Review: Cisco’s Linksys WUMC710 Wireless Media Bridge is exactly what 802.11ac networks need - whitesidewheark

At a Glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

• Supremely easy to set up
• Selfsame high TCP throughput at altogether ranges
• Compact size

Cons

• Requires AC power
• You'll pay for four Ethernet ports even though you might need only one

Our Verdict

If you architectural plan to build an 802.11ac network, and you want to associate ternary 802.11ac clients, this is the device to use. It's a far top-flight alternative to buying two 802.11ac routers and configuring unrivalled atomic number 3 a bridge.

The best way to stream media sesquipedalian distances at bottom and around your habitation is over an 802.11ac mesh. Merely with the exception of Buffalo's bulky AirStation AC1300, none of the manufacturers building 802.11ac routers are selling 802.11ac Harry Bridges for the client side of the network. Asus, Belkin, D-Link, and Netgear altogether expect you to grease one's palms ii of their routers and reconfigure one of them as a bridge with a four-larboard gigabit switch. That's not only expensive, simply reconfiguring a router to operate as a bridge is a pain in the neck.

Cisco is a little late to the 802.11ac party, only they brought something particular with their new EA6500 router. The Linksys WUMC710 (aka the Radio-AC Wi-Fi 5GHz Universal Media Connexion Bridge with 4-Port Switch) is a compact, dedicated 802.11ac wireless bridge circuit. You can connect Little Jo hardwired Ethernet clients to the bridge (e.g., a smart Television, a Blu-ray actor, a media streamer, and a domicile theater Microcomputer), and the bridge will set up a wireless connection to your router.

There's no real need to hold out into the bridge circuit's firmware to configure anything. Copulative the nosepiece to an 802.11ac router is as simple as pushy the WPS clitoris on the bridge and so pushing the assonant button on the router. WPS (the acronym stands for Wi-Fi Stormproof Setup) is a widely adopted wireless security standard that you'll determine in virtually all new wireless router, including all of the 802.11ac routers presently on the marketplace.

With a street price of $149 as of November 2, 2012, the WUMC710 will redeem you $40 to $50 over the cost of buying cardinal identical 802.11ac routers and configuring one to operate as a bridge. The asymetrically shaped span is likewise much more compact than the typical router, measurement about 1.5 inches wide at the understructur, 7 inches deep, and 5 inches tall. If you need to connect just one client to your 802.11ac network, a USB adapter might be the better and little-expensive pick. To our knowledge, lone Netgear has much a product (the $70 A6200), but we birth not yet proven it.

We benchmarked the WUMC710 with the Linksys EA6500 router and seasoned TCP throughput on equality with our current favorite 802.11ac router, the Asus RT-AC66U (with ane configured as a router and the second configured as a bridge). As you can see from the chart below, the only exception was in our outdoor test, where the client is outside the house, 75 feet from the router. The WUMC710's TCP throughput was about half that of the RT-AC66U operating as a wireless bridge deck. Still, that's more than enough bandwidth to pelt treble-definition TV. The WUMC710 actually outperformed the RT-AC66U when the client was was located in our home theatre.

If you plan to establish an 802.11ac network, and you deficiency to connect seven-fold 802.11ac clients, this is the device to use.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/455542/review-linksys-wumc710-wireless-media-bridge.html

Posted by: whitesidewheark.blogspot.com

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