Today, we will focus on Synology’s second wireless router here in our Synology RT2600ac Router review. The RT2600ac isn’t only the company’s second wireless router, but it’s also one of the fastest on the market. Plus, it’s packed with a set of excellent features that one would surely want.
Also, when you link it to an external hard drive, the RT2600ac can function as a NAS server. It will allow you to stream content and share data to both local and remote clients.
If the RT2600ac piqued your interest, or it’s something you think you’d need, continue reading our Synology RT2600ac Router review. You’ll get all the information you’d need to learn more about the router like its features, specifications, design, and performance.
But first, let’s check out its packaging and what’s inside.
Synology RT2600ac Router Packaging
This section of our Synology RT2600ac Router review is all about the router’s packaging and items included.
When we received our RT2600ac, it came in a sturdy brown box that’s similar to other products from Synology. The company aimed for a minimalist approach, so you won’t find much on the package’s exterior.
The front displays Synology and ROUTER on the lower-left corner of the box. The upper-right corner is where you’ll find a sticker with various details about the router. These include the model number, an image of the RT2600ac itself, its features, and a lot more.
Inside the box, you will receive the router, four antennas, an Ethernet cable, and a power adapter.
Synology RT2600ac Router Review – Design and Functionality
This section in our Synology RT2600ac Router review talks about the router’s design and functions. First, let’s take a look at RT2600ac’s design.
Design of the Router
The router features a basic black theme that appears similar to all other routers sold on the market. It comes with a somewhat block-like design that combines with angled ventilation slots set at the top of the router. Plus, you’ll find an entire suite of indicator lights at the centre and front of the RT2600ac.
The router is 4×4 multi-user multiple input and multiple output or MU-MIMO router that has four huge antennas. Two of these are fixed to the router’s rear, while the other two are on either side.
What we liked is that the antennas can rotate then get snapped in place. Plus, you can position them at 90°, 135°, or 180° angles.
The front of the RT2600ac is an SD card that can be utilised as a NAS. There are also a row of LED lights for the status, wired ports, and wireless bands. Most of the top area has vents to let any heat escape.
The rear portion of the RTC2600ac comes with a USB port that can be utilised for the same purpose. Also, it features a WAN port, power button, plus five Ethernet ports at the back.
One side of the router features the Wi-Fi and WPS buttons. The other section displays a second USB port, plus a media eject button.
When setting the RTC2600ac on a flat surface, it won’t sit flat due to its elevated foot. The foot is at the back of the router. This feature provides the RTC2600ac a distinct look, thus, may help in heat management.
However, because of this aspect, the router is slightly challenging to wall mount.
Connectivity – The AC2600 with MU-MIMO Functions + Optional Mesh System
The RTC2600ac is an AC-2600 MU-MIMO dual-band router that provides maximum wireless bandwidth that’s 2.53Gbps. It has 800Mbps over its 2.4GHz frequency, and around 1,733Mbps over its 5GHz frequency.
Not only that, but the router can also bond two high-speed connections via dual WAN option.
The RTC2600ac also supports MU-MIMO, a leading technology designed for multiple devices to connect simultaneously via different wireless standards. You won’t even experience any issues of slowdowns as a result, which is pretty awesome.
Additionally, it supports auto band steering. It’s to guarantee that each wireless device in the network retains the most reliable and fastest connection it can handle.
Key Features of the Synology RT2600ac Router
Now in our Synology RT2600ac Router review, you’ll learn all about the key features of the router.
Engineered for Performance
The router supports MU-MIMO and the latest 802.11ac Wave-2 standard. This feature allows up to 800Mbps plus 1,733Mbps via the 2.4GHz and 5GHz radios, respectively.
You can reach 2Gbps combined with a dual WAN1 bandwidth to readily optimise your network with minimal performance loss.
Best Software Experience
The best aspect of the RT2600ac is its Synology Router Manager or SRM. It takes the complexity out of the network, making the situation in the traffic evident and straightforward.
Streamlined Setup
Whether from a smartphone or PC, setting up the RT2600ac is easy. Because of that, it will only take a few minutes to get the Internet running.
Extensive Connectivity Management
The Smart WAN lets the Synology router failover or load balance between dual ISP connections. It’s to guarantee internet availability, while QuickConnect allows remote access extremely simple.
Granular Traffic Control
Application and device-based QoS or Quality of Service allow you to establish a higher bandwidth for VoIP or gaming applications. This is while controlling BitTorrent downloads.
Historical data traffic and real-time are systematised into user-friendly charts and reports. It’s to let you determine any bottlenecks or inconsistencies.
Smart Web Filtering + Parental Controls
The Safe Access package present on the RT2600ac doesn’t only provide free cross-platform solutions for creating a kid-friendly online environment. It also offers a better understanding of each device and the user’s internet use. These include the IoT gadgets that work quietly in the background.
Business-Grade Security
The RT2600ac has a record of having fast and regular updates to protect against threats. Other than that, it comes with tons of advanced features to secure your entire network from the router level.
Threat Prevention
Leveraging the intrusion prohibition technology, Threat Prevention looks into both outgoing and incoming traffic on the network. With that, it instantly prevents malicious packets from going through while simultaneously retaining excellent internet speed.
Best-in-class VPN server
VPN Plus’ Synology SSL VPN & WebVPN provides intuitive, fast, and secure access to internal networks. This is compared to the Site-to-Site VPN that lets you link various remote offices together.
A list of other supported management functionalities and protocols are present, giving IT admins more control over their VPN connections.
Integrated Security Databases
The Synology Router RT2600ac comes with advanced smart security features that aid in making the network tougher against network intrusions.
This router from Synology comes with an easy to utilise Security Advisor, plus inclusive website filtering capabilities.
SRM is often tested against the industry-leading Qualys Vulnerability Management suite. It’s to guarantee an agreement against known security threats today.
In addition to the reliable networking infrastructure of SRM, it comes integrated with Pv4 and IPv6 firewalls. And with the Intrusion Prevention package, the router will provide protection against malicious attackers from infiltrating and compromising your devices.
It features a regularly updated IDS (intrusion detection system) and IPS (intrusion prevention system). This Intrusion Prevention add-on pack is an enhanced extra layer of security. It lets you effortlessly and quickly set up on your Synology router, free of charge.
The integrated Security Advisor of the SRM analyses and reminds you of any security issues in your setup. You’ll get a clear and easier way to enhance your settings without the need for expert networking knowledge.
Additionally, the router is capable of dual WAN load balancing, as well as failover support. Combined with a different ISP, you can guarantee to have a reliable internet connection should one of the providers fail.
Next-Gen WPA3
Your business, home, and open Wi-Fi networks are equipped with effective defences against various attacks. It’s all because the RT2600ac offers support for the newest Wi-Fi security protocol.
Establish Your Own Wi-Fi System
For bigger offices and homes, the RT2600ac and MR2200ac can work simultaneously to cover the environment with mesh Wi-Fi. These will extend the broadband internet speed in every corner of your home or office.
The next section of our Synology RT2600ac Router review will all be about the router’s specifications.
Specifications
This is the part of our RT2600ac Router review that focuses on the RT2600ac’s specifications.
The RT2600ac is powered via a high speed dual-core 1.7GHz processor. It can handle demanding, heavy, and high bandwidth processing environments.
Its 802.11ac Wave2 Wi-Fi radio features MU-MIMO support with 4×4 quad stream capabilities. This aspect allows up to 2.53Gbps wireless bandwidth.
Not only that, but RT2600ac can immediately maximise bandwidth usage as well as wireless speeds for your devices. Simultaneously, it keeps the optimal range with Smart Connect.
The hardware-accelerated Layer-7 traffic control guarantees tons of processing power. So even with tons of traffic control rules and devices, the router will still have tons of processing power. This will allow you to keep up with all your networking demands and needs.
The overall power consumption of the router ranges from 100V to 240V AC input power and works on 50-60Hz power frequency. For its operating temperature, the router goes from 5-degrees to 40-degrees Celsius. It also has a total altitude of up to 5,000m.
Lastly, the router’s dimensions without the antennas are 77 x 280 x 169mm.
Hands on with the Synology RT2600ac Router
Now, we will get more hands-on and check out the router’s performance here in our Synology RT2600ac Router review.
The Setup Process
Setting up the Synology RT2600ac is as easy as the company claims. We linked the router and tested PC to the Internet, configured an administrator account, then established a network SSID. After, we were prompted to choose whether the RT2600ac would work as a router or access point. That’s it.
We think that the router has an excellent web-based dashboard that offers superior flexibility and control. And the thing here is, you won’t have to dig deep into it just to set up the network.
Synology Router Manager (SRM) Software
The Synology RT2600AC utilises a Windows-like web console. It’s a huge improvement over their competition.
Plus, you can alter a couple of settings via a phone app. Things you can change include guest networking, parental controls, as well as basic settings. However, you should remember that advanced controls are kept behind web consoles.
The SMR powers the company’s networking lineup. It allows for the management of your router and other devices without compromising customisations and features.
Based on the company’s DiskStation Manager in proven NAS devices, the software is established with stability and security in mind.
SRM comes with Synology’s user-friendly interface. Its similar desktop-like interface allows for easier use even for even beginners. Also, the software enables users to manage and control their entire network.
For DSM users, they’ll feel at home with the software, while advanced users can find network tools at their disposal. It will easily and immediately customise, setup, or troubleshoot issues efficiently.
Web Console
The web console includes tiles for the control panel, network centre, help centre, and the package centre. The network centre tile lets you check current upload and download speeds at a glance. You can check lists of linked devices, configure parental and traffic controls, setup wireless settings & firewall, and a lot more.
The control panel gets into options such as setting up network-connected storage and network printers. For the package centre, it lets you download additional packages.
The interface of the Synology Router Manager
The interface of SRM will be familiar to you if you’ve used Synology’s routers or storage devices in the past. The left side has a few desktop icons, while the top corner is where you’ll find the menu button. This is where you’ll see all of the available shortcuts.
Available shortcuts for the router manager include file station, package centre, and the control panel with tools and network centre. The package centre offers default options, which include the download station and media server.
Other options include VPN Server, Intrusion Prevention, and DNS Server.
In the control panel, you can assign users, Domain access, as well as set up more advanced LDAP. When you slide down to devices, you can customise the LEDs on the router’s front.
The system menu is where you can update the firmware, restore, and backup configuration settings. On the network centre, you’ll find the quick status screen.
The wireless menu provides access to the password settings, SSID, and the Smart Connect feature.
Parental controls lets you detect specific devices and control its time limit on the Internet. You can also set filters for each connected device.
VPN Plus
VPN Plus turns your Synology Router into an efficient VPN server. Then, it guarantees secure access, easy setup, and smooth connection. For your company’s remote workforce, you can configure a virtual office that can work with flexible work styles and schedules.
According to the director of Synology’s product management group, Hewitt Lee, the company has noticed a few changes. They’ve seen lots of businesses hurrying to adopt VPN solutions to build an infrastructure that allows a remote workforce.
They have also noticed that for the past few months, a significant increase in VPN Plus license purchases was made. And as this situation continues to grow in remarkable ways, they have discovered something. A lot of people are uncertain when it comes to maintaining business continuity.
With that, Synology is offering the VPN Plus licenses for FREE. The company aims to help businesses continue operations remotely.
With the optional add-on VPN Plus Server package, you can readily turn your Synology RT2600ac router into something more. Make it into an intuitive, powerful, comprehensive VPN solution for the best performance and efficiency.
The Synology SSL VPN and WebVPN allow for minimal setup, as well as client setup. Plus, it gives you access to your network with minimal effort and without issues.
In addition to this, the VPN Plus Server also supports hosting standards PPTP, SSTP, L2TP, and OpenVPN over the IPSec VPN options.
Enables Remote Work – Enjoy the VPN Plus Licenses Free Until the 30th of September, 2020
Almost everyone worldwide is experiencing a lot of troubles due to COVID-19. With that, numerous businesses have a response to the ongoing pandemic. To keep the business going, they adopted the work from home policy and environment.
Synology’s wireless routers feature outstanding VPN server capabilities. These allow businesses to quickly and efficiently facilitate a remote workforce. Beginning the 6th of April, the Synology VPN Plus licenses became free to purchase. What’s great is that it’ll last until the 30th of September, 2020.
Both new and existing owners of the company’s RT2600ac, RT1900ac, and the MR2200ac routers can purchase the VPN Plus offers. These include the VPN Plus Client VPN Access, as well as the free Site-to-Site VPN licenses.
Do note that the licenses are perpetual. They don’t expire, nor does it require extra cost after the 30th of September, 2020.
Easy setup
The lightweight client for Mac, Windows, Ubuntu, Android, and iOS needs only minimal setup. It’s to help you readily connect within a minute.
Security
SSL/TLS encryption provides security levels of protection. It’s ideal for your business’ network, keeping sensitive and important data safe at all times.
Performance
Synology SSL VPN establishes safer, more stable, and faster connections compared to other VPN protocols.
Easy, Secure Remote Desktop
Remote Desktop lets users access software that’s exclusively installed to their PCs at work.
Remote Desktop allows employees to work remotely, at any hour and from anywhere. The self-hosted Remote Desktop enables in-depth administration of each connection.
Site-to-Site VPN
Site-to-site VPN is the answer for businesses and companies with branch offices in various locations. It allows for sharing resources across different networks.
This is because it goes through a secure IPsec tunnel, eliminating manual VPN configurations on individual computers.
High Speed
Offering an amazing throughput of up to 650Mbps, Site-to-Site VPN significantly enhances business productivity. It’s done by boosting and improving cross-premises file transfer speeds.
Validated by Microsoft Azure
Aside from other products supporting IPsec VPN, the RT2600ac can function with Azure VPN gateways. It’ll let you achieve a hybrid solution, combining on-premises and virtual networks in the cloud.
Monitor & Manage
VPN Plus comes with excellent tools for monitoring and controlling connections in real-time. Bandwidth control & block list lets you optimise network traffic while preventing unwanted access to critical resources. Real-time monitoring allows you to spot suspicious users and anomalies in network traffic.
For connection history, this lets you inspect data usage and connections of previous users. You can also view and export logs for regular auditing via configuration & connection logs.
Active Directory and LDAP support ensures seamless integration with an existing account system of a company.
Comprehensive Protocol Support
Aside from Synology SSL VPN, Remote Desktop, and Web VPN, VPN Plus supports four of the most used VPN protocols. With that, it adapts to your network environment.
Traffic Report
Traffic Report visualises and arranges statistics from VPN services to provide ways for admins to manage and monitor usage easily.
Client VPN Access License
VPN Plus offers a single concurrent user account that can freely access WebVPN, SSTP, and Synology SSL VPN. If you purchase Synology Client VPN Access License directly in the VPN Plus package, you can add more concurrent accounts.
License for Site-to-Site VPN
All Synology routers come with a free trial of Site-to-Site VPN feature, which lasts for 30 days. Purchasing the license allows you to activate this permanently.
Performance of the RT26500ac Router
The RT2600ac’s speed and range were impressive and more than enough for playing games, streaming videos, and other tasks.
The signal strength of the router was fantastic and it was able to easily cover all of the office area. We noticed no speed drops and we were pleased to see constant, stable speeds from the router.
Overall, the Synology RT2600ac performed excellently, making it easy to recommend to anyone who needs to enhance their network.
Synology RT2600ac Router Review Summary
Synology’s RT2600ac offers fast Wi-Fi speed at long ranges, and it’s rich in impressive features. What makes this router unique is that it can host more than one broadband connection. Also, it can simultaneously work as a network storage server if you connect an external hard drive to it.
Additionally, its software has superb features that improve overall user experience. If you’re looking for the best router today, the RT2600ac from Synology is for you.
To conclude our Synology RT2600ac Router review, we highly recommend this product. So if you want to purchase the RT2600ac, check out the store locator for online shops, retailers, and distributors.
