ASUS must’ve recently hired a pro designer, their latest devices have been superbly attractive. This trend has continued with the RT-N56U Dual-band Gigabit Wireless N Router. Hands down, it is the best looking piece of networking equipment ever created. After the initial attraction subsides and you start to trust the RT-N56U with your day to day networking activities, you’ll find that it isn’t just a good looking device, it also has stable and consistent performance. The RT-N56U packs the speed, features and scalability to fit into any home or small office network. Check out the full review for all of the gritty details.
Special thanks to ASUS for providing us with the RT-N56U Dual-band Gigabit Wireless-N Router to review.
Specifications
| CPU | 500MHz |
| RAM & Flash | 128MB RAM, 8MB Flash |
| Interface Type | 1 Gigabit WAN Port
4 Gigabit LAN Ports 2 USB 2.0 Ports |
| Antenna | 2x Internal PCB antenna for 2.4GHz with peak gain 2.8dBi
3x internal PCB antenna for 5.0GHz with peak gain 5.1dBi |
| Wired Performance | WAN to LAN: over 900Mbps
LAN to LAN: up to 990Mbps |
| Security | Firewall: NAT & SPI, intrusion detection including logging
Logging: Dropped packet, security event, syslog Filtering: Port, IP packet, URL keyword, MAC address |
| Operating Frequency | Concurrent 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz |
| Data Rate | 802.11n: up to 300Mbps
802.11a/g: up to 54Mbps 802.11b: up to 11Mbps |
| Encryption | 64/128-bit WEP
WPA/WPA2-PSK, WPA/WPA2-Enterprise WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) |
| Management | EZQoS (Easy Quality of Service)
DHCP Server Web based administration System Event Log Firmware Upgrade Save/Restore Configuration File |
| Power Adapter | AC input: 100V ~ 240V (50-60Hz)
DC output: 19V with max 1.58A current |
| Size | 172x145x60mm |
Packaging
The ASUS RT-N56U is packaged in a black and white box designed to emphasize the device’s features. Along the top you can see “FAST•EASY•STABLE”. If you separate the letters in bold from the rest of the words, you’ll get “Fast”. So it seems ASUS really wants you to think that this router is fast! At the bottom of the front side of the box, all of the different standards are listed. The RT-N56U is a dual band (2.4GHz, 5GHz) router.
The back of the box has all of the technical details as to why the RT-N56U is superior to the competition. Starting at the top left, we see that the RT-N56U has ‘true’ gigabit internet connectivity. So when we all have gigabit connections to our homes, the RT-N56U will be ready. Ai Radar which will ‘lock in’ on wireless clients to provide them with the best signal. Support for up to 300,000 concurrent sessions, so you can torrent it up, or just doing all kinds of things on the RT-N56U without slowing it down. Dual band access, 2.4GHz and 5GHz. And finally, the ability to hook up USB devices directly to the router. We’ll talk more about that in the testing section.
Inside the box we have the RT-N56U with stand, an RJ-45 flat network cable, power adapter, quick start guide, CD with the full user’s manual, and a warranty card.
