Synology Introduces Its Second Router

Synology has put information about its second router online. The RT2600ac offers faster hardware than its predecessor, 5GHz WiFi and dual-wan support. Like the company’s first router, it runs on the Synology Router Manager operating system.

The router has an undisclosed dual-core processor with a clock speed of 1.7GHz and 512MB of RAM. It has four antennas, with support for 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies and mu-mimo. In addition to the usual wanpoort and four gigabit LAN ports, there is a USB 3.0 port, a USB 2.0 port and an SD card reader. The maximum theoretical speeds that can be achieved wirelessly compared to its predecessor, the RT1900ac, have been increased to 800Mbps on 2.4GHz and 1.73Gbps on 5GHz. The maximum number of devices that can simultaneously exchange data with the router has also increased from 40 to 100.

As with its predecessor, Synology has added some features of its own to the router. For example, the first LAN port can serve as an extra wan port for extra speed with a second ISP or as a backup when the first ISP has problems. Also, the router automatically switches to a 2.4GHz connection when the user moves outside the range of the 5GHz network.

The router can be controlled with an app for iOS and Android or with a web page. It runs on Synology Router Manager, which shares some features and appearance with DiskStation Manager, which is found on the brand’s popular DiskStation NAS systems. For example, it is possible to access connected storage devices via the internet and to make backups on them.

The router is currently only available in Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Thailand. Synology’s website states that it will be coming to Europe and the United States “soon”. When this is is unknown. The company also does not provide suggested retail prices, but the router is for sale on an online store in Australia for 399 Australian dollars, which is about 275 euros.