Netgear N900 Dualband Wireless Router Highlights -
Pros: Easy setup. Great throughput at both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. 2 USB ports.
Cons: USB performance below par. Bulky. Lack of flexibility in positioning the router.
Netgear N900 (WNDR4500v2) Dualband Wireless Router is based on 802.11n wireless standards and is capable of running on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. It offers speed of up to 450 Mbps on both bands (hence the '900' reference), has 2 USB ports and a CD-less setup. To achieve this speed, Netgear N900 comes with 2 radios and 6 antennas for improved wireless range. The 2 USB ports are handy as one of them can be connected to a printer to make the printer sharable across the entire network. The second USB port can then be connected to a network drive for sharing documents, videos and audio files. Netgear N900 comes with 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports and push button WPS Wi-Fi security. It should be noted that Netgear N900 doesn't come with an in-built DSL/Cable modem. It needs to be connected to a dedicated modem.
Trusted Reviews (a technology review site) carried out performance tests on Netgear N900. At 2 metres, the router managed to hit speeds of 68Mbps and 72Mbps when transferring a 3GB file using 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands respectively. This dropped to 36Mbps and 41Mbps at 10 metres line of sight, but then held remarkably steady at the same distance with two solid walls between it at 28Mbps and 32Mbps. These speeds are enough to stream high definition contents or share your internet connection wirelessly among multiple users across your network.
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Netgear N900 features parental controls which is powered by OpenDNS. There are also plenty of other advanced features like port forwarding and triggering, QoS, dynamic DNS, static routing, remote management, DMZ, VPN pass-through and UPnP. The router supports all existing wireless-encryption methods including WEP, WPA, and WPA2. The router can also function as a repeater (to extend the existing wireless range) at either band and has support for IPv6. You can also setup a 'Guest Network' to temporarily allow someone to access your wireless network. Additionally, the router allows users to stream digital content stored on the hard drive to DNLA-compliant network media players, such as the Xbox or PlayStation gaming consoles. All of these settings can be configured through Netgear's Genie web interface or software program. You can control some of these settings through Netgear's native Genie iPhone/Android application.
ReviewsBucket's Verdict:
If you are looking for a high-performance router with a variety of uses, then Netgear N900 (WNDR4500v2) could be for you. It performs well over both bands and has excellent range. It makes a very good router for homes and small offices. However, if you're after a router based on latest wireless standards, then please consider Linksys EA6700 Smart Wireless Router AC1750.
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