Linksys Introduces The Largest Portfolio Of MU-MIMO Solutions

[btarunr]

Linksys, a leader in networking solutions for the home and business today announced its line-up of new MAX-STREAM MU-MIMO networking solutions at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. After being first to launch a fully functional MU-MIMO router in May of last year, Linksys expands its MU-MIMO portfolio to include two additional routers, a range extender and a USB adapter.

The new Linksys MAX-STREAM line-up leverages the next generation of Wi-Fi - 802.11ac Wave 2 MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple-Input, Multiple Output) technology, which helps ensure uninterrupted Wi-Fi connectivity to all the devices in the home and function as if multiple devices have their own dedicated router. With MU-MIMO, the whole household can play video games; listen to music, check email, shop, stream movies, and more - all at the same time. All these new solutions will be on display at our CES booth- South Hall, #30445.



MAX-STREAM MU-MIMO Family of New Products
According to a white paper by ABI Research The Importance Of Mu-Mimo In The Wi-Fi Ecosystem more than 84% of all wireless 5GHz chipsets will be MU-MIMO enabled by 2019. To keep up with the speeds and performance of client devices coming to market such as 4K TVs, laptops, smart phones, tablets and game consoles, consumers will want to make sure they have the latest Wi-Fi router that can support all the new devices coming into the home. Sandvine Research has reported that 70% of internet traffic in North America consists entirely of streaming video and audio content from sources like Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video, iTunes, Pandora and many other sources. It was 30% five years ago.

"Our new line-up of Linksys MU-MIMO solutions provide the networking backbone to allow consumers to enjoy high-performance and simultaneous Wi-Fi, including speed, range, and coverage", said Justin Doucette, director of product management, Linksys. "With the rise of 4K streaming and the growth of MU-MIMO clients, having the latest MU-MIMO technology is the best way to ensure users get the best Wi-Fi experience possible."

Linksys MAX-STREAM AC1900 Dual-Band MU-MIMO GIGABIT ROUTER (EA7500)
The new Linksys AC1900 MU-MIMO router leverages the 802.11ac Wave 2 MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple Input, Multiple Output) technology, which helps ensure uninterrupted Wi-Fi connectivity to multiple devices in the home and function as if multiple devices have their own dedicated router. With MU-MIMO, the whole household can play video games, listen to music, check email, shop, stream movies, and more - all at the same time without buffering or lag. The EA7500 features:

• Qualcomm IPQ 1.4GHz Dual Core Processor
• The Latest Wi-Fi Standard - 802.11ac Wave 2 with MU-MIMO
• Dual-band AC1900 Wireless speeds up to* 1300 Mbps 5 GHz + 600 Mbps 2.4Ghz
• 4 Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, 1 Gigabit WAN
• USB 3.0, 2.0 ports
• Smart Wi-Fi app for remote access, control and troubleshooting

MSRP $199.99

Linksys MAX-STREAM AC5400 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router with MU-MIMO (EA9500)
Outfitted with Next Gen AC Wi-Fi technologies such MU-MIMO and Tri-Band that work in concert to deliver powerful Wi-Fi at the same time and same speed to multiple connected devices including 4K TVs, gaming consoles, wireless printers, laptops and other connected devices at home or in the office at combined speeds up to 5.3 Gbps. As one of the most powerful Wi-Fi routers in the market, the Linksys Max-Stream AC5400 provides business grade functionality to get your home or small office up and running quickly along with exclusive Linksys Smart Wi-Fi software that provides added control of the EA9500 Wi-Fi Router from anywhere, at any time. EA9500 Wi-Fi Router also features a robust set of advanced offerings:

• 1.4 GHz Dual Core Processor
• Tri-Band Wireless AC5400 (1000 Mbps 2.4Ghz + 2166 Mbps 5Ghz + 2166 Mbps 5GHz)
• The Latest Wi-Fi Standard - 802.11ac Wave 2 includes Mu-MIMO
• 9 Gigabit Ethernet ports (8 LAN, 1 WAN) and USB 3.0, 2.0 ports
• 8 external antennas for maximum coverage
• WPA/WPA2 encryption and SPI firewall keep your network safely connected
• Smart Wi-Fi app for remote access, control and troubleshooting

MSRP $399.99
Availability Planned - April 2016

Linksys MAX-STREAM AC1900+ MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Range Extender (RE7000)
The First range extender with next generation AC Wave 2 technology - MU-MIMO, works with any Wi-Fi router however when paired with a MAX STREAM router it can provide even greater performance to Wi-Fi devices all around the home with seamless roaming. The combination of a MAX STREAM router and range extender creates a single network in the home with a single network name (SSID) so users can roam throughout their home without having to manually connect to the range extender. The Linksys MAX STREAM Range Extender also features Spot Finder Technology (Patent Pending) to show users where to place the range extender using a mobile device for optimal performance. Crossband Technology maximizes the simultaneous use of both bands, while Beamforming focuses and strengthens the Wi-Fi signal. Additional features include:

• Dual Band Wireless AC1900 - AC1733 + N300
• The Latest Wi-Fi Standard - 802.11ac Wave 2 includes MU-MIMO
• Seamless Roaming
• Crossband Technology
• Plug-In Form factor
• Multi-Mode - Repeater, Access Point
• One Gigabit Ethernet Port

MSRP $149.99
Availability Planned - Spring 2016

Linksys MAX-STREAM AC600 USB MU-MIMO Adapter (WUSB6100M)
The Linksys AC600 USB Adapter is the first MU-MIMO enabled adapter on the market. It enables users to connect their laptops and computers to a wireless-AC network as well as a MU-MIMO router for optimal performance, so users can easily stream high-definition video and enjoy high-speed gaming. Additional features include:

• AC Wave 2 - MU-MIMO (AC433 + N150)
• Beamforming
• USB 2.0
• Plug 'n Play with Simple Pairing
• Works with Any Wi-Fi Router; Optimized with MAX-STREAM

MSRP: $59.99
Availability Planned - Spring 2016

New Linksys Smart Wi-Fi App Enhancements
Linksys Smart Wi-Fi is a cloud-based free service that comes with Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Routers and the latest WRT routers. It gives users highly secure access to their home network from a browser, smartphone or tablet. Users can instantly tap into their home network to check the connection status of their devices, give a guest access to the Internet, or block their child from accessing harmful websites. Users can also prioritize which devices on the network get the most bandwidth to eliminate lag times and buffering. On the upcoming Smart Wi-Fi update‡, EA9500 users can opt-in to get notifications on their router status. It'll tell users when the router is offline so users can easily trouble-shoot to get their router back online and running. In addition Smart Wi-Fi is getting a complete makeover. New user interface with updated colors and user experience will make connecting and managing your home Wi-Fi easy! New improved features include providing guest access and media prioritization so the devices users want to have top priority for internet access can be done quickly on the app. New user interface will be available for all Smart Wi-Fi router users.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[RejZoR]

Router is as worth as the firmware on it. I wonder if TomatoRAF will land on these or it'll be the ASUS RT-AC87U situation where firmware is "work in progress" for ages with very unlikely chance of it ever getting actually released. TomatoRAF is the only firmware with good QoS control panel that has Layer7 control. No other firmware has that which is just baffling to me.

 

[WaroDaBeast]

Router is as worth as the firmware on it. I wonder if TomatoRAF will land on these or it'll be the ASUS RT-AC87U situation where firmware is "work in progress" for ages with very unlikely chance of it ever getting actually released. TomatoRAF is the only firmware with good QoS control panel that has Layer7 control. No other firmware has that which is just baffling to me.

Can you provide us with an example where QoS is needed (or just plain nice to have)? I'm asking out of curiosity.

 

[RejZoR]

Try running P2P, Youtube while browsing internet. Good luck. WIth TomatoRAF's QoS you can and everything will work without anything getting interrupted and while maintaining as high data transfer rate as possible for each service. With DD-WRT you just can't set that because the panel doesn't even offer that.

 

[Cybrnook2002]

Router is as worth as the firmware on it. I wonder if TomatoRAF will land on these or it'll be the ASUS RT-AC87U situation where firmware is "work in progress" for ages with very unlikely chance of it ever getting actually released. TomatoRAF is the only firmware with good QoS control panel that has Layer7 control. No other firmware has that which is just baffling to me.

Well, just food for thought. Victek (RAF) hasn't been active since 2014......... so wishing for TomatoRAF might just be in your dreams for new hardware.

But I do agree that the hardware will only shine as bright as the firmware will allow it to. And lately, Linksys's (Belkins) firmware has been complete shit, down to the boot-loader level. Their Marketing team is even worse. Like the thread before this where they are bragging about DD-WRT support on the WRT line. Pfff... For 1. the DD-WRT guys have been developing the firmware for the WRT routers for a year now. 2. Same as OpenWRT, they are advertising something that are not developing. Maybe if their firmware was a bit better, their main selling points wouldn't have to be alternative firmware. Might as well ship them with blank ROM's, ready for flashing and remove the cost of their shit firmware to begin with, bringing a discount to the consumer.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Try running P2P, Youtube while browsing internet. Good luck. WIth TomatoRAF's QoS you can and everything will work without anything getting interrupted and while maintaining as high data transfer rate as possible for each service. With DD-WRT you just can't set that because the panel doesn't even offer that.

I have ZERO, NONE, NILL problems with that. Change your crap ISP. It isn't an issue nor with WRT, nor the stock router firmwares, don't fix that's unbroken.

Seconds any router is smart enough to see multimedia traffic and make optimization, I can't even remember since when the setting was present for many routers.

 

[RejZoR]

Lol, and then he said "change your ISP". Clearly you have no clue what QoS is for or what I'm talking about. I think we can just end discussion right here.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Lol, and then he said "change your ISP". Clearly you have no clue what QoS is for or what I'm talking about. I think we can just end discussion right here.

No, because, we use 15Mb/s crappy radiolink over a river, we are bunch of 8 people in the office, always downloading(also P2P), always someone watches youtube, and yet no stutter? Where is the problem?

In WRT, basically as I did in 2003 handcrafted Slackware router made from old Pentium PC with bunch of PCI cards. You can manage QoS, you have to set up your devices in IP ranges, and then in the QoS rules you can set each setting by IP submask or you even can use MAC addresses. If your perception has accepted the UI method of one variant, that does not speak other should follow or make the concurrent solutions crap.

 

[Kursah]

It really depends on the device and service for how QoS is handled. Many ISP's have implemented a form of QoS over their networks as well. I run a fairly simple QoS from my ERL that works amazingly well, between VM servers for Plex, Minecraft, file-sharing, VPN, the kids playing online games, watching Netflix/Plex, me browsing and downloading, the wife watching Netflix and downloading, and we're all good-to-go. The one thing that can be said about QoS, is that if you want it to work successfully for managing your LAN side, you have to keep it within the limits of your actual speed, not rated speed. Many recommend starting at 85% of your rated speed and taking small steps up until you start to notice issues again. I found that I was able to get up to 94% before QoS lost effectiveness...at least on the ERL.

Some devices allow various subnet-range based bandwidth throttling, which itself is a form of QoS as Ferrum mentioned. UBNT uses something similar except for groups on their AP's, this actually works well as you can assign bandwidth limitations to various groups and then assign an SSID to them, great way to manage your wireless networks and ensure they are only allowed so much of the bandwidth pie you're paying for.

Overall both of those have been far more effective for me than any WRT-derived solution, though it appears initially that some WRT solutions have more configuration options. PF Sense has some solid traffic shaping options as well. My ERL follows a well known and utilized algorithm (that even WRT firmwares utilize as well...maybe not as effectively? maybe w/o hardware acceleration?). As with anything that has to filter traffic and packets, you can lose some performance overhead...however the overall top-end cost is negated by the fact that everyone gets a better experience, it is tough to argue with using, but it should be tested on a per-device basis as I said before some of the deployments of QoS aren't as effective.

Pass on these home-grade toys and get some real hardware with real functioning features. Build/buy a PFSense box, buy a UBNT router, buy an old Cisco (no...not the Linksys garbage...), Microtik, Netgate, whatever... and you'll benefit from better quality and ability.

QoS is good stuff, when you can implement it correctly on your network and there's a few ways to shape traffic for your network's needs...but what Linksys provides will leave you with an expensive device that is under-performing your network.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Pass on these home-grade toys and get some real hardware with real functioning features. Build/buy a PFSense box, buy a UBNT router, buy an old Cisco (no...not the Linksys garbage...), Microtik, Netgate, whatever... and you'll benefit from better quality and ability.

Bravo mate! Really if you actually screw around WRT, you still have a the kernel and linux a top of it, don't use the GUI part and use telnet... you can edit all init.d scripts, and make and add your own ones. And about the bashing... remember it is FREE open source project don't bitch about it contribute instead.

Actually I use linksys EA6400 garbage... well it is cheap and I don't complain, it has an enormous CPU power reserve and for home usage... I do not encounter any complaints at all and I am also a picky bastard.

PS.

It is Mikrotik... it is in latvian language.

 

[Kursah]

It's free open source on limited hardware that isn't capable enough in the first place in most cases, on top of already having to spend $200, $300, even more in some cases...why do that when you can buy something that is superior for the same price or less?

I have nothing against WRT, other than in my experiences with it over a series of various WRT supported devices from Linksys/Cisco, TP-Link, Asus, Netgear, is that many features are half baked depending on the chipset that each device has. It's a fun "project" to play with and practice network management and technology deployements, but when you want a real deployment abilities, DD-WRT isn't it. That's just the truth of the matter.

Bravo to the large following of DD-WRT for making home-grade routers a little better...that's good for those that need a solution for the comfort zone I suppose. But it's really nothing more than a stepping stone between shitty home-grade routers and real dedicated network appliances that get the job done far better. Usually they cost more, but that's no longer the case in some instances.

When you have companies like UBNT bringing in a $100 router that dominates those $300 home-grade routers...it's hard to recommend them to anyone. Need wireless, get a $70-100AP and you have amazing wireless and management that the routers mentioned could only dream of...and WRT won't provide, or not to the fullest extent. Again, stepping stones to the real deal I suppose. That might be good enough for some....and a huge waste of money in the end. If you're fine with that, then enjoy.

Get some real hardware and a real router OS when you want real services and management. Simple as that.

Also, don't be mistaken with how you're reading my posts, I'm not bitching, just simply pointing out the truth of the matter .

Edit: I forgot to mention I've ran DD-WRT as a VM router/firewall through Hyper-V before, and it worked fairly well...even in CLI. But my PF Sense VM runs circles around it, is far more stable and has A LOT more to offer...not even a competition. Again, a real router OS will beat the home-grade stuff.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Get some real hardware and a real router OS when you want real services and management. Simple as that.

That's not you complaining and mentioned about the bitching btw, but about the one who today in both network related device news posts complained about the same thing, just because of taste differences implementing the same goal. Yes you told the truth...

Yes WRT is a corridor in between a rusty fork and a heavy duty AK-47. (a mauser, just because of jamming problems lol) Well I chose my device because of hardware, needed cheapest AC router with gigabit switch... I took mine for 75€, I don't consider it much for home crap that it actually is. Slapped normal antennas for 5GHz and everything is fine. It later got DD-WRT port and now I can't complain stable as rock... as I said, for home, yes a fun project, and that it actually is to anyone who uses linux also is familiar with basic linux network stack but have the possibility to fix most of the problems by using your brain and the community. DLINK this time didn't deserve such bashing, it like trying to teach a monkey talk... it won't do it leave the animal alone.

My local favorite and solution that I use for serious tasks is Mikrotik - many peps that work there are my classmates from the university. I know some bits from OS team and hardware development and RF team, but that's for work and professional features routerOS + dude offers the AK-47... and if something doesn't work, I know to whom I may come over as a curse and pain in the backside , I had also problems with them.

 

[Kursah]

I do really like Microtik gear, but we don't see it deployed often over this way sadly.

 

[Ferrum Master]

I do really like Microtik gear, but we don't see it deployed often over this way sadly.

It's mikrotik , they are selling 1000% everything they produce. Well I have no questions why really.

 

[remixedcat]

I use advanced traffic shaping to give my main PCs and Hubby's PCs unrestricted access and speed.. When the guests have filtered and slower access and the client PCs I fix go on a very tight network with only strict sites allowed. Each of these are on separate VLAN/netrange.

All managed with my Meraki z1. Then the switches are upstairs has Meraki ms220-8p and downstairs has D-link dgs1210-10p with the Ubiquiti ap-ac-lr upstairs and ap-ac-lite downstairs. I also use a Luxul xap1510 in the bedroom as well.

I have each AP have 3 respective ssid s for each vlan.

 

[WaroDaBeast]

Thanks for the explanations, practical examples and references. UBNT looks like something I'd enjoy playing with. Hmm...