EnGenius Wireless 300N Gaming Router

Introduction

Often a home networks’ weakest link is the router/switch associated with the connection.  In the world of gaming and media this can often mean poor pings and bad movie streaming.  With this in mind, technology made a jump to Wireless N giving the user the option of gaming and streaming movies over wireless.  But networks still lacked the ability to incorporate a switch into the mix.  Having a hub meant packet loss and collision leading to poor performance.  Switches are a better solution but seldom seen with decent wireless capabilities.  EnGenius has answered the call of media enthusiasts and gamers alike with the Wireless 300N Gaming Router (ESR9855G).  With 300Mbps (37.5 MBps) wireless and 1000Mbps (125 MBps) wired speeds this router is aimed at gaming and HD streaming.  Lets take a dive and take a look if this router a step above the rest.

Specifications

• Chipset: Ubicom IP7k
• RF: Atheros AR9223
• Ports: 1x WAN 10/100/1000, 4x LAN 10/100/1000 switch
• Speeds: 1000 Mbps wired and 300 Mbps Wireless (theoretical)
• Frequency: 2.4 – 2.484GHz
• Operation Channels: 11 of North America, 13 for Europe
• Wireless Channels: IEEE 802.11b/g/n
• WAN Options: Static IP, DHCP Client, PPPoE, PPTP, Clone MAC address, DNS Relay,
• LAN Options: DHCP Server, Static IP, DNS, UPNP
• Wireless Security: 64/128 WEP Encryption, WPA Personal (TKIP or AES), WPA Enterprise (TKIP), Hide SSID, WiFi Protection Setup
• Firewall Options: Block ICMP Ping, Stateful Packet Inspection, Rule Based (IP Address Ranges, Port Ranges & Schedule), DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) Host Support
• Router Options: NAT, Static Routing (RIPv2), Dynamic Routing, Virtual Server, IP Address Mapping, Port Forwarding, Port Triggering, MAC Address Filter
• Quality of Service Options: Stream Engine

Looking at all this jargon can definitely be intimidating.  A couple main points to take away from this is the capability for Wireless N speeds (The box boasts up to 300Mbps with 11N technology), 4 LAN 10/100/1000 ports on a switch, and the full consumer line of wireless security.
Unboxing

Opening the box, we see the quality of packaging EnGenius has done in order to keep the router safe during shipment.  While everything has its own section, there’s an absence of foam keeping everything safe.  Not a real big deal as the router came to me unharmed, I would still like to see some better packaging.Getting everything out of bags and boxes, we see this kit comes with:

• 1x EnGenius 300N Router
• 1x 3ft Cat 5e patch cable
• 2x 3dBi Dipole Antenna
• 1x Power Adapter
• 1x Software and Documentation

During my initial inspection of the router I was surprised to find no reset switch: Only a power switch on the back and a WPS button on top.  I later found the Reset and Hard Reset operations are done by holding the WPS button for a length of time.  On the back of the router, we see 4 LAN ports (yellow), 1 WAN port (blue), our power port, and our power switch.  A couple really nice things to point out here: The ports are all shielded and the use of a dedicated power switch.  Flipping around to the front we see 8 LED indicators corresponding to (from left to right) Power, Wireless, WAN Connection, LAN Ports (x4) and the WPS Indicator.  On the left and right of the router are the Antenna ports which are easily screwed into place.  The WPS Button is clearly marked on top of the router.  My only issue here is the WPS button doubles as the Reset and the Hard Reset button.  This brings the possibility of someone unknowingly reverting the router back to factory defaults.  Call me old school but I prefer the reset pin-hole.  The underside also has 2 slots for mounting but does not come with hardware to do so.

Features

Here, I will attempt to go over some features included in this router that put it in the gaming category.  For this, lets set a basis:

• Mb = Megabit and MB = Megabyte.  Getting these confused can lead to a world of headaches.  For computational purposes, 8bits = 1byte.
• Wireless speeds can be influenced by a vast number of places.  An obvious one with this router is the operational frequency 2.4GHz.  Often, 2.4 GHz is reserved for home phones and even some microwaves.  Over time, 2.4 GHz has been overpopulated causing traffic interference and thus signal degradation.

Web Interface
This routers web GUI is much kinder on the eyes than others I’ve seen.  EnGenius has separated all the settings into 2 groups: Basic and Advanced.  In the Basic tab, we have settings corresponding to WAN connection and routing, network settings, and wireless setup.  This tab would represent the average user just looking to have a working network access point.  In the Advanced tab is where we see the tweaking options setting this router into the gaming category.

The Virtual Server option allows you to define a single public port on your router for redirection to an internal LAN IP Address and Private LAN port if required. This feature is useful for hosting online services such as FTP or Web Servers and is only applicable to the INTERNET session.

Virtual Server at first glance looks very similar to port forwarding.  But taking a closer look it reveals it to be a very powerful tool allowing you to forward public ports to a private port at a one-to-one ratio.  What this means is easier administration of private ports to network nodes while leaving the public look the same.  With gaming, this allows you to host a public game server, say on port 5555, and forward it to a your computers 4444 port.  Pairing this with port forwarding allows redirection via Virtual Server and open port rules via Port Forwarding.

Stream Engine

StreamEngine automatically detects media applications and gives them priority on the network. StreamEngine uses hardware and software to improve the quality of media on home networks without any configuration

Stream Engine is probably more commonly known as traffic shaping (or data prioritization).  The Stream Engine allows the user to designate traffic that is more important than other traffic.  For example, one computer is using both Skype (VOIP) and downloading a file.  Usually what will happen when the download rate reaches maximum is both streams take a hit (download speed throttles and VOIP quality drops).  Setting up the Stream Engine correctly will tell the router to favor the VOIP connection and hold the automatically throttle the download connection.  This is a very useful tool for throttling background connections (file downloading) and favor the Gaming Connection.  Gone are the days of shutting off downloads to play games and forgetting to turn them back on again.

WiFI Protected Setup (WPS)

WPS is a useful tool for quick access via WiFI.  Instead of memorizing a passkey, encryption type, and security type; all you need is a 8 digit PIN.  Connecting is as easy as pushing the WPS button on the router (Located on top) and punching in the PIN.  Especially useful for the non-tech savvy.

Wireless and Wired Speed Capability

1000 Mbps through wireless gives endless possibilities through a network.  This speed is definitly fast enough to do any sharing or media streaming (including HD).  The LAN ports are also on a switch meaning better handling of network traffic overall.  Wireless Speeds of 300 Mbps also are more than fast enough for HD Media streaming and gaming.

 

Other Features

• Multiple SSID for “guest” network
• Not Dual Band
• Option for the Router to ping a computer.  (great for troubleshooting)

 

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Windows Samba Share File Speed Test

To test this router, we created a network between an two computers and shared a large (2GB) file between them.  The measured speeds are in MB.  Remember, it is “impossible” to reach the theoretical 1000Mbps or 300Mbps because of packet overhead and packet splicing.  In both wired and wireless tests we come quite close to achieving the max speed.  Both speeds are plenty fast enough for any consumer-grade LAN speed.

Wired Speed

Wireless Speed

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Conclusion

The EnGenius Wireless 300N Gaming Router has all of the features needed for a gaming setup or LAN party.  From its gigabit switch to its speedy 300Mbps wireless N rate, this router stacks up with most high end media/gaming routers.  What it lacks is Dual Band capability which is a major requirement for optimal wireless connections.  The 2.4GHz band has lost its luster: time to move to 5GHz.  This router has both the wired and wireless speeds needed for a gaming hub or LAN party without sacrificing the software to support it.  With this in mind, I’m awarding the EnGenius Wireless 300N Gaming Router our Approved Hardware Award.

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