Synology AC1900 Router

[azazel1024]

It could well be that Synology is looking at moving in the direction of all-in-one hubs.

Some of their NAS can stream video as it is. Build in a routing/switch functionality and they just owned the office/entertainment center. I could completely see them making routers with 1-2 2.5" or 3.5" bays at some point, along with video streaming functionality.

 

[System Error Message]

that would be interesting although with the kind of CPUs they use for NAS i doubt they'd have to rely on the same platforms all other consumer routers have been using.

 

[remixedcat]

what chipset does this router have? Broadcom or QCA? They won't answer me

 

[tokyo_networking]

The reason I am a fan of ASUS routers is the availability of the Merlin firmware. However, I am not happy with the direction of ASUS and the other major players and I told the ASUS product manager when I met him at Computex. The router manufacturers are in an "I am bigger than you" race similar to digital camara manufacturers were with their megapixel race. The power brick of the RT-3200AC proves my point. Using wireless mostly for browsing and e-mail and doing all my video streaming using gigabit LAN, my RT-AC66U is still serving me well. Rather than more wireless performance, I would like to see powerful and easy to use gui, powerful CPU to handle VPN clients, rock solid stability.

It is refreshing to see Synology to enter the market with a router which only does "ac1900". The GUI looks very impressive as well as the feature set. And I love the cure little power adapter. Now I am waiting for it to become available and be evaluated here on SmallNetBuilder.

P.S. Could we have a router ranker which looks beyond performance (would like to VPN performance in the charts as well) and would include feature set, price, etc.

 

[thiggins]

Synology continues to show its AC1900 router. But it is not released and there is no pricing or availability announced.

You will not see anything other than performance used in the Router Ranker, with the possible exception of price, because performance is the only thing that can be objectively measured.

 

[sfx2000]

Synology continues to show its AC1900 router. But it is not released and there is no pricing or availability announced.

You will not see anything other than performance used in the Router Ranker, with the possible exception of price, because performance is the only thing that can be objectively measured.

Well, I think they continue to float the idea to see where the market it - whether it is thought-leaders is the press/blog space, or distributors to folks that manage shelf-space, it's not a bad approach.

Snynology is good at one thing, and they're very, very good at it - making NAS boxes... they have zero attention in the commodity WLAN space, and even then, introducing a product there, it's a risk, as they have no recognition there, and they have to battle with the likes of Linksys/DLink/TP-Link/Netgear, and other incumbents that are already present within the Router/AP space.

I'm sure the Synology device is probably pretty awesome - the challenge here is getting it in front of the folks that really matter.

 

[thiggins]

I'm sure the Synology device is probably pretty awesome - the challenge here is getting it in front of the folks that really matter.

Awesome or not, the challenge is getting it into the sales channel.

Even with WD's wide channel access, they pulled the plug on all their networking line. Synology is *much* smaller and what brick-and-mortar sales access do they have?

The word I continue to get from the router manufacturers is that the majority of routers are sold in stores, not online. If you ain't on the physical shelves, you're not going to make a dent in market share.

And I wouldn't give ANYONE the benefit of the doubt on performance...

 

[L&LD]

That is how I buy almost anything; from a brick and mortar store. If it's not somewhere local - it doesn't exist.

Performance is the only reason to buy a newer router - why would anyone presuppose that the performance is acceptable, much less awesome? Testing (in house or in office) is the only way to know.

And after purchase, continued dependability (and availability and with newer firmware with patches and updates) after two or three years is the only way to know it was 'worth it'. From where I'm sitting? This is a pass until 2020 or so. And I'm betting that Asus will still be sitting pretty then too (and hopefully with RMerlin firmware still!).

 

[stevech]

How many times have I been in the WiFi isle at Fry's or Best Buy and heard a sales person preying upon the naivete' of the customer. Over-selling. Selling the wrong solution.

I have to clench my jaw, wanting to chime in and tell the customer cum victim what they really need.

 

[htismaqe]

That is how I buy almost anything; from a brick and mortar store. If it's not somewhere local - it doesn't exist.

The only brick and mortar store within 150 miles of here is Best Buy and as stevech already mentioned, they're pretty good at selling snake oil but not much else.

I don't know how many times I have, for free, undone what the Geek Squad charged $175-$250 to screw up.

 

[L&LD]

The only brick and mortar store within 150 miles of here is Best Buy and as stevech already mentioned, they're pretty good at selling snake oil but not much else.

I don't know how many times I have, for free, undone what the Geek Squad charged $175-$250 to screw up.

I too have fixed their 'fixes'.

But I don't buy service from a big box store - I simply buy hardware.

 

[htismaqe]

Why?

Amazon is almost always 10-20% cheaper, has better customer-service, and a MUCH more lenient return policy.

I could see paying a premium to support a truly LOCAL business but I don't see any reason to buy stuff at Wal Mart or Best Buy when I can get the same thing often much cheaper if I'm just willing to wait a couple of days for it to be delivered.

 

[L&LD]

That is what price matching is for (and for the record... I don't buy from Best Buy if I can help it either).

 

[stevech]

If I go into a Best Buy, I feel the need to rush home and take a shower.

 

[htismaqe]

That is what price matching is for (and for the record... I don't buy from Best Buy if I can help it either).

Best Buy will price match Amazon? The one here will only price match other brick and mortars. Plus they won't price match on service contracts. I never bought an extended warranty until I started buying everything online. Best Buy charges $19.99-$24.99 for the same extended warranty you can get from Square Trade/Amazon for $5-10. I happened to say "what the hell, why not" once and bought the $4 warranty on a $30 external drive enclosure.

The case fan died 2 days after the manufacturer's warranty expired and Square Trade helped me get a brand new unit for free. I've used them ever since and they've saved my bacon a few times.

 

[sfx2000]

How many times have I been in the WiFi isle at Fry's or Best Buy and heard a sales person preying upon the naivete' of the customer. Over-selling. Selling the wrong solution.

I have to clench my jaw, wanting to chime in and tell the customer cum victim what they really need.

Spiff's will do that - many times in retail, the vendors will put money in the pocket of the rep directly - ugly secret of the retail world..

 

[sfx2000]

Why?

Amazon is almost always 10-20% cheaper, has better customer-service, and a MUCH more lenient return policy.

I could see paying a premium to support a truly LOCAL business but I don't see any reason to buy stuff at Wal Mart or Best Buy when I can get the same thing often much cheaper if I'm just willing to wait a couple of days for it to be delivered.

Amazon - their online return/exchange policy is probably one of the best.

For sticks and bricks, Costco is king - and many folks overlook them when shopping online - for many items on their WWW site (costco.com), one doesn't need to be a member, but membership does get some better deals and better selection...

Don't know about Best Buy - but I assume they're not much different than Fry's...

Fry's will price match online and brick/mortar stores on the same product model - with the exception that for online (e.g. Amazon, etc) they include shipping costs... and they calculate the shipping, so Amazon Prime doesn't count, so I've never seen it work in a practical perspective. From their Web Site

“We Will Match Any Competitive Price*.”
Before making a purchase from a Fry’s Electronics store, if you see a lower current price at a local authorized competitor in-stock, or from an authorized Internet competitor ready to ship, Fry’s will be happy to match the competition’s delivered price.
​

BTW - Fry's and Costco, and I believe Best Buy as well - many times you can have them drop-ship to the closest store and avoid shipping charges, when can be a win, depending on what state you live in and whether they collect state sales tax or not...

 

[sfx2000]

Awesome or not, the challenge is getting it into the sales channel.

Even with WD's wide channel access, they pulled the plug on all their networking line. Synology is *much* smaller and what brick-and-mortar sales access do they have?

The word I continue to get from the router manufacturers is that the majority of routers are sold in stores, not online. If you ain't on the physical shelves, you're not going to make a dent in market share.

That truly is the hard part, ain't it.. the WD device, IIRC, wasn't that bad actually, but they're just one entry on the aisle compared to how many for everyone else...

And shelf space is what the stores actually sell...

Unfortunate, but true... the Synology Router/AP might be a great device, esp. if it integrates and plays well with the rest of their product line, but the battle for shelf-space to get it in front the customers is perhaps an uphill battle - stores tend to stock products that sell, and they control the shelf space - they know what sells, and they know that if someone is buying a hard disk, they stock WD/Seagate/Samsung/etc... if the customer is looking for router, it's linksys/netgear/asus/dlink/tplink and so forth...

 

[L&LD]

Best Buy will price match Amazon? The one here will only price match other brick and mortars. Plus they won't price match on service contracts. I never bought an extended warranty until I started buying everything online. Best Buy charges $19.99-$24.99 for the same extended warranty you can get from Square Trade/Amazon for $5-10. I happened to say "what the hell, why not" once and bought the $4 warranty on a $30 external drive enclosure.

The case fan died 2 days after the manufacturer's warranty expired and Square Trade helped me get a brand new unit for free. I've used them ever since and they've saved my bacon a few times.

As stated, I don't buy from Best Buy.

Paying 13% of the part cost on a warranty is not my idea of a deal. Even if it works out to a free unit once in a while.

Over many customers and including my own purchases, buying a warranty is a waste of money. Even if it is only $1 more.

When asked by my customers if I shouldn't reconsider when thousands of dollars are involved for a single purchase, I say this to them; if you find a model or brand faulty, would you continue to use it? Even if it was free? The downtime is always worth much more than getting relatively inexpensive units replaced.

In your case, a $1.50 fan at time of failure would have kept your unit working. And saved you a few bucks too while not needing to pay for it in advance.

 

[htismaqe]

You're assuming that a $1.50 fan is:

1. easy to find and

2. easy to install once found.

In this case, neither of those things are true so a $4 warranty was completely worth it.

As I stated earlier, the only electronics store within 150 miles of me is Best Buy and they no longer sell computer parts or anything even resembling 12V exhaust fans. Radio Shack closed their doors last year but also stopped selling parts even before that. Even if I could get the part in the closest urban area, I could buy 5 warranties for the cost of the gas to get there and back.

While a $1.50 fan at the time of failure might have worked, acquiring one (for me) is impractical at best and impossible at worst.