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ASUS Announces the BRT-AC828 Ultra-Fast 802.11ac Router

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ASUS today announced BRT-AC828, an ultra-fast AC2600-class dual-band 802.11ac wireless router with a four-transmit, four-receive (4x4) antenna configuration. BRT-AC828 is packed with all the networking features that are vital to growing companies, whether they are new start-ups or longer-established enterprises.

ASUS AiRadar combines beamforming with the four external antennas to ensure reliable, powerful and ultra-fast Wi-Fi - with combined speeds of up to 2534 Mbps - throughout the workplace, allowing users to concentrate on growing their business. For fast and resilient internet connectivity, BRT-AC828 features dual Gigabit WAN ports that offer up to 2 Gbps aggregated bandwidth, with automatic failover in the case of interruption to one of the internet connections. Other business-focused features include an easy-to-configure secure Wi-Fi portal for customers, simplified device management using Device Grouping, and a RADIUS server for secure authentication and easy user administration.



Fast, stable Wi-Fi
The high-performance, easy-to-use ASUS BRT-AC828 not only allows fast and stable connections to multiple devices, but also offers superb coverage. Even in complex office layouts, the powerful four-transmit, four-receive (4x4) MIMO design with four external antennas and fine-tuned power output ensures optimized reception for the best possible performance. Supporting up to 250 simultaneous Wi-Fi connections, BRT-AC828 can handle even the heaviest usage requirements, and the revolutionary MU-MIMO technology allows multiple MU-MIMO-compatible clients to work at full speed.

Built-in resilience
For the ultimate high-speed internet connectivity, the two physical 1 Gbps WAN ports on ASUS BRT-AC828 can deliver aggregated WAN bandwidth of up to 2 Gbps. For non-stop internet access, these can also be configured as primary and secondary internet connections, with failover to the secondary connection if the primary fails. There is also the option of connecting a 4G LTE dongle to the USB 3.0 port for use as a primary or secondary WAN, adding even more versatility.

Efficient protection for your digital assets
ASUS BRT-AC828 can help businesses protect sensitive company information without sacrificing working efficiency. It incorporates the powerful ASUS AiProtection feature with exclusive Trend Micro technology, which uses real-time network monitoring to detect malware, viruses and other intrusions before it reaches the network devices. The integrated IPsec virtual private network (VPN) - with its hardware encryption engine - is a secure and convenient way for employees to access the company's internal network from home or from another remote location. Virtual LAN (VLAN) support enables IT managers to manage the networks for different departments within a company, making for a more secure and seamless working environment.

Easy management
With ASUS BRT-AC828's easy and intuitive ASUSWRT graphical menu system, users do not have to worry about complex network settings. It is incredibly easy to manage all the company's devices using Device Grouping and the RADIUS Wi-Fi server, or for business owners to set up, and customize, a free Wi-Fi welcome page for customers using the Captive Portal feature in order to grow their business. The time-saving Device Grouping makes managing grouped devices - for example in different departments - more efficient by enabling IT managers to apply the same settings to all devices within the same group. The convenient built-in RADIUS server not only saves space by eliminating the need for an external server, but also simplifies network management by providing secure, centralized authentication for devices and users.

Ultra-fast storage
For incredibly fast onboard storage, ASUS BRT-AC828 includes a built-in M.2 storage slot that accepts an ultra-fast M.2 SSD module. This can be configured as a powerful built-in mini-NAS for backup and file storage by plugging in a suitable M.2 SATA SSD. It is quick and easy to do a backup, and large files open in an instant. Compared to a traditional external USB port, the internal port makes storing data much more secure and it reduces the risk of being accidentally disconnected.

For the second straight year, ASUS has earned the Business Choice Award from PCMag.com readers for its routers, which they rated best for use at work. ASUS was also the most recommended brand in the survey.

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This is potentially going to be a potent router. It's supposed to have hardware acceleration and support an Open VPN client. Been waiting to see the numbers though as it's been under NDA.

It's a QCA platform, if that is of concern.
 
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Top end ASUS routers have always been awesome. I have the RT-AC87U and it's one hell of a router packed with features, excellent performance and QoS and continual official updates as well as unofficial Merlin Firmware. It was expensive, yes, but it was well worth it.
 
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Top end ASUS routers have always been awesome. I have the RT-AC87U and it's one hell of a router packed with features, excellent performance and QoS and continual official updates as well as unofficial Merlin Firmware. It was expensive, yes, but it was well worth it.

Fully agreed, I own the RT-AC87U too but over the years it pays for itself. Merlin firmware is excellent and you'll be at the latest feature levels and it's effectively impossible to brick due to the emergency restoration function of the router.

I've had too much trouble with badly programmed firmware and cheaply built routers, I'd rather spend the extra and be able to have updates for years via Merlin just as my early 2012 N66U still gets updated today, including with feature updates over that time.

The best routers you can get in my opinion, you just don't get the trouble free experience with any others I've found, it's either all performance but firmware to avoid, or firmware which that's decent but not filled with the insane capability a router like the AC87U packs.
 
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Been looking for a solid wireless router. Looks like she's here!
 
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Been looking for a solid wireless router. Looks like she's here!
Let's wait and see. This is based on QCA, so we need to see the real world reviews once it releases. But looks powerful....

to @ALL, Keep in mind, this is QCA, not broadcom. So NO Merlin Support will be offered. Only official Asus firmware for this baby.
 
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Ah, damn, considering ASUS support can be relatively spotty (though my Rampage IV Formula got many updates for many years, but STX sound card driver support might as well be the opposite)... the Merlin guarantee was always good to have.

Like you said then, guess we'll have to wait and see but the specs do indeed sound rather impressively powerful but without the support... luckily I'm not in the market or I'd be torn.
 

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Been looking for a solid wireless router. Looks like she's here!

I have been rocking a Netgear Nighthawk R7000 going on 3 years now and have zero complaints. It is fast and rock-stable. I have upgraded the firmware on it only once and not because it had issues.
 
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I have been rocking a Netgear Nighthawk R7000 going on 3 years now and have zero complaints. It is fast and rock-stable. I have upgraded the firmware on it only once and not because it had issues.
OKay........... :toast:
 

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Not that I couldn't "deduce" it :) but thanks for your vote of confidence. Just has no real relevance to the topic....
 

Fx

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Not that I couldn't "deduce" it :) but thanks for your vote of confidence. Just has no real relevance to the topic....

Being a snob is not a good look...

It has relevance to what a user replied with, and his reply had relevance to the topic. Now, your comment is only derailing the topic from what you were even trying to refrain from. Good job dude.
 
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Being a snob is not a good look. It has relevance to what a user replied with, and his reply had relevance to the topic. Now, your comment is only derailing the topic from what you were even trying to refrain from. Good job dude.
OKay........ :toast:
 
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I have been rocking a Netgear Nighthawk R7000 going on 3 years now and have zero complaints. It is fast and rock-stable. I have upgraded the firmware on it only once and not because it had issues.


They removed arlo camera support and the app doesn't work... that pisses me off about netgear. they had it in there a total of 6 months I think. So now I gotta get a base station. And that's gonna cost me 150USD BC they don't sell the base stations as standalones anymore you have to purchase it with another camera and I have 2. Once I can set aside 500 bucks I'll get a new system from an enterprise brand. Consumer brands are a rip off and are crooks. If Netgear sees this post bring back arlo support and stop pulling an apple and thinking removing features is hip and cool. It is NOT!
 
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Let's wait and see. This is based on QCA, so we need to see the real world reviews once it releases. But looks powerful....

to @ALL, Keep in mind, this is QCA, not broadcom. So NO Merlin Support will be offered. Only official Asus firmware for this baby.

My RT-AC87U uses custom Quantenna CPU for 5GHz band, but for 2.4GHz, it's using a Broadcom's ARM based CPU. Supported by Merlin and DD-WRT. From the looks of it, ASUS's firmware is very modular. You can fiddle with the open source parts, but the closed source ones are just copied over. For example, I've talked with Merlin about QoS and he said he can't control it because the classification of packets is done by closed source pattern system from Trend Micro (same goes for AiProtection features).

I'm using 2.4GHz WiFi on my RT-AC87U because 5GHz range is rubbish (not router's fault but the way how 5GHz radio waves suck at penetrating walls), but it's still love it for stability, features and speed within 2.4GHz band and using QoS. I've had Nighthawk R7000 for a short while and it looked nice, but stock firmware was kinda clumsy and Shibby Tomato QoS that used to work amazing doesn't seem to be all that great anymore (mostly because of HTTPS connections which prevent QoS from sorting packets).

Anyway, my point being, even if parts are closed source, that doesn't mean Merlin can't make his firmware. It's just a matter of if it's worth it. If this router will sell great, he'll probably work on it, otherwise it's pointless maintaining it for 5 people... So, it's up to him really...
 
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My RT-AC87U uses custom Quantenna CPU for 5GHz band, but for 2.4GHz, it's using a Broadcom's ARM based CPU. Supported by Merlin and DD-WRT. From the looks of it, ASUS's firmware is very modular. You can fiddle with the open source parts, but the closed source ones are just copied over. For example, I've talked with Merlin about QoS and he said he can't control it because the classification of packets is done by closed source pattern system from Trend Micro (same goes for AiProtection features).

I'm using 2.4GHz WiFi on my RT-AC87U because 5GHz range is rubbish (not router's fault but the way how 5GHz radio waves suck at penetrating walls), but it's still love it for stability, features and speed within 2.4GHz band and using QoS. I've had Nighthawk R7000 for a short while and it looked nice, but stock firmware was kinda clumsy and Shibby Tomato QoS that used to work amazing doesn't seem to be all that great anymore (mostly because of HTTPS connections which prevent QoS from sorting packets).

Anyway, my point being, even if parts are closed source, that doesn't mean Merlin can't make his firmware. It's just a matter of if it's worth it. If this router will sell great, he'll probably work on it, otherwise it's pointless maintaining it for 5 people... So, it's up to him really...
"And before the inevitable question arises... No, I have no plan to support this model, because (among other things) this is not a Broadcom-based device, and I don't have the resources to support two different HW platforms."

new ASUS BRT-AC828 ( Wireless-AC2600 Dual WAN VPN Router)
 
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Quantenna never worked properly and the company disappeared without releasing a proper firmware so older quantenna hardware are left in the dark. Proper 4x4 isn't even a question right now so Unless this router use a new chipset with features demonstrated to work out of the box (by SMB) it won't be much of an upgrade.

People with a large house are better to use a couple UniFI AC AP wor wireless coverage that a monolith of a router with features that don't extend coverage.
 
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