at a further range of 25m (green line). Transfer of a 1GB file was blistering fast at 72 seconds.
The drop in uplink data speeds becomes apparent at 25 meters (purple line). Nonetheless, the router demonstrated stable and healthy throughput results throughout our tests.
The Final Word
We've seen our share of funky routers over the years. Fortunately, ASUS has married what's trendy and stylish into the RT-N56U which should work in their favor. Slim, modish, feature-packed, and decked with an array of Gigabit ports, the N56U is a clear indication ASUS is serious about seizing a greater slice of market share from dominant names such as D-Link and Linksys. Talking about features, this AP achieves the best of what wireless-N routers have to offer. From data sharing to remote access to makeshift FTP and print servers, this shiny black baby does it all. The web interface is as user friendly as can be, with helpful links provided for selected fields.
ASUS is touting "ultra-fast and stable downloading" features with their recent breed of wireless-N routers. Looks like they have reason to brag after all.
On the performance scale, this AP produced a stable wireless throughput with a remarkable taste for speed. Judging from the 2.4Ghz band, the router fared better at the 10 meter radius rather than numbers gathered at close proximity. Average TCP throughput was measured at a healthy 89Mbps at 10 meters, compared to 77Mbps at 2 meters. What's significant, however, is the RT-N56U's delivery on the 5GHz band. If media streaming is what you're after, then its commendable data speeds of over 100Mbps on average should tickle your fancy. For those who do not wish to stick with the stock firmware, we have just confirmed with ASUS that the RT-N56U is based on an open platform. In other words, it probably won't take long for third party OS (think DD-WRT) to manifest itself for this model. To sum things up, ASUS has engineered a sexy, and capable simultaneous dual-band networking device with their latest bad boy. Be prepared to fork out more for it though since the N56U does not come cheap. ASUS was unable to confirm the price firmly as of publishing, but a ballpark figure of S$289 was made known.
Update: ASUS has debuted the router locally for S$259. This is the launch price, but it will certainly become more affordable as time passes by.
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