Synology Router RT2600ac dan MR2200ac Review

The World is facing a long-term Pandemic at the beginning of 2022, forcing many businesses to use the WFH system or work from home even longer. Workers need a stable and secure connection to access important data from their respective homes. Having a vibrant feature, the combination of Synology Router RT2600ac and Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac can accompany us during WFH.

This is why it’s so important to have a reliable router; it’s an important bridge between your internet provider and all devices at home.

Not only does a router need to provide high speed, but it also needs to consider security features. This ensures that the device is not accessible by others who are not authorized.

To achieve this, Synology introduces their flagship router that relies solely on high speed and has some valuable features and some security features.

Synology is probably best known for its NAS (Network Attached Storage) products. But, this one brand doesn’t just offer NAS. There are many other types of products provided by Synology.

Talking about the Synology Router, Synology has actually been offering its router products for several years. At Computex 2015, about 6 years ago, we were acquainted with their router; at that time the display was RT1900ac.
The new router they offer is the Synology Router RT2600ac. This router is one of the best routers on the market. To complete the smooth internet use, there is also the Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac.
Fast Installation Process

Synology Router RT2600ac

One of the conveniences offered by the Synology Router RT2600ac and Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac is that the installation process is very easy and fast. It only takes 3 minutes to prepare both.
There are several devices that can be used to set up, such as laptops, PCs, and smartphones. But, we will use a smartphone for setup on this occasion.

The first thing to do for new users is download the DS router app on your Android or iOS device. Meanwhile, when using a laptop or PC, you can log in using the Wi-Fi settings under the router and in your browser by typing http://router.synology.com or http://192.168.1.1 in your browser.

You simply follow the instructions displayed on the screen. Once you’re done, your router is ready to use.

The method is also very easy for the installation process of the Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac. You just have to add a Wi-Fi Point on the Synology Router RT2600ac, and after following the steps on the screen, you already have your own mesh network.

Use SRM UI, Best-in-Class Display

One of the unique features of the Synology Router RT2600ac router is the presence of SRM or Synology Router Manager. If you’re a Synology NAS user, SRM is just like DSM, which is a GUI interface to control everything through the browser.

If you are familiar with Synology NAS, the name or term “DSM” must be familiar, right? Yes, DSM or DiskStation Manager is the operating system that Synology uses for their NAS, which offers many advantages for both home and enterprise use. We have discussed these advantages several times, in our videos about NAS and in several articles.

Well, SRM, or Synology Router Manager, this is “Synology Router’s DSM.”
The user interface offered by SRM is similar to the design of DSM, so those who are already familiar with DSM will have no trouble using this SRM. As for new users, Synology offers a lot of helpful features in SRM, so learning to use them is easy.

When using other routers, it’s sometimes challenging to navigate between devices. Using SRM, however, is extremely simple. It looks precisely like DSM, so Synology NAS users will be very familiar with using SRM.

This will certainly help MSME offices that do not yet have specially certified technicians to configure easily.
In SRM, there are many features, including network monitoring and setting options, security options for both home and office users, complete access control, and various other interesting things.

If you feel that the features on this router are lacking, various add-ons can be installed through the Package Center. Some of the features that can be added include supporting multimedia features, private cloud, backup features, threat prevention, and so on.

Attractive Design, unlike Office Routers

Unlike routers from other professional companies, the Synology Router RT2600ac and Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac come with a design that is not rigid. The shape is designed to be attractive and looks neat when placed in the living room.

To ensure these routers don’t overheat during use, they provide plenty of ventilation holes for air circulation, both at the top and bottom of the device. Not to forget, they provide additional legs that are high enough at the bottom so that this router is lifted high enough.

The Synology Router RT2600ac comes with a total of four external antennas, two on the sides, two on the back. As for the I/O ports, this router has quite a rich port compared to its competitors.

On the front there is an SD card slot. On the left side there is 1 USB 3.0 port and an eject button for that port. While on the right there is a WPS button and a Wi-Fi reset.

For the back, there is a power button, power port, 1 USB 2.0, 1 blue WAN port, and 4 yellow LAN ports.

While at the top, we will see several LED indicator lights, where we can turn them off, on, or dimmed according to our wishes.

As for the Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac, the design is quite elegant. On the front, there are several LEDs to monitor the state of the mesh router.

And on the back, there are 2 LAN ports, a power button, a power port, Wi-Fi reset, WPS button, and a USB 3.0.
Enlarge Image

Fast Signal for Smooth Internet

For this test, we used several parameters. One of them is a test of signal strength and internet speed. We used the internet with a speed of 10MB/s to do the test this time.

As can be seen from the test results, the Synology Router RT2600ac and Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac can transmit powerful signals. Even when you are 5 meters away from a wall, the signal strength is still very good.

For internet speed itself, there is a fairly high difference between the ISP’s default router and the Synology Router RT2600ac and Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac. Internet speed by wired or wireless is excellent, even reaching speeds that are claimed by Synology.

As for maximum device support, our tests prove that this router can connect up to 12 devices at once via Wi-Fi access. So, users don’t have to worry about limited device access on this router.

This makes the Synology Router RT2600ac and Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac usable both at home and in the office.

Rich in features, can use a dongle modem

There are several features offered by Synology in the Synology Router RT2600ac. Through SRM, users can manage several settings, including making security settings for their devices.

For connection security, users can manage VPN using VPN server settings (WebVPN, SSL VPN, SSTP, OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, Site-to-Site), VPN client (PPTP, OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec), or VPN Pass-through (PPTP, IPSec, L2TP).

And what’s interesting is that with every router purchase, Synology offers a free VPN license. Of course, this will make it easier for offices that adopt WFH to keep their data safe without incurring extra subscription fees.
Using SRM, users can also monitor what is happening on their router. In fact, users can see what threats are occurring. This will provide peace and comfort for users.

There are also other security features that the user can set manually. One of them is the Threat Prevention feature, where they can even block connected devices, block certain IP addresses, and block specific sites.
The most interesting thing is that Synology on the Synology Router RT2600ac already supports the dongle modem. This allows users to use the dongle modem when their primary ISP experiences problems, so they can still access critical data on their NAS and other scenarios.

Synology Router RT2600ac dan Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac Specifications

Because it is designed for both home and office use, the Synology Router RT2600ac has the best-in-class specifications. This router supports the Wi-Fi 5 standard as well as other features.

Here are the full specifications:

Synology Router RT2600ac Specifications

Features:

• MU-MIMO
• Schedulable WiFi
• Guest Network
• WPS 2.0
• 3G/4G Dongle
• Safe Access
• Threat Prevention
• VPN Plus Server
• Cloud Station Server
• DNS Server
• Download Station
• Media Server
• RADIUS Server
• Print Server
• Synology QuickConnect

As for the Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac, the specifications can’t be underestimated either. Because this mesh router also supports Wi-Fi 5. Here are the full specifications of this device:

Mesh Router MR2200ac Specifications

Features

• MU-MIMO
• Schedulable WiFi
• Guest Network
• WPS 2.0
• 3G/4G Dongle
• Safe Access
• VPN Plus Server
• Cloud Station Server
• DNS Server
• Download Station
• Media Server
• RADIUS Server
• Print Server
• Synology QuickConnect

Perfect Companion at Work at Home

For those of you who are concerned about security when browsing the internet and ease of installation and use, you must buy the Synology Router RT2600ac and Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac.

Various embedded features make it a powerful and sophisticated networking device. This Synology Router is very useful for building a secure and stable mesh router to increase productivity for office use. Coupled with a free VPN license that can help offices that are WFH. In addition, this Synology Router is also suitable for use at home, where parents can easily control safe internet access for their children.

For the price, the Synology Router RT2600ac is priced at IDR 3.9 million. Meanwhile, the sales package for the Synology Router RT2600ac and Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac is priced at IDR 6.5 million.

Although the price is a bit premium, but considering the features offered, this price is quite worth it.

Source :

• Synology Router RT2600ac – Router RT2600ac | Synology Inc.
• Synology Mesh Router MR2200ac – MR2200ac | Synology Inc.