20120530

Cisco Linksys EA4500 Review

The current top router from Linksys is the EA4500. While there are many routers on the market, for a power user that wants a full featured networking solution, the EA4500 is worth considering.

What's in the box?
  • EA4500 router
  • Cat 5e networking cable
  • power adapter
  • Setup CD
It is worth pointing out that everything in the box is arranged nicely, and the out of box experience is on par with Apple. Also be aware that the while many devices have WiFi built into them, if you need a wireless adapter, they are sold separately.


Features:
  • Ultra fast wireless speed connectivity (up to 450 + 450 Mbps)
  • Simultaneous dual-band to maximize throughput and help avoid network interference
  • Maximum range and reliability with full 3x3 MIMO antenna array
  • Four Gigabit ports (10x faster than Ethernet)
  • One USB Port for shared storage or printer
  • Cisco Connect Cloud (Available summer 2012)- Get anywhere, anytime access to your home network from a browser or mobile device.
Ease of setup has been a strong point with the Linksys products, and the EA4500 did not disappoint. I plugged in the power adapter to the router, and utilized the Ethernet cable to connect the router to the modem. There is only a solitary light on the router, and it was pulsing in white to signify the successful connection.

 
Now in the past, you needed to be wired to setup the new router. In other words, for the initial setup, it was required that the computer, via an Ethernet cable, needed to be plugged physically into the router. However, there are any number of scenarios where this could be quite inconveneient; after all, you are purchasing a wireless router so it does not need to be plugged in to access the internet. Thankfully, for the EA4500 and the setup, it can now be done over WiFi. The process took about 5 minutes, and was quite painless via the supplied software CD. (As an aside, I still like software included on a CD, and always find it more convenient than having to download it from an online source). The router comes with a default name, and the opportunity is given to change it from a default such as "Blue Monkey" or "Green Diamond." Then a password is provided for the default WPA2 encryption protocol, and it is a solid ten digits long, and not a word from any dictionary, utilizing upper and lower case letters. There is also a guest password for visitors, and the number of simultaneous users that can connect to the router can be limited. As this all happens as a default out of the box, even a newbie can setup a professionally encrypted network that will stand up to an attack with ease.


With the EA4500 up and running, it was time to put it to use. What follows is a few words about my networking setup. My internet is provided from Optimum Online, and the speed tier is 15/2, which lately gets "overprovisioned" to 20/2 to ensure bandwidth on the download side. The EA4500 is in the basement close to the modem. My desktop is one floor up, about 100 feet away, with pipes and air ducts running in between. My desktop WiFi is provided via a Cisco Valet USB adapter.


Across several days of testing, the EA4500 router performed flawlessly. I did not have to reboot the router once, and it provided a stable connection. From my desktop, the speeds according to Windows were anywhere from 39 mb/s to 104 mb/s download (the USB adapter has a stated theoretical maximum speed of 150 mb/s). All videos streamed well with no hiccups, including 1080p content on YouTube.


My notebook also connected to the EA4500 with no issues. The internal WiFi uses the older "g" protocol. Even in the one room of the house that has no basement, and is on concrete slab, with another nearby WiFi netowrk for interference, the notebook maintained a very stable connection over hours. The speed was pinned at 54 mb/s, which is the maximum for the "g" protocol.


Into the USB port of the router, I plugged in a 4 GB flash drive. This simple feature quickly becomes a must have option as it acts a NAS (network attached storage) that allows all the computers on the network to have shared storage space to place files. Alternatively, a USB printer can be turned into a network printer to share between devices.


The EA4500 conforms to the WiFi 802.11 "b," "g," "a" and "n" protocols. The "n" is the latest approved protocol, and is quite fast. Be aware that there is also an "ac" protocol, that promises speeds up to 1300 mb/s. However, the "ac" protocol is not official, and may not be for years (seriously, it took 6 years for the first "draft n" to get finalized to "n." Furthermore, the "ac" adapters are not out yet, and the current speeds obtained with the initial "ac" products don't offer any significant speed improvements over the current "n" protocol. In other words, I don't hesitate to recommend a solid "n" router at this time, and would take a wait and see approach with "ac."


Speaking of speeds, I ran SpeedTest with the router, connected to my desktop 100 feet away. I was pleased to see that the test came up with speeds that were as good as having the computer plugged directly into the modem, with no router in the loop.

In summary, the Linksys EA4500 is top end router, for the more serious networking enthusiast. The current pricing is $179, which buys quite a bit of performance for the price.  Also, stay tuned for this Summer, when Cisco Connect Cloud will be launched, which will make this product even more compelling.


Jonas

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