Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First off, let me start by saying that this router isn't like the ones I have purchased in the past. I feel it is a enthusiast's router, but at the same time it is so much easier to setup even if you are a newbie. It took me just 1 minute to set this up and another minute to get it connected. If you are reading other reviews on here take them into consideration because this router is around 200 dollars. Second, I am a student studying network administration and I don't know everything about Networking yet, but I am getting there. Note: I will be updating this review to include a lot more when I have fooled around with it more. This router not only met my needs, but it exceeded them. I logged in the router for the first time to find a plethora of amazing utilities and trust me when I say this "I wish Cisco would have their user interface on their routers like how Asus has it setup on this one. Its it remarkable how well they have polished the interface and make it so user friendly but at the same time giving us techies what we need. The Specifics: Connection: I get full bars and I have yet to go down the street to see if I still have a connection, but I will say this. My E1200 router would only give my mother that's on the other side of the house 3 bars. With this it is a max of 5 and her speeds are amazing when compared to the E1200's speeds. Utilities: Remember me saying Swiss Army Knife? Well this router has the following: Guest network setup with 3 network keys for the 2.4ghz network and 3 network keys for the 5.0ghz network. Unheard of I say! Hats off to Asus for that. Traffic manager is another nice add but one that is common place on every router out. What sets this one apart is the way that it saves the computers on your network and tells you there network name so that it will be easier to have QoS run flawlessly on the network. Parental Controls that are so easy to setup a child can do it. Your kids will hate you but you will reign supreme! USB Applications; AiDisk Share files connected through the USB through the Internet. A must have if you need files you have forgotten. Servers Center: You like your media on your computer and usb stick, who doesn't? This allows you to setup DLNA iTunes Server setup your media directory on your thumb drive that you connect to your router also. The option to allow FTP servers to run through the router is a step in the right direction. You can also setup how many users can be logged in at one time and setup the Work Group settings right on the router. AiCloud: This is where other routers get blown in the dust. You can setup a Cloud service directly from the router itself. By Plugging in a USB thumb drive or a Portable hard drive into your router and setting it up you can access all your data on your usb with the apps on Google Play and the Itunes App Store. This allows for you to just make a cloud disk, smart access with the ability to make your computer wake on LAN so that you can access your data even if your computer is currently switched off. Also if you are a fan of the ASUS web storage you can have it sync up with it and use it to your liking. Now to the Barebones: The network Advanced settings (Network junkies start drooling!) Wireless: General Tab- Here you have the settings for the server and you can setup your SSID/Password Authentication method and all of the settings you would normally see on a router. WPS: Pretty much self explained if you have already had a router before. This setting allows you to setup at the push of a button on the router a easy connect system. I don't use it but it is a very handy feature to have if your a newbie to the networking game. Bridge - Allows you to bridge the internet connection with a wireless access point that will repeat the signal throughout your house. In my opinion not needed because this router is a beast, but all the same if you live in a big mansion you can setup many access points and it will be buttery smooth. MAC Address filter - This is where you can setup a more secure way to secure your network. This allows you to setup the router to only allow specific computers with only the mac address they have (this isn't 100% fool proof). RADIUS - I don't know what this. Will update this shortly after finding out what it does. Professional - All the settings you would ever want to play with are here. On this page alone you can setup the frequency (2.4ghz or 5ghz), enable the radio, set the days the radio is turned on, the time of day to turn the radio on and off, Option to Set your AP Isolated, Multicast settings, Preamble Type, RTS Threshold, DTIM Interval, Beacon Interval, Enable TX Bursting, Wireless Multicast Fowarding, Enable WMM APSD, Enhanced interference Management, and Tx Power adjustment. LAN - I'm not going to go to far into it but I will go back over this review and revise stuff as it is needed. This has the basic settings like the LAN IP, DHCP Server settings, Routing rules for the router, IPTV settings, and Switch Control settings. WAN - This has your Wide Area Network settings for those of you don't know what WAN means, this usually is used for businesses and I figure businesses do use this router for obvious reasons. I'll just go over the tabs on this part. I still have five more things to go over, not including the tabs on each so yeah this router is pretty beastly. This router has Port Trigger, Virtual Server/Port Forwarding options, DMZ, DDNS, and NAT Passthrough settings. IPV6 - Self explanitory here. This is just Internet Protocol Version 6 settings. VPN Server - Now this is a setting I will be using and anyone that is a network junkie will love. Setting up the Virtual Private Network settings is pretty much a breeze and if you come by any issues leave a comment and I will reply. Firewall - This is pretty self-explained. You do have DDoS protection, URL Filter, Keyword Filter, and Network Services Filter tabs on this. I liked the DDos Protection option...turning that now now! Administration - Now this is where things are different. On this router you can select 3 different modes under the Operation Mode tab, which is shown as soon as you select the Administration option. There is Wireless router mode which is the default, Media Bridge mode is very awesome in the face you can set it up so that you can stream videos and music to all your devices simultaneously. A big plus for all those who love media and who doesn't I know what I'll be playing with later. The System Tab has options for the router for the Admin side like the router Name and Password, plus it has WPS button Behavior settings like Toggle Radio (switching from 2.4ghz to 5.ghz) and Activating the WPS. This router also has the option to where you can Telnet into it (which I absolutely love). It also only allows people with specific IP's to be able to access the router to edit settings with the client list at the bottom. Just make sure you click the yes next to the Only allow specific IP setting on the router. Firmware upgrade tab just has the options for upgrading firmware. Pretty self-explanitory there. Restore/Save/Upload Setting tab has 3 settings. Of those settings, there are Factory default, Save Setting, and Restore setting. The restore setting asks for you to choose a file from your computer. it is a very nice feature to have if your are a Tech like me and don't have time for foolishness. Well as you can tell this router is a superb router with many advanced features. Thus is why I call it the swiss army knife. I may just call my router McGuyver since it can do everything (for all you old school guys out there that know about the show I figured you could use a laugh). I hope you liked my review and if you like it and it helps you feel free to tell amazon that it did. I'm trying to get into the program where amazon sends me stuff to review. I took the time to give everyone insight on this router because I love technology and I want to help the everyday man and woman. Thanks for reading.