Review

ASUS RT-AC3200 Tri-Band Gigabit Router Review

ASUS one of the leading names in networking, has released a new Tri-Band Wireless-AC3200 Gigabit Router the RT-AC3200 that features one of the fastest combined data rate available with any router on the Indian market. To achieve it theoretical top speed of 3200Mbps ASUS RT-AC3200 uses 6 massive antennas and broadcasts three networks – one 2.4GHz and two 5GHz fulfilling all households and office Wi-Fi needs with many connected devices.

Like other AC3200 routers, the ASUS RT-AC3200 also uses Broadcom's XStream "tri-band" architecture, XStream's key feature is its potential to squeeze higher total throughput out of multiple 5 GHz devices. AC3200 doesn't bring range improvement and maximum link rates are the same as AC1900 class, i.e. 600 Mbps in 2.4 GHz and 1300 Mbps in 5 GHz but instead it provides stable high speed connectivity in a network that have high number of Wi-Fi devices that compete for wireless connectivity. The ASUS RT-AC3200 can automatically assign connecting devices to either 2.4 GHz network or one of two 5.0 GHz network depending on the device network bandwidth usage.

Now let's see what this Asus AC3200 Router have for us.

Package

ASUS RT-AC3200 comes in a box securely packaged with Modem graphics, Model name and features highlights on front and the back of the box.

Inside the box

Looks

ASUS RT-AC3200 is one humongous router looks almost same as RT-AC87U router, but with 6 big external antennas, each about 21cm long.

Features

Intelligent Tri-band Wi-Fi for All Your Devices
RT-AC3200 is a tri-band 802.11ac router featuring Tri-Band Smart Connect, an incredible new feature that automatically maximizes the performance of each and every wireless device. With the world's fastest combined data rate of 3200 Mbps (2600 Mbps on the two 5 GHz bands plus 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band), RT-AC3200 allows every device to work at full speed, ensuring lag-free online gaming, silky-smooth 4K/UHD video streams, and effortless downloading. Add to this superb coverage and total security, and you'll see why RT-AC3200 takes your network to the next level!

REVOLUTIONARY HARDWARE
Six external high-performance antennas - RT-AC3200 uses two 802.11ac networks, each with a three transmit, three receive (3x3) antenna configuration. This is made possible by its six external high performance antennas, and allows more devices to connect faster with better stability.

Dual USB ports - The easy-to-use USB app lets you share printers, storage devices and 3G/4G (HSPA+) dongles over your entire network, and the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port ensures ultra-fast transfer speeds. Plus, there's plenty of space around each port to accommodate bulkier devices.

MORE BANDS MEANS MORE DEVICES
Tri-Band Wi-Fi - Having an ASUS RT-AC3200 is like having three wireless routers in one. The two separate 5 GHz wireless bands — each with speeds up to 1300 Mbps — and the single 600 Mbps 2.4 GHz wireless band all work simultaneously. This means you can enjoy lag-free online gaming, smooth 4K video streaming and uninterrupted file downloading on every device connected to your home network.

AiRadar beamforming - ASUS AiRadar intelligently strengthens wireless connectivity using 802.11ac universal beamforming technology, high-power amplification and exclusive ASUS RF fine-tuning.

Adaptive QoS -ASUS Adaptive Quality of Service (QoS) optimizes and prioritizes bandwidth, with presets for gaming, media streaming, VoIP, web browsing and file transfers.
Powerful online multitasking - RT-AC3200 has a data pipeline that's around 20 times larger than conventional routers — up to 300,000 data sessions — for exceptionally smooth performance.

SMART CONNECTIONS FOR FULL-SPEED NETWORKING
Tri-band Smart Connect - Our Tri-Band Smart Connect technology automatically assigns each device to either the 2.4 GHz band or one of the two 5 GHz bands, according to the device's speed, its signal strength, and how busy each band is. This means you get better range and faster, more reliable connections — all the time! With Tri-Band Smart Connect enabled, RT-AC3200 gives you up to 3X faster downloads — and up to a 39% overall Wi-Fi performance boost when compared to competing tri-band AC3200 routers with standard dual-band smart connect!

LIFE IN THE FAST LAN
For the fastest wired networking performance, RT-AC3200 has a dedicated Gigabit Ethernet WAN port plus four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports. Its powerful hardware-accelerated NAT removes the bottleneck between the wired LAN and the internet for a lag-free gaming experience.
Hardware NAT - Removes the bottleneck between the internet and the home network, giving WAN-to-LAN performance that's between 2-5 times faster than a traditional software-based NAT.
Dual WAN support - Configure one of the LAN ports as a WAN to use two internet connections, either to share internet traffic between them or so that one can be used as a backup connection should one connection fail.

TESTED FOR COMPATIBILITY
Time Machine® support - Any USB storage device attached to RT-AC3200 can be used in conjunction with Time Machine® backups for your Apple devices.
WPS - Any device supporting the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) standard can be connected instantly simply by pressing the WPS button on RT-AC3200.
VPN support - Create a VPN server or turn your network-connected devices into VPN-enabled clients — with no need for paid VPN services.

THE POWERFUL, USER-FRIENDLY INTERFACE
ASUSWRT - RT-AC3200 features the enhanced ASUSWRT graphical user interface, which gives you easy access to the 30-second, 3-step web-based installation process3. It's also where you can configure AiCloud 2.0 and all RT-AC3200's advanced options. ASUSWRT is web-based, so it doesn't need a separate app, or restrict what you can change via mobile devices — you get full access to everything, from any device that can run a web browser.

AIPROTECTION WITH TREND MICROâ„¢ FOR ADVANCED SECURITY
AiProtection, incorporating state-of-the-art, three-pronged security from Trend Micro™, gives you enterprise-level security in the home — it's one of the most secure home routers you can buy! It constantly monitors the health and safety of your network for total peace of mind.

CREATE YOUR OWN PERSONAL CLOUD
ASUS AiCloud keeps you close to your data wherever and whenever you have an internet connection. It links your home network and online storage service4, giving you access to your files using the AiCloud mobile app on your iOS, Android smartphones or via a personalized browser URL. You can share photos instantly to services like Facebook, Flickr or Dropbox directly from the AiCloud interface. Even better, AiCloud can be connected to another compatible router to expand your personal cloud even further.

BOOST THE CONNECTION SPEEDS AND MAXIMIZE THE HARDWARE
Tuxera solutions bring enhanced performance with significantly reduced CPU so more applications can run at the same time. With special optimization for network storages you can quickly access and transfer your data.

Specifications

Network Standard

IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11ac, IPv4, IPv6

Product Segment

AC3200 ultimate AC performance : 600+1300+1300 Mbps

Data Rate

802.11a : 6,9,12,18,24,36,48,54 Mbps
802.11b : 1, 2, 5.5, 11 Mbps
802.11g : 6,9,12,18,24,36,48,54 Mbps
802.11n : up to 450 Mbps
802.11n TurboQAM : up to 600 Mbps
802.11ac : up to 1300 Mbps

Antenna

External antenna x 6

Operating Freq

2.4G Hz, 5 GHz-1, 5 GHz-2

Encryption

64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK, WPA-Enterprise , WPA2-Enterprise , Radius with 802.1x, WPS support

Firewall & Access Control

Firewall: SPI intrusion detection,DoS protection 
Access control: Parental control, Network service filter, URL filter, Port filter

Management

UPnP, IGMP v1/v2/v3, DNS Proxy, DHCP, SNMP, NTP Client, DDNS, Port Trigger, Virtual Server, DMZ, System Event Log

VPN Support

IPSec Pass-Through
PPTP Pass-Through
L2TP Pass-Through
PPTP server
OpenVPN server
PPTP client
L2TP client
OpenVPN client

WAN Connection Type

Internet connection type : Automatic IP, Static IP, PPPoE(MPPE supported), PPTP, L2TP

Utilities

Download master
- support BT, NZB, HTTP, ED2K
- support encryption, DHT, PEX and magnet link
- upload and download bandwidth control
- download scheduling 
Media server:
- Image: JPEG
- Audio: mp3, wma, wav, pcm, mp4, lpcm, ogg
- Video: asf, avi, divx, mpeg, mpg, ts, vob, wmv, mkv, mov
QoS:
- WMM
- User definable rules for IP/MAC/Port. Upload and Download bandwidth management.
- ACK/SYN/FIN/RST/ICMP with Highest priority
Guest Network 
- 2.4GHz guest network x 3, 5GHz-1 guest network x 3, 5GHz-2 guest network x 3
Printer Server: multifunctional printer support(Windows nly), LPR protocol support
File server: Samba and FTP server with account management
PPTP VPN server
Network map
Traffic monitor

Ports

RJ45 for 10/100/1000/Gigabits BaseT for WAN x 1, RJ45 for 10/100/1000/Gigabits BaseT for LAN x 4, USB 2.0 x 1, USB 3.0 x 1

Button

WPS Button, Reset Button, Power Button, Wireless on/off Button, LED on/off Button

LED Indicator

PWR x 1, Wireless x 2, WAN x 1, LAN x 4, WPS x 1

Power Supply

AC Input : 110V

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