The Synology Router RT1900ac is Synology’s first router. It is targeted at the mid-range router market and hence it’s retail price is S$234 US$149 (S$210). It started selling in Singapore on 6th October 2015. I will update this post again when I have the actual retail price in Singapore rather than using the currency conversion from the official retail price in USD.


For the unaware, Synology makes one of the best NAS in the market especially for the prosumer market. I personally owned three Synology NASes, DS210j, DS413j and DS415play.

Synology creates network attached storage, IP surveillance solutions, and network equipment that transform the way users manage data, conduct surveillance, and manage network in the cloud era. By taking full advantage of the latest technologies, Synology aims to help users centralize data storage and backup, share files on-the-go, implement professional surveillance solutions, and manage network in reliable and affordable ways. Synology is committed to delivering products with forward-thinking features and the best in class customer services.

Specifications (from WikiDevi)

• CPU: Broadcom BCM58622 @ 1GHz Dual-Core (ARM Cortex A9)
  
• RAM: 256MB (Samsung K4B2G1646Q-BCK0)
  
• Flash: 4GB (Toshiba THGBMBG5D1KBAIT)
  
• Wireless: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac wireless LAN
  
  
  
  • 2.4GHz
    
    
    
    • Broadcom BCM43460
      
    • IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11b
      
    • Speeds up to 600 Mbps (256-QAM supported)
      
    
    
    
  • 5GHz
    
    
    
    • Broadcom BCM43460
      
    • IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11n & IEEE 802.11a
      
    • Speeds up to 1,300 Mbps
      
    
    
    
  
  
  
• LAN/WAN
  
  
  
  • 4x 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN ports (Broadcom BCM58622)
    
  • 1x 10/100/1000 Gigabit WAN port (Broadcom BCM58622)
    
  
  
  
• Antennas: Three removable antennas
  
• Other Ports: 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x SD (SDXC) slot
  
• Dimensions: 206 x 146 x 38 mm
  
• Weight: 510g
  

The RT1900ac comes with a 3×3 antenna design but unfortunately it is not MU-MIMO enabled.

Unboxing





Design

The router is compact and lightweight. The design is pretty simple with a huge Synology logo on the top and LED indicators in front.

The router case is well ventilated with holes pretty much on every side except the top.




You can place the router in two ways, either flat down on a surface or standing up using the included stand. I prefer the router to be standing so it takes up less space.




Ports

This is the first router that I encountered that has a SD card slot. The SD card slot is compatible with SDXC cards up to 2TB.

I like the way the ports and buttons on this router are organised.

At the back, you have the power button, power port, 1x WAN port followed by 4x LAN ports.


On the right side, you have the storage options where it houses the USB 3.0 port and SD card slot.

On the left side, you have the wireless options where it has a WPS button and a Wi-Fi on/off switch.


Setting Up

After plugging in the router, you can access the router admin UI via http://router.synology.com which resolves to http://192.168.1.1 and that will guide you through the set up process. There are about 4 steps in total.







Admin UI

Perhaps my favourite thing about Synology hardware is the awesome (and fast) UI. For NASes, Synology uses the Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM). And for routers, it is called Synology Router Manager (SRM).

I would like to think that the SRM is a subset of the DSM. If you are not a Synology DSM user before, don’t worry, the UI for SRM is pretty straight forward.

After setting up the router, you will get to launch the SRM for the first time. You will be given a tutorial walkthrough on the UI. I think this is the first router to do that after using routers from Linksys, D-Link and Asus.

Here are some screenshots for the common features like Port Forward, Port Triggering, Static Routes, DDNS, etc.













Mobile App

There is a DS Router app on Apple App Store as well as Google Play.
You can use the DS Router app to setup your router as well as manage it. I am not really a fan of using an app to setup or manage a router.

Furthermore, SRM is already an awesome admin interface, I don’t see the need of using an app to manage this router.

Package Center

You can easily install applications to the SRM using the package center.


Despite having a 4GB flash storage in the router, you cannot use the built-in storage to install applications. You will need to plug in your own USB flash drive or SD card in order to install them.


As of writing, there are only five packages available: Download Station, Media Server, VPN Server, DNS Server and RADIUS server. I hope eventually there will be more packages.

For most people, you will probably just need Download Station and Media Server.

Download Station allows you to download files from the Internet through BitTorrent, FTP, HTTP, NZB, Thunder, FlashGet, QQDL, and eMule.


Media Server on the other hand allows you to stream media that you have downloaded to DLNA/UPnP-compliant devices.
I wish they is a Plex app as well like they do on their NASes.

On my DS415play, I use Download Station to download content, File Station (built-in app) to move it to the correct folder and Plex app to stream the content to my devices from the folder.


VPN Client/Server

The router supports both VPN Client and VPN Server. VPN Client support is built-in, to use the router as a VPN Server, you need to visit the Package Center and download the VPN Server Package.


I tried using it as a VPN Client with my VyprVPN account and it works fine.

If you are a VyprVPN customer, you can refer to this guide. You will just need to key in your email, password, which VPN server to connect to and upload the certificate which you can download from the link in the guide.

VLAN Tagging

A very unfortunate thing about this router is the lack of VLAN Tagging. In Singapore, you pretty much need VLAN Tagging if you are on Singtel or Starhub. So the lack of VLAN Tagging means you can’t use this router directly with the Optical Network Terminal (ONT).

I really hope in future software update, this will be included. VLAN Tagging support will be released next month (January 2016) via a software update according to Synology.

Wireless Strength

I am using the WiFi Explorer app on my MacBook Pro to test the wireless strength of two extreme corners of my house, my room and the common toilet.

Location	RT1900ac	RT-AC88U	DIR-890L	EA9200	E8350	WRT1900ac	DIR-868L
My Room (2.4GHz)	65%	88%	85%	85%	55%	76%	79%
My Room (5GHz)	71%	82%	82%	76%	27%	78%	91%
Toilet (2.4GHz)	59%	76%	59%	64%	41%	50%	58%
Toilet (5GHz)	46%	55%	39%	46%	37%	46%	55%

Speed

This is my second router tested using iPerf. The first being the ASUS RT-AC88U Router.

Type	RT1900ac	RT-AC88U	DIR-890L	EA9200	EA8350	WRT1900AC	DIR-868L
LAN to LAN	940Mbps	940Mbps	932.71Mbps	886.36Mbps	876.2Mbps	780.27Mbps	500.19Mbps
LAN to Wireless	150Mbps	213Mbps	175.87Mbps	173.49Mbps	97.64Mbps	146.14Mbps	217.61Mbps
Wireless to Wireless	117Mbps	145Mbps	119.70Mbps	98.79Mbps	50.53Mbps	146.91Mbps	75.71Mbps

Summary

Both the wireless speed and coverage of this router is average. But given the price, I think it is still acceptable.
The current lack of VLAN tagging is pretty disappointing but I am glad VLAN tagging support will be coming via a software update next month (January 2016).

What I love about this router is the admin UI, I have never seen a router with such a nice and fast UI. I have to admit, I am a fanboy of Synology admin UI.

Would you recommend this router? I would say it depends. If you use your router as a mini-computer to download and stream content, this router is definitely for you because the Package Center has potential to turn the router into a mini-computer that does a lot of things. Whereas if you just use your router as a router and nothing else, you probably be better off with a high-end router like the ASUS RT-AC88U where it has much more features like eight LAN ports and Dual-WAN.

Type	Synology RT1900ac	Asus RT-AC88U	D-Link DIR-890L	Linksys EA9200	Linksys E8350	Linksys WRT1900AC	D-Link DIR-868L
Image
Bandwidth (cnet)	AC1900	AC3100	AC3200	AC3200	AC2400	AC1900	AC1750
Specifications (WikiDevi)	Broadcom CPU @1GHz Dual-Core RAM: 256MB Flash: 1(6?)MB Storage: 4GB 1x WAN 4x LAN Dual-Band 1x USB3.0 port SD card reader	Broadcom CPU @1.4GHz Dual-Core RAM: 512MB Flash: 128MB Storage: 0GB 1x WAN 8x LAN Tri-Band 1x USB3.0 port 1x USB2.0 port	Broadcom CPU @1GHz Dual-Core RAM: 256MB Flash:128+32MB Storage: 0GB 1x WAN 4x LAN Tri-Band 1x USB 3.0 port 1x USB 2.0 port	Broadcom CPU @1GHz Dual-Core RAM: 256MB Flash: 128MB Storage: 0GB 1x WAN 4x LAN Tri-Band 1x USB 3.0 port 1x USB 2.0 port	Atheros @1GHz/500MHz Dual-Core RAM512+128MB FL 256+16MB Storage: 0GB 1x WAN 4x LAN Dual-Band 1x USB 3.0 port 1x USB 2.0 port	Marvell CPU @1.2GHz Dual-Core RAM: 256MB Flash: 128MB Storage: 0GB 1x WAN 4x LAN Dual-Band 1x USB 3.0 port 1x USB 2.0 port	Broadcom CPU @800MHz Single-Core RAM: 128MB Flash: 128MB Storage: 0GB 1x WAN 4x LAN Dual-Band 1x USB 3.0 port 1x MiniPCIe slot
Price (amazone)	$219.00 $219.00	$299.99 $289.99	$359.99 $276.74	$299.99 $210.84	$279.99 $158.99	$229.99 $215.98	$194.99 $109.00

Afterall, this is Synology first router which is targeted at the mid-market. I am sure they will come out with another router that targets the high-end market next year and I am looking forward to that.

Pros:

• Excellent admin UI
  
• VPN server & VPN client support
  
• Reasonably priced
  

Cons:

• Average wireless speed/coverage
  
• No VLAN Tagging yet (TBA January 2016)
  

*UPDATE 18th January 2016* VLAN tagging has been released for the router on the 12th January 2016. The firmware version is 1.0.1-6007. Check out RT1900ac Release Notes for more information and Toolset.

Source: http://www.itnotes.eu/?p=1523

Synology RT1900ac Router Inside

Analysis by Tim Higgins

Although the RT1900ac is Broadcom based, pairing a BCM58622 ARM cortex A9 processor with embedded Gigabit switch with two BCM43460 radios. Other popular Broadcom-based AC1900 class routers use either the BCM4708A or BCM4709A processors paired with BCM4360 radios. Of significant note is the 4 GB of flash found in the RT1900ac,compared to the 128 MB in most other AC1900 class routers.

There are two versions of the board. US customers will most likely get the R1 version that recently appeared in the FCC ID database. The images below show the different board versions; version 1.3 for the original board and version 1.7 for R1. While they are very similar, the R1 board has shielding tape added. You'll also note the coaxial cables for the center and right antennas have been rerouted away from what appears to be the CPU in the center of the board.



The R1 board also eliminates the tape on the two coaxial cables and instead, routes all cables through a single clip on the upper left side of the board.



After testing was done, we opened the router and popped the tops of the RF cans to identify the other radio components. Here's a shot of the R1 board with the radio can tops off. When we took the big heatsink off that sits on all the RF cans, we found only two small thermal pads coupling the heatsink to the top of the processor and top of the 2.4 GHz radio.

There were also no thermal pads on the inside of the RF can tops to thermally tie the BCM43460 radio SoCs to the can tops. The thermal design definitely could use some improvement.



Table 1 below summarizes the key components of the RT1900ac as well as two other AC1900 class routers —one more expensive and one cheaper than the Synology router. The RT1900ac also has a Genesys GL836 USB 2.0 Interface Flash Card Reader controller.

	Synology RT1900ac	NETGEAR R7000 (Nighthawk)	TRENDNet TEW-818DRU
CPU	Broadcom BCM58622 @1GHz	Broadcom BCM4709A	Broadcom BCM4708A
Switch	In BCM58622	In BCM4709A	In BCM4708A
RAM	256 MB	256 MB	128 MB
Flash	4 GB / 1 MB	128 MB	16 MB
2.4 GHz radio	- Broadcom BCM43460 - Skyworks SE2623L 2.4 GHz Power Amp (x3) - Skyworks SKY13377 6 GHz SPDT switch (x3) - Skyworks SKY15971 2.4 GHz LNA (x3)	- Broadcom BCM4360 - Skyworks SE2623L 2.4 GHz Power Amp (x3)	- Broadcom BCM4360 - Skyworks SE2623L 2.4 GHz Power Amp (x3)
5 GHz radio	- Broadcom BCM43460 - RFMD RFFM4552 5 GHz front end (x3)	- Broadcom BCM4360 - Skyworks SE5003L1 5 GHz Power Amp (x3)	- Broadcom BCM4360 - Skyworks SE5003L1 5 GHz Power Amp (x3)

Synology Router RT1900ac High-Speed Wireless Router Review- A Closer Look

It is time to take a closer look at the Synology Router RT1900ac and the first thing that we haven’t seen close up on the first page are the available LEDs. There is one for each wired and wireless connection as well as a status one. A full set.


The eject button also features a multi-coloured LED to show the status of attached devices.


The bottom of the router has mounting holes in the middle that can be used for the included stand or to wall mount it. The two feet seen at the top of this image can easily be removed should you wish an even flatter design, they’re just attached with the one screw each which can be placed back into the router once the foot has been removed. The middle features a sticker with the relevant information such as default router settings, MAC address, and serial number. We can also spot the reset hole at the top of the photo.


We find a PCB that is fully occupying the space inside the chassis once we open the RT1900ac up. This is naturally not something you should do yourself. The first thing that springs into the eye is the large passive heatsink placed over most of the motherboard. A size like this should ensure proper cooling for the CPU, RAM, and other parts soldered underneath.


The rear of the PCB doesn’t feature much besides a few chips and a switch.


You can see a few close-up shots of some of the features below and there really isn’t that much to say to it. Buttons, switches, and ports.

Alert

Hôm nay, mở SynologyRouter để tìm hiểu thêm những tính năng đặc biệt nào nữa? Oa, có cảnh báo... IP lạ hoắc nào cố gắng kết nối bằng SSH nhưng đã bị Router chặn lại lúc 15:56 ngày 23/04/2016



Xem thử bạn này từ đâu tới nhỉ? Tra 58.48.109.222 trong http://whatismyipaddress.com. Thông tin cho biết khá thú vị:

General IP Information

IP:	58.48.109.222
Decimal:	976252382
Hostname:	58.48.109.222
ASN:	4134
ISP:	China Telecom
Organization:	China Telecom
Services:	None detected
Type:	Broadband
Assignment:	Static IP
Blacklist:

Geolocation Information

Continent:	Asia
Country:	China
State/Region:	Hubei
City:	Wuhan
Latitude:	30.5801 (30° 34′ 48.36″ N)
Longitude:	114.2734 (114° 16′ 24.24″ E)

Geolocation Map



Ủa, mình có quen bạn nào từ thành phố Vũ Hán (武汉市 - Wuhan]), tỉnh Hồ Bắc (湖北 - Hubei), nước Cộng hòa Nhân dân Trung Hoa (中华人民共和国 - People's Republic of China) đâu nhỉ



Oh, no... Không chỉ 01 mà còn còn nhiều khách viếng thăm khác. Xử lý sao đây?